The Highway 101 express lane has generated a modest increase in revenue, but some board members and transit advocates are concerned it’s only worsened traffic congestion for those who are unable or unwilling to pay the toll.
The express lane opened toward the beginning of last year and stretches 22 miles from the Santa Clara County line to Interstate 380. The tolls adhere to a variable pricing structure, in which costs fluctuate depending on traffic congestion. Average daily trips have increased from 52,000 to 56,000 between the first and fourth quarter of fiscal year 2023-24 — which ended on June 30.
The majority of trips cost drivers under $3, according to data presented at a recent City/County Association of Governments of San Mateo County meeting, though it can be over three to four times that cost during peak hours.
While express lane drivers travel 11 miles per hour faster on average than non-toll lanes during peak hours, the lack of data on its overall impact on highway traffic has given some board members pause.
“The main comment that I get from my residents is, ‘I’m stuck, and it feels like it’s slower now unless I use the express lane,’” said Stacy Jimenez, C/CAG board member and Foster City councilmember.
Mike Swire, member of the Transportation Authority Citizens Advisory Committee, echoed similar sentiments, adding that updates on the effectiveness of express lanes have largely focused on revenue, not whether it’s decreasing overall traffic.
“The marketing of the project was that this will improve congestion in San Mateo County. It was not marketed as only improving it for the wealthy people who can afford to pay for the lane,” Swire said. “We are hearing consistently now from the public that there has not been a reduction in traffic … we’ve been asking over a year for data that shows congestion before and congestion after.”
About 42% of the trips showed that express lane drivers were carpooling with two or more passengers, though Lacy Vong, policy program manager for the San Mateo County Express Lanes Joint Powers Authority, said the figure is likely inflated due to many individuals misdeclaring the number of people in the car.
But Executive Director Sean Charpentier has said that it takes awhile to see substantial changes in traffic patterns, and comparing commute patterns before, during and after the pandemic are not apples-to-apples comparisons. He added that over time, large employers will provide more shuttles for their workers. And the impacts of the newly-launched express lane bus routes have yet to show up in the data, which lags a few months behind.
(16) comments
When you ask for a simple bike lane in front of a school, you need to lobby 10 years, require one million signatures, organize community fundraisers, buy a billboard, shame the Mayor, and 200 people speaking at a council meeting for 30 sec each will still not change the council's mind (and these are "green Democrats and urbanist YIMBYs" might I add).
Nobody ever has asked for these Express Lanes and certainly no environmental group and certainly no real equity group. And yet YIMBY-supported members of C/CAG (David Canepa), BAAQMD (Davina Hurt), and Caltrain (Rico E. Medina) plus both Papans got it done.
https://ccag.ca.gov/san-mateo-county-express-lanes-joint-powers-authority-and-caltrans-hosts-opening-celebration-for-the-san-mateo-101-express-lanes/
Thanks for your multiple responses, Irvin D. In your response to Sharath, you say the most important data is express lane drivers traveling 11 miles per hour faster on average during peak hours. What is the average, 65mph? 10mph? 35mph? As Sharath comments, the lack of data is disconcerting because this speed statistic doesn’t address overall impact.
In your response to Not So Common, you cite the average toll of <$3 but you leave out the second half where tolls “can be over three to four times that cost during peak hours. How many times do folks drive in toll lanes during the various peak hours? So <$3 blows up to over $12. Maybe you’re lucky enough to be able to afford it but I would venture a guess that many don’t want to.
In your response to Unassigned, you assert that revenue is used to pay the $100 million capital loan. How long will that take? Ten years? 100 years? Never? We can’t forget ongoing maintenance related to the program, such as signage and salaries to implement the program. As an aside, who gets to ride for free in these toll lanes without being parts of car pools? Politicians? Law enforcement? Employees of CalTrans? And who is being subsidized by taxpayers? Free rides will obviously extend the $100 million payback period to never times two?
"the lack of data on its overall impact on highway traffic has given some board members pause." - it's puzzling why there isn't data on overall impact, especially traffic (de)congestion.
I wouldn't call "the lack of data" puzzling because the Transportation authority, the FBI, our Secret Service and federal government have no interest in providing the truth and ignore requests or cover them up. The truth would sink their ships
The most important data was reported in the same sentence you cited, just before it. I'm referring to: "While express lane drivers travel 11 miles per hour faster on average than non-toll lanes during peak hours,..."
C/CAG is constantly sabotaging Public Transportation in San Mateo County. How can leaders at SamTrans and Caltrain (Rico Medina and David Canepa) celebrate this project for 'congestion relief' and then complain about low ridership on their trains? Of course you are having a Fiscal Cliff in transportation, when you lure 25% more drivers away from public transportation onto free-flowing freeways. Of course those guys are then mad they have to pay if they want any chance at 'free-flowing'.
It doesn't matter if C/CAG calls them carpool lanes, express lanes, interchange projects, frontage roads, shoulder widening, or auxiliary lanes - these are all classical highway widenings. They create more noise, more air pollution, more GHG, more collisions, more carpool cheaters, and in the end more congestion. They can't work. They have never worked. There are only two ways to improve congestion and GHG emissions - none includes single-occupied-vehicles (not even hybrids or EVs).
Development and Transportation are currently the most corrupt industry sectors, that is why there are incentives for C/CAG to keep this scam going.
The art of politics is making it look like you did something wonderful, not actually doing anything good at all. On the surface, the claims made to get the taxpayers to notch up the sales tax to nearly 10% (standby for that soon) sounded laudable, but anyone sitting in more stopped traffic knew it would not work and knows now that it did not. But the halos formed over the heads of these people who got behind this effort and just you try and stop them now. If we keep feeding this monster money, this the result. I would suggest stopping.
How are they undermining public transportation? SamTrans now has a lane to run their buses on the freeway. In addition, the express lane program operates an equity program that now awards $200 a year to eligible residents (based on income) in the form of a Clipper card that can be used on most Bay Area transit systems.
Caltrain is in charge of regional transportation. SamTrans is in charge of local transportation. If they work in sync and high frequency every area should be covered.
But SamTrans and Caltrain split and have two CEOs and two HQs now - actually they might have 3 or 4 now as they won't sell the old properties either (despite the pretended "fiscal cliff".)
Anyways, with their "SamTrans Reimagination" project they removed, cut and worsened many local routes and installed regional routes instead. So now we lack Public Transportation in local areas and especially around schools. But we have regional bus transportation directly competing with Caltrain. Plus we have even more competition with a Ferry Service running between Redwood City and San Francisco.
And we are still waiting for SamTrans to install bus shelters, it's ridiculous how bad these bus stops look.
No one needs to conduct a study or take a poll to determine if traffic is worse when 25% of a freeway's lanes are made unavailable and only 75% of lanes are being used. But hopefully the union workers and bureaucrats made a boat load of money and the extra carbon being created due to the worsening of traffic can be offset by Newsom and democrats purchasing carbon offsets. And what happens to the express lane and the power grid when 50% of vehicles are electric?
Unavailable????
Can you not afford the average toll, <$3?
People who don't own cars are forced to pay $2.25 to board a local bus...
So in your world we should all pay even more for the privilege to drive than we already do? Each year I pay $400 to register each of our two vehicles, and $1.29 in tax per gallon of gas. The individuals who ride and board a bus pay $2.25 (which is actually subsidized by me and others ) pay ZERO in taxes and ZERO in registration fees are hopefully thankful that there is a bus. So out of one side of your mouth you whine about people who have to ride a bus but then make fun of the people who cannot afford to drive in toll lane. So yes, if someone cannot afford to pay a toll to drive then it is indeed financially UNAVAILABLE.
Yes, you should pay more than you do. Each mile driven by car costs the owner $2, but society pays another $1-$2 for every mile, which is unaccounted for. So no, you don't pay your fair share to drive around and anybody walking, biking, or taking the bus is actually subsidizing your free driving and free parking. In a capitalistic society you would have to pay for that.
Luckily the US is a socialist paradise and the government pays a big junk of your driving privilege.
The voters deserve the credit for approving the new taxes to pay for this terrible blunder. The goal here was social engineering, not traffic efficiency. That goal was accomplished and there a lot of people making a lot of money administering this mess. The chance that C/CAG ever admits it is making traffic worse is slim, but kudos to the board members asking the right questions. This should put an end to any thoughts of more of this.
Guess who is helping pay the construction costs?
"Revenue would come back to the San Mateo County Express Lanes Joint Powers Authority and be used to pay back lane operators and pay the $100 million capital loan used for the project." [Daily Journal, Jun 16, 2021]
What a strange concept – those who are paying to drive on average 11 mph faster than those who opt not to pay are helping to pay off a loan to fund the project.
The price of the project was closer to $600M, other sources said $660M. The county will never be forthcoming with the correct data though as personnel cost can be easily hidden.
Anyways, before the $600M are paid down, the lanes will have to be resurfaced again for another $2M per mile. Basically it will never be paid down.
And most of the express lane money is going back into enforcement to catch the carpool cheaters. And some money goes to an "Equity Program", which might or might not end up in the hand of low-income people. But it could also just be marketing.
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