Frequently Asked Questions about Express Toll Lanes
Click on the question to see the answer.
- 1. Why are you even considering Express Lanes on the SR-91, we just need more capacity?
- In the past 10 years, San Bernardino, Riverside County, Orange County, and Los Angeles County have experienced explosive population growth and are among the fastest growing counties in the United States. This population growth has worsened the already congested State Route (SR) 91. The existing Express Lanes in Orange County are functioning as designed; tolls are kept high enough to limit traffic so that the express lanes are free-flowing at all times no matter how bad the congestion is on the adjacent free lanes. This means, during peak periods, the express lanes actually carry more vehicles per hour than all the general purpose lanes. The worse congestion now, on a daily basis, is where the Express Lanes end at the county line. The current proposed plan is to extend the Express Lanes from the Orange County line eastward to I-15 and to add one free lane in each direction. This will not only provide additional capacity in the most highly congested area, but expand the option to drivers to pay a toll, when they need to, for fast, reliable travel on the extended Express Lanes.
- 2. We are already paying gasoline tax to fund transportation improvements: Why tolls? What is our gasoline tax used for?
- For certain improvement projects, tolls can supplement highway funds to meet some of the backlog of dealing with traffic congestion and often pay for new highways or additional lanes that cannot be financed from traditional fuel tax-based funding source.
The gasoline tax alone is no longer a viable source of funding for new or expanded highways in the U.S. The federal gasoline tax has not been increased since 1993 and the California gasoline tax was last increased in 1994. In California we also have a state sales tax on gasoline. Statewide, there is a uniform sales tax rate of 7.25 percent on most purchases. Five percent of that rate goes to the state, with the remainder dedicated to local uses (Due to additional local optional taxes, the average sales tax rate in California is closer to 7.9 percent). While this remains at a fixed percentage, the amount collected by the state has increased over time due to the increasing cost per gallon of gasoline. The problem is that this revenue seldom gets to be used for transportation purposes. Current state law allows the gasoline sales tax revenue to go to the general fund in the event of a state budget shortfall.
The buying power of these sources of revenues has eroded over time due to inflation and it does not seem likely that our legislature will increase the tax in the foreseeable future. Exacerbating the problem is the fact that, over the last 20 years the average fuel efficiency of vehicles has risen, meaning less revenue for new transportation improvements at a time when inflation has consumed more than 2/3 of the buying power for new construction since 1993. The fact is, today we have less purchasing power for transportation improvements at a time when our roads built years ago are requiring more maintenance. We are approaching a point where the gasoline tax barely covers highway maintenance with no money left for new roads and other needed transportation improvements.
In many California counties such as Riverside County, the voters have approved an additional one half cent sales tax to help fund transportation projects. The program in Riverside County is for specific named improvements such as the added free lanes on the SR-91. Even with the incremental sales tax, there is not enough public funding to meet all of the demands for new capacity. User fees in the form of tolls are another option for funding certain transportation improvements. The SR-91 Express Lanes extension to I-15, for example, can be paid for with the forecasted toll revenue from the Express Lanes.
- 3. Why tolls, what is the government doing with the sales tax revenue we just voted to increase to fund transportation?
- The sales tax increase in Riverside County will fund a specific list of improvements approved by the voters. Sales tax alone does not provide enough funds to build all the new facilities that are needed. A toll is not a tax, but rather a user fee paid only if and when you use the facility. A toll provides an alternative method to fill the funding gap, and is one of the fairest revenue sources as only users pay for it. In a statewide survey in California, respondents favor Express lanes, toll roads, and express toll lanes over gas & sales tax increases.
- 4. Extending the SR-91 Express Lanes just benefits the rich who are now using the “Lexus Lanes”.
- The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA), who owns the existing SR-91 Express Lanes, has done numerous surveys of its customers and has found that people of all income levels use these lanes. The average customer may not use them every day, but they will use the Express Lanes on days when they have to be somewhere at a certain time. An example given was, when picking up their children from day care the charge for picking up their child ten minutes late is often more than the toll on the Express Lanes for a fast trip to get there. The important point to all customers is that they have an option for fast and reliable driving when they need it. More and more people, such as small business owners, are finding that the benefits outweigh the costs.
Another point to consider is: the lanes can allow public transportation vehicles (such as buses) to more reliably get to more destinations on time. This provides a benefit to all those who rely on public transportation for their commute.
- 5. Why are you adding more Express Toll Lanes at a time when the average worker can barely afford gasoline?
- Building and maintaining roads is not free. The funds must come from somewhere and the only options now are taxes and tolls. A recent study by the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) and the University of Southern California (USC), found that charging a toll such as on the SR-91 Express Lanes to fund the improvement is less regressive than increasing the gasoline tax or sales tax to cover the cost. The gasoline tax and sales tax are paid by everyone, even if you don’t use the new facility. The impact to low income households is more severe than to those households with above-average income while the toll is paid only by those who choose to use the Express Lane.
- 6. What is the government going to do with the tolls they collect?
- Tolls collected on the new Express Lanes will be used to pay for operations and maintenance of the lanes and repay the debt incurred for construction. Any excess revenue will be used for transportation improvements or to subsidize public transit in the corridor.
- 7. With all the congestion on SR-91 wouldn’t it be better to add 4 lanes anyone can use to better utilize the lanes?
- On the SR-91, the demand is so much greater than the capacity that it would take eleven lanes in each direction to avoid congestion during peak periods. Just adding two general purpose lanes each way would not solve the problem, and would not provide an alternative to being in stop-and-go traffic during some periods of the day. However, adding two new Express Lanes gives drivers more choices and allows them to spend less time on the road. Traffic congestion causes air pollution, and the way to improve air quality is through a more efficient road network. Studies have shown that in congested periods, the Express Lanes move more traffic than in an equal number of general purpose lanes.
- 8. The express lanes on SR-91 are not fully used now, why add more?
- As one study shows, in the peak hour, Express Lanes on State Route 91 in Orange County, CA, carry twice as many vehicles per lane as the regular lanes, and speed is 3 to 4 times faster. Express Lanes are designed and operated to be free of congestion. If these lanes were congested, then there would be no incentive to pay a toll to use them.
- 9. I use the carpool lanes on SR-91 for free now with only one passenger. Are you going to be taking that right away from me
- California is one of the few states where carpools have historically been designed for use by vehicles occupied by two or more people. However, in many areas of California, carpool lanes are now heavily utilized by vehicles with two occupants, resulting in the same stop and go traffic pattern of general purpose lanes. Federal transportation policy requires carpool lanes to operate at 45 miles per hour or better. Some measures are going to be required to address overcrowding, meaning a strategy that is being considered is raising eligibility requirements during periods of peak demand. Therefore, eventually the right of free access to carpool lanes will not remain and the new Express Lanes will be no exception
