**DRAFT**

+---+----------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|   |                                                                      |   |
+---+----------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| c |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| s |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| d |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| r |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| s |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| f |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| r |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| H |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| g |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| O |                                                                      |   |
| c |                                                                      |   |
| c |                                                                      |   |
| u |                                                                      |   |
| p |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| c |                                                                      |   |
| y |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| V |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| c |                                                                      |   |
| l |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| ( |                                                                      |   |
| H |                                                                      |   |
| O |                                                                      |   |
| V |                                                                      |   |
| ) |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| l |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| g |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| c |                                                                      |   |
| c |                                                                      |   |
| u |                                                                      |   |
| p |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| c |                                                                      |   |
| y |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| l |                                                                      |   |
| l |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| ( |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| ) |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| L |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| c |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| v |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| r |                                                                      |   |
| s |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| s |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| g |                                                                      |   |
| u |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| d |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| b |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| k |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| f |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| d |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| r |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| l |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| g |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| w |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| y |                                                                      |   |
| > |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| d |                                                                      |   |
| m |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| s |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| r |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| ! |                                                                      |   |
| [ |                                                                      |   |
| ] |                                                                      |   |
| ( |                                                                      |   |
| m |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| d |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| / |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| m |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| g |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| 1 |                                                                      |   |
| . |                                                                      |   |
| j |                                                                      |   |
| p |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| g |                                                                      |   |
| ) |                                                                      |   |
| { |                                                                      |   |
| w |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| d |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| = |                                                                      |   |
| " |                                                                      |   |
| 1 |                                                                      |   |
| . |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 8 |                                                                      |   |
| 9 |                                                                      |   |
| 5 |                                                                      |   |
| 8 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| 3 |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| " |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| g |                                                                      |   |
| h |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| = |                                                                      |   |
| " |                                                                      |   |
| 1 |                                                                      |   |
| . |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 2 |                                                                      |   |
| 5 |                                                                      |   |
| 6 |                                                                      |   |
| 9 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| 4 |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| " |                                                                      |   |
| } |                                                                      |   |
| * |                                                                      |   |
| * |                                                                      |   |
| \ |                                                                      |   |
| * |                                                                      |   |
| * |                                                                      |   |
|   |                                                                      |   |
| U |                                                                      |   |
| S |                                                                      |   |
| D |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| p |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| r |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| m |                                                                      |   |
| e |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| f |                                                                      |   |
| T |                                                                      |   |
| r |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
| s |                                                                      |   |
| p |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| r |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| a |                                                                      |   |
| t |                                                                      |   |
| i |                                                                      |   |
| o |                                                                      |   |
| n |                                                                      |   |
+---+----------------------------------------------------------------------+---+
|   |                                                                      |   |
+---+----------------------------------------------------------------------+---+

Prepared by

HNTB/Booz Allen Hamilton

October 2007

![](media/image2.png){width="3.0194444444444444in"
height="0.33402777777777776in"}

**TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE**

Technical Report Documentation Page (Form 1700.7)

+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
| 1\. Report No.      | 2 |                      | 3\.     |            |
|                     | \ |                      | Recip   |            |
|                     | . |                      | ient\'s |            |
|                     | G |                      | Catalog |            |
|                     | o |                      | No.     |            |
|                     | v |                      |         |            |
|                     | e |                      |         |            |
|                     | r |                      |         |            |
|                     | n |                      |         |            |
|                     | m |                      |         |            |
|                     | e |                      |         |            |
|                     | n |                      |         |            |
|                     | t |                      |         |            |
|                     | A |                      |         |            |
|                     | c |                      |         |            |
|                     | c |                      |         |            |
|                     | e |                      |         |            |
|                     | s |                      |         |            |
|                     | s |                      |         |            |
|                     | i |                      |         |            |
|                     | o |                      |         |            |
|                     | n |                      |         |            |
|                     | N |                      |         |            |
|                     | o |                      |         |            |
|                     | . |                      |         |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
| 4\. Title and       |   |                      | 5\.     |            |
| Subtitle:           |   |                      | Report  |            |
|                     |   |                      | Date:   |            |
| Consideration for   |   |                      |         |            |
| High Occupancy      |   |                      |         |            |
| Vehicle (HOV) to    |   |                      |         |            |
| High Occupancy Toll |   |                      |         |            |
| (HOT) Lanes Study   |   |                      |         |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
|                     |   |                      | 6\.     |            |
|                     |   |                      | Per     |            |
|                     |   |                      | forming |            |
|                     |   |                      | Organ   |            |
|                     |   |                      | ization |            |
|                     |   |                      | Code    |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
| 7\. Author(s):      |   |                      | 8\.     |            |
|                     |   |                      | Per     |            |
| Martin Sas, HNTB.   |   |                      | forming |            |
|                     |   |                      | Organ   |            |
| Susan Carlson,      |   |                      | ization |            |
| HNTB\               |   |                      | Report  |            |
| Eugene Kim, Ph.D.,  |   |                      | No.     |            |
| Booz Allen Hamilton |   |                      |         |            |
| Inc.                |   |                      |         |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
| 9\. Performing      |   |                      | 10\.    |            |
| Organization Name   |   |                      | Work    |            |
| and Address:        |   |                      | Unit    |            |
|                     |   |                      | No.     |            |
| Booz Allen Hamilton |   |                      | (TRAIS) |            |
| Inc.                |   |                      |         |            |
|                     |   |                      |         |            |
| 8283 Greensboro     |   |                      |         |            |
| Drive\              |   |                      |         |            |
| McLean, VA 22102    |   |                      |         |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
|                     |   |                      | 11\.    |            |
|                     |   |                      | C       |            |
|                     |   |                      | ontract |            |
|                     |   |                      | or      |            |
|                     |   |                      | Grant   |            |
|                     |   |                      | No.     |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
| 12\. Sponsoring     |   |                      | 13\.    |            |
| Agency Name and     |   |                      | Type of |            |
| Address:            |   |                      | Report  |            |
|                     |   |                      | and     |            |
| Federal Highway     |   |                      | Period  |            |
| Administration      |   |                      | Covered |            |
|                     |   |                      |         |            |
| HOV Pooled-Fund     |   |                      | R       |            |
| Study               |   |                      | esearch |            |
|                     |   |                      | Report  |            |
| 400 7^th^ Street,   |   |                      |         |            |
| NW                  |   |                      | May     |            |
|                     |   |                      | 2007    |            |
| Washington DC 20590 |   |                      |         |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
|                     |   |                      | 14\.    |            |
|                     |   |                      | Spo     |            |
|                     |   |                      | nsoring |            |
|                     |   |                      | Agency  |            |
|                     |   |                      | Code    |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
| 15\. Supplementary  |   |                      |         |            |
| Notes:              |   |                      |         |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
| 16\. Abstract:      |   |                      |         |            |
|                     |   |                      |         |            |
| The intent of this  |   |                      |         |            |
| study is to explore |   |                      |         |            |
| the planning,       |   |                      |         |            |
| design, and ongoing |   |                      |         |            |
| operation and       |   |                      |         |            |
| maintenance of HOT  |   |                      |         |            |
| facilities and to   |   |                      |         |            |
| provide lessons     |   |                      |         |            |
| learned and         |   |                      |         |            |
| applicable          |   |                      |         |            |
| technical guidance  |   |                      |         |            |
| that will assist    |   |                      |         |            |
| the state and local |   |                      |         |            |
| transportation      |   |                      |         |            |
| planners and        |   |                      |         |            |
| designers in        |   |                      |         |            |
| determining the     |   |                      |         |            |
| conditions where    |   |                      |         |            |
| HOV conversion to   |   |                      |         |            |
| HOT lanes is        |   |                      |         |            |
| feasible. The study |   |                      |         |            |
| reviewed a broad    |   |                      |         |            |
| range of            |   |                      |         |            |
| operational HOT     |   |                      |         |            |
| facilities from     |   |                      |         |            |
| having been         |   |                      |         |            |
| operational many    |   |                      |         |            |
| years to recently   |   |                      |         |            |
| being opened. The   |   |                      |         |            |
| study reviewed the  |   |                      |         |            |
| activities of each  |   |                      |         |            |
| in the planning,    |   |                      |         |            |
| design,             |   |                      |         |            |
| implementation and  |   |                      |         |            |
| operations with     |   |                      |         |            |
| special attention   |   |                      |         |            |
| given to            |   |                      |         |            |
| institutional,      |   |                      |         |            |
| design, and         |   |                      |         |            |
| operational         |   |                      |         |            |
| challenges.         |   |                      |         |            |
|                     |   |                      |         |            |
| The guidebook       |   |                      |         |            |
| provides a summary  |   |                      |         |            |
| of the best         |   |                      |         |            |
| practices and       |   |                      |         |            |
| lessons learned     |   |                      |         |            |
| from those HOT      |   |                      |         |            |
| facilities          |   |                      |         |            |
| currently in        |   |                      |         |            |
| operation. The      |   |                      |         |            |
| result is "Best     |   |                      |         |            |
| Practices Top 20"   |   |                      |         |            |
| list that evolved   |   |                      |         |            |
| as each of the      |   |                      |         |            |
| facilities learned  |   |                      |         |            |
| or re-learned what  |   |                      |         |            |
| other HOT           |   |                      |         |            |
| facilities had      |   |                      |         |            |
| previously learned. |   |                      |         |            |
| The result was a    |   |                      |         |            |
| re-occurring list   |   |                      |         |            |
| of "to do"s and     |   |                      |         |            |
| what "not to do" to |   |                      |         |            |
| minimize issues     |   |                      |         |            |
| during the HOV to   |   |                      |         |            |
| HOT transition      |   |                      |         |            |
| process.            |   |                      |         |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
| 17\. Key Words:     |   |                      | 18\.    |            |
|                     |   |                      | Distr   |            |
| High-Occupancy      |   |                      | ibution |            |
| Vehicle, HOV Lane,  |   |                      | St      |            |
| HOV                 |   |                      | atement |            |
|                     |   |                      | No      |            |
| Enforcement, HOV    |   |                      | restri  |            |
| Facility            |   |                      | ctions. |            |
| Enforcement, HOV    |   |                      | This    |            |
| Facility            |   |                      | d       |            |
|                     |   |                      | ocument |            |
| Design, HOV         |   |                      | is      |            |
| Planning, HOV       |   |                      | av      |            |
| Operations, HOT     |   |                      | ailable |            |
| Lane,               |   |                      | to the  |            |
|                     |   |                      | public  |            |
| HOT Facility        |   |                      | through |            |
| Enforcement         |   |                      | NTIS:   |            |
|                     |   |                      | N       |            |
|                     |   |                      | ational |            |
|                     |   |                      | Te      |            |
|                     |   |                      | chnical |            |
|                     |   |                      | Info    |            |
|                     |   |                      | rmation |            |
|                     |   |                      | Service |            |
|                     |   |                      |         |            |
|                     |   |                      | Sprin   |            |
|                     |   |                      | gfield, |            |
|                     |   |                      | V       |            |
|                     |   |                      | irginia |            |
|                     |   |                      | 22161   |            |
|                     |   |                      |         |            |
|                     |   |                      | www.n   |            |
|                     |   |                      | tis.gov |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+
| 19\. Security       |   | 20\. Security        | 21\.    | 22\. Price |
| Classif. (of this   |   | Classif. (of this    | No. of  |            |
| report)             |   | page)                | Pages:  |            |
|                     |   |                      |         |            |
| Unclassified        |   | Unclassified         |         |            |
+---------------------+---+----------------------+---------+------------+

Considerations for High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) to

High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes Conversions Guidebook

Prepared for the

HOV Pooled-Fund Study

of the

U.S. Department of Transportation

Federal Highway Administration

Prepared by

HNTB

Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.

8283 Greensboro Drive

McLean, VA 22102

Under contract to

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)

October 2007

Acknowledgements

This document was prepared by HNTB and Booz Allen Hamilton Inc. and
received extensive comment from the HOV Pooled Fund Study (PFS) Group.

Table of Contents

CHAPTER 1. Introduction and Overview [1-1](#introduction-and-overview)

1.1 What are High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes?
[1-2](#what-are-high-occupancy-toll-hot-lanes)

1.1.1 HOT Lane Characteristics and Applications
[1-3](#hot-lane-characteristics-and-applications)

1.2 Purpose of the High Occupancy Toll Lane Guidebook
[1-6](#purpose-of-the-high-occupancy-toll-lane-guidebook)

1.3 Study Approach/Methodology [1-7](#study-approachmethodology)

CHAPTER 2. High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Policy and Planning
[2-1](#high-occupancy-toll-hot-policy-and-planning)

2.1 Baseline Performance Framework for High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes
[2-1](#baseline-performance-framework-for-high-occupancy-vehicle-lanes)

2.2 Understanding the Effects of Converting an HOV Lane to HOT Lane
[2-2](#understanding-the-effects-of-converting-an-hov-lane-to-hot-lane)

2.2.1 Shifts from HOV to LOV and from LOV to HOV
[2-3](#shifts-from-hov-to-lov-and-from-lov-to-hov)

2.2.2 Shifts from other Routes and Times
[2-3](#shifts-from-other-routes-and-times)

2.2.3 Second-order Effects and Long-Run Equilibrium
[2-4](#second-order-effects-and-long-run-equilibrium)

2.3 Key Planning and Policy Criteria
[2-4](#key-planning-and-policy-criteria)

2.3.1 Legal and Institutional Challenges
[2-6](#legal-and-institutional-challenges)

2.3.2 Building Support for HOT Lanes
[2-7](#building-support-for-hot-lanes)

2.3.3 Application of Project Development Approach
[2-9](#application-of-project-development-approach)

2.3.4 Unique Project Risks/Challenges
[2-10](#unique-project-riskschallenges)

2.4 Project Financing [2-13](#project-financing)

CHAPTER 3. HOT Lane Implementation & Design
[3-1](#hot-lane-implementation-design)

3.1 Organization and Management [3-1](#organization-and-management)

3.1.1 Participation [3-1](#participation)

3.1.2 Organization and Management Plan
[3-3](#organization-and-management-plan)

3.2 Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)
[3-3](#public-private-partnerships-ppps)

3.3 Procurement Strategies [3-4](#procurement-strategies)

3.4 Procurement Options [3-5](#procurement-options)

3.4.1 Procurement Sequencing [3-6](#procurement-sequencing)

3.5 Procurement, Implementation and Construction Issues
[3-6](#procurement-implementation-and-construction-issues)

3.6 HOT Lane System Design [3-7](#hot-lane-system-design)

3.6.1 Geometric Requirements [3-8](#geometric-requirements)

CHAPTER 4. HOT Lane Operations and Management
[4-1](#hot-lane-operations-and-management)

4.1 Lane Management [4-1](#lane-management)

4.2 Toll Collection Operations [4-3](#toll-collection-operations)

4.2.1 Transponder and AVI Technology
[4-4](#transponder-and-avi-technology)

4.2.2 Video Tolling [4-5](#video-tolling)

4.2.3 System Operations [4-6](#system-operations)

4.3 HOT Lane Enforcement [4-7](#hot-lane-enforcement)

4.3.1 Concept of Operations [4-7](#concept-of-operations)

4.3.2 Facility Design Considerations
[4-9](#facility-design-considerations)

4.3.3 HOT Lane Enforcement Functions
[4-9](#hot-lane-enforcement-functions)

4.3.4 Recent Experience with HOT Lane Enforcement
[4-11](#recent-experience-with-hot-lane-enforcement)

4.3.5 Best Practices in HOT Lane Enforcement
[4-14](#best-practices-in-hot-lane-enforcement)

4.4 Signage [4-15](#signage)

4.5 Incident Management [4-17](#incident-management)

CHAPTER 5. CASE STUDIES OF HOT LANE CONVERSION PROJECTS
[5-1](#case-studies-of-hot-lane-conversion-projects)

5.1 Data Collection Approach [5-1](#data-collection-approach)

5.2 Focused Interviews [5-2](#focused-interviews)

5.3 San Diego, CA I-15 Express Lanes
[5-3](#san-diego-ca-i-15-express-lanes)

5.3.1 Project Objectives [5-3](#project-objectives)

5.3.2 Concept of Operations [5-4](#concept-of-operations-1)

5.3.3 Innovative Project Features [5-4](#innovative-project-features)

5.3.4 Major Project Challenges/Mitigation Actions
[5-4](#major-project-challengesmitigation-actions)

5.3.5 Major Lesson Learned [5-5](#major-lesson-learned)

5.3.6 Keys to Project Success [5-5](#keys-to-project-success)

5.4 Minneapolis, MN I-394 Express Lanes
[5-5](#minneapolis-mn-i-394-express-lanes)

5.4.1 Project Objectives [5-5](#project-objectives-1)

5.4.2 Concept of Operations [5-6](#concept-of-operations-2)

5.4.3 Innovative Project Features [5-6](#innovative-project-features-1)

5.4.4 Major Project Challenges/Mitigation Actions
[5-6](#major-project-challengesmitigation-actions-1)

5.4.5 Major Lesson Learned [5-7](#major-lesson-learned-1)

5.4.6 Keys to Project Success [5-7](#keys-to-project-success-1)

5.5 Denver, CO I-25 Express Lanes [5-7](#denver-co-i-25-express-lanes)

5.5.1 Project Objectives [5-8](#project-objectives-2)

5.5.2 Concept of Operations [5-8](#concept-of-operations-3)

5.5.3 Innovative Project Features [5-8](#innovative-project-features-2)

5.5.4 Major Project Challenges/Mitigation Actions
[5-9](#major-project-challengesmitigation-actions-2)

5.5.5 Major Lesson Learned [5-9](#major-lesson-learned-2)

5.5.6 Keys to Project Success [5-9](#keys-to-project-success-2)

CHAPTER 6. Direction for Future Practice
[6-1](#direction-for-future-practice)

6.1 Best Practices [6-1](#best-practices)

6.1.1 Project Pre-Planning and System Planning
[6-2](#project-pre-planning-and-system-planning)

6.1.2 System Design [6-2](#system-design)

6.1.3 Project Financing [6-2](#project-financing-1)

6.1.4 Implementation [6-2](#implementation)

6.1.5 Operations and Management [6-3](#operations-and-management)

6.2 Lessons Learned [6-3](#lessons-learned)

6.3 Direction for Future Practice
[6-4](#direction-for-future-practice-1)

6.3.1 Legislative [6-4](#legislative)

6.3.2 Electronic and Video Toll Payment
[6-4](#electronic-and-video-toll-payment)

6.3.3 Enforcement [6-5](#enforcement)

6.3.4 Occupancy Enforcement [6-5](#occupancy-enforcement)

LIST OF ACRONYMS [1](#list-of-acronyms)

REFERENCES [3](#references)

List of Tables

Table 3‑1: Managed Lane Cross-section Standards
[3-9](#__RefHeading___Toc184023863)

Table 3‑2: Operational Impacts of Physical Design Options
[3-11](#__RefHeading___Toc184023864)

Table 4‑1: Lane Management Control Strategies
[4-2](#__RefHeading___Toc184023865)

Table 5‑1: Facility Characteristics [5-2](#__RefHeading___Toc184023866)

Table 5‑2: Operational Characteristics
[5-3](#__RefHeading___Toc184023867)

List of Figures

Figure 2‑1: Effects From Converting to HOT lanes
[2-3](#__RefHeading___Toc184023868)

Figure 2‑2: Public Outreach Model Used at MnPass
[2-9](#__RefHeading___Toc184023869)

Figure 2‑3: Sketch Development Approach
[2-10](#__RefHeading___Toc184023870)

Figure 3‑1: Stages of HOT Lane Project Development
[3-1](#__RefHeading___Toc184023871)

Figure 3‑2: Benefits vs. Risks [3-4](#__RefHeading___Toc184023872)

Figure 3‑3: Access Control Diagram for MnPass
[3-12](#__RefHeading___Toc184023873)

Figure 3‑4: MnPass Variable Message Sign
[3-16](#__RefHeading___Toc184023874)

Figure 4‑1: Enforcement equipment used in MnPass
[4-13](#__RefHeading___Toc184023875)

Figure 4‑2: Sample HOT Signage [4-16](#__RefHeading___Toc184023876)

Figure 4‑3: Sample HOT Lane Signage [4-17](#__RefHeading___Toc184023877)

Figure 5‑1: Location of Hot Lane Case Studies
[5-1](#__RefHeading___Toc184023878)

This page intentionally left blank.

# Introduction and Overview

Traffic congestion on U.S. highways serving our largest metropolitan
regions have reached unprecedented levels despite our heroic but,
ultimately, failed efforts to build more highways in response to the
nation's insatiable demand for travel.[^1] With the benefit of several
decades' worth of hindsight, the U.S. transportation policy community
has pledged a renewed commitment to attacking the urban transportation
problem through a combination of demand and system management strategies
focused on managing our existing transportation supply more effectively
and efficiently.

Some of these ideas have been around for as long as the automobile
itself. A major cornerstone of transportation system management (TSM) is
the High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lane, which was first popularized in
the U.S. during World War II as part a national fuel rationing program.
Highway agencies and toll authorities across the U.S. operate over 2,500
HOV lane miles, with approximately 2,500 more HOV lane-miles planned
over the next thirty years.

The presence of HOV lanes is an important inducement for ridesharing,
which reduces vehicle trips and, in turn, lowers traffic congestion. In
addition, HOV lanes -- by moving high occupancy vehicles -- can carry
more passengers per hour than general purpose highway lanes. Today, many
HOV facilities do in fact outperform adjacent general purpose highway
lanes in terms of person throughput, especially during peak hours of
service. By themselves, however, the extent to which HOV lanes induce
new ridesharing beyond pre-existing levels is debatable and varies from
region to region. Trip chaining, particularly family-related trip
movements, and other factors (e.g. the scarcity of potential carpool
matches) may dis-incentivize new HOV formation regardless of the
presence of viable HOV express options. When new carpool formation is
low, HOV lanes may go underutilized and do not meet expectations about
congestion relief
benefits.![](media/image4.jpeg){width="3.807638888888889in"
height="2.5819444444444444in"}

Over the past decade, the commercialization of new technologies has
created new opportunities to manage highways using age-old economic
principles. The application of these innovative concepts have
demonstrated unequivocally that congested highways can be managed more
effectively and expand user choices. These applications come in a
variety of names -- managed lanes, high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes,
Express Lanes, and smart roads. Together, they represent a growing body
of evidence suggesting that efficient and effective management of
existing highway assets is both achievable and sustainable.

The primary purpose of this document is to provide technical guidance
and recommended practices on an increasingly popular highway system
enhancement opportunity: the conversion of HOV lanes to HOT lane. The
guidebook is based on industry best practices with special consideration
given to applicable pricing techniques, planning, cost estimation and
operational requirements, including the application of supporting
Intelligent Transportation System (ITS) technologies.

## What are High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes?

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) defines managed lanes as
highway facilities, or a set of lanes, in which operational strategies
are implemented and managed (in real time) in response to changing
conditions. Managed lanes are distinguished from other traditional forms
of lane management strategies in that they are proactively implemented,
managed, and may involve using more than one operational strategy.[^2]

The HOT lanes concept is a managed lane that combines HOV with pricing
strategies to improve facility operations. Unlike HOV lanes, HOT lanes
allow single occupant vehicles (SOV) to gain access to HOT lanes if they
choose to pay the applicable toll. To maintain the "improved facility
operations" and the service benefits of a HOT lane, HOT lanes may employ
some or all operational strategies.

### HOT Lane Characteristics and Applications 

Although HOT lane operational and policy parameters may vary from
facility to facility, they share several common characteristics with
respect to system design, physical configuration, operations and
technology. FHWA's "Guide for HOT Lane Development" identifies several
major characteristics of HOT lanes:

-   HOT lanes typically are limited-access; normally barrier-separated
    highway lanes that provide free or reduced cost access to qualifying
    HOVs, and also provide access to other paying vehicles not meeting
    passenger occupancy requirements. ***(Note:*** The geometric
    limitations of the existing HOV facility are the primary reason HOV
    to HOT lane implementations are not barrier separated from the
    general purpose lanes. Instead striping or plastic delineators are
    generally used as a
    buffer.)![](media/image5.wmf){width="3.2090277777777776in"
    height="2.31875in"}

-   By using price and occupancy restrictions to manage the number of
    vehicles traveling on them, HOT lanes maintain volumes consistent
    with uncongested levels of service even during peak travel periods.

-   Most HOT lanes are created within existing general-purpose highway
    facilities and offer potential users the choice of using
    general-purpose lanes or paying for premium conditions on the HOT
    lanes.

-   HOT lanes utilize sophisticated electronic toll collection (ETC) and
    traffic information systems that also make variable, real-time toll
    pricing of non-HOV vehicles possible. Information on price levels
    and travel conditions is normally communicated to motorists via
    variable message signs (VMS), providing potential users with the
    facts they need in order to decide whether or not to utilize the HOT
    lanes or the parallel general-purpose lanes that may be congested
    during peak periods.

-   HOT lanes may be created through new capacity construction,
    conversion of existing lanes, or converting HOV lanes to HOT lanes
    with additional capacity added. Since both right of way and
    construction funds are limited, conversion of existing HOV lanes to
    HOT operation is the most common approach.

Occupancy requirements on HOV facilities are usually set at HOV 2+. HOV
2+ lanes represent approximately 95 percent of all HOV lane miles
operated in the United States. Nationally, most HOV lanes perform within
the generally accepted range of peak performance:

-   Of HOV lanes with the HOV 2+ eligibility requirement, approximately
    70 percent of he nation\'s HOV lane miles operate with peak hour
    volumes between 900 and 1,500 vehicles per hour.

-   Of the remaining 30 percent, 10 to 15 percent of HOV vehicles are
    operating with over 1,500 peak hour vehicles, and the remaining 10
    to 15 percent operate at or below 900 vehicles per hour in peak
    hours.

**Multi-lane HOV facilities that suffer chronic peak hour
underutilization (below 900 vehicles per peak hour) comprise the pool of
facilities most suitable for conversion to HOT lanes.** HOV facilities
that carry between 900 and 1,500 vehicles per peak hour generally do not
offer sufficient residual capacity to sell to SOVs without risking lower
level of service (LOS) than baseline peak conditions.[^3] Experience has
shown that raising minimum HOV access requirements to HOV+3 has had
minimal effect on HOV lane performance since the number of HOV +3s is
generally less than the number of HOV +2s that were using the HOV lanes.
This condition may in fact result in underutilization of the HOV lanes.
Additionally, with deflection of HOV +2s onto general purpose lanes, it
is very likely that prevailing traffic congestion on general purpose
lane will worsen.

Capacity is also influenced by factors such as facility geometry, the
number of access points and the number of travel lanes. Consequently,
HOT lane capacity varies from location to location. For example, a
single HOT lane will have a lower managed capacity than a HOT facility
with multiple lanes. Volumes on the Houston I-10 Katy Freeway QuickRide
-- a one lane, reversible-flow facility are kept to 1,500 vehicles/hour.
However, the 91 Express Lanes provide two managed travel lanes in each
direction and have been able to operate at acceptable conditions with
flow rates of 1,800 vehicles/hour/lane.[^4] The 91 Express Lanes expands
the toll zone in each direction to three lanes designating two lanes for
HOT and one lane for HOV+3 use. HOV+3 are required to mount transponders
in the vehicles and are charged a reduced toll rate.

#### HOT Lane Performance {#hot-lane-performance .unnumbered}

The emergence of HOT lane pricing techniques has been facilitated by the
use of ETC. These techniques can range from flat toll to dynamic by
time-of-day and offer a wide range of options for achieving greater
performance. Electronic pricing, when introduced in the appropriate
operational context, has been shown to offer a cost effective strategy
for creating and sustaining net travel time benefits. The case studies
presented in Chapter 5 describe how different electronic pricing
applications are used to maximize and maintain peak travel time savings.

It is important to be able to evaluate the performance of the HOT lane
facility against established measures of effectiveness, and estimate
travel time benefits. In Chapter 2, a more detailed discussion of system
performance and user benefits associated with HOT lanes is presented.

#### HOT Lane Benefits {#hot-lane-benefits .unnumbered}

HOT lanes are intended to provide a wide variety of benefits to multiple
user groups. When applied in conjunction with other management tools and
sensible, targeted provision of additional lane capacity, HOT lanes have
the potential to generate significant improvements in congested travel
corridors.

HOT lanes can also afford a wide range of secondary benefits, including:

-   New revenues that can be used to support the construction of the HOT
    lanes themselves or other initiatives, such as improved transit
    service or regional transportation initiatives;

-   Traffic service improvements on congested parallel highway mainline
    lanes by drawing vehicles off parallel local streets and improving
    corridor-wide mobility;

-   Performance reliability compared with general purpose lane during
    peak periods.

-   Faster highway trips for express transit services such as bus rapid
    transit (BRT);

-   Environmental advantages by providing opportunities to encourage
    carpooling, improve transit service, and move more people in fewer
    vehicles at faster speeds;

-   Increased efficiency of managed lane facilities making them
    attractive in regions that might not otherwise consider them; and,

-   Improving the utilization of HOV lanes and therefore eliminating
    potential pressure to convert under performing HOV lanes to
    general-purpose use.

## Purpose of the High Occupancy Toll Lane Guidebook

The intended audience of this document includes states' departments of
transportation (DOTs), Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs),
policy-making agencies, enforcement agencies and others having a role in
the planning, development, management, operations, monitoring,
evaluation and reporting on the performance of HOV and HOT lanes. The
objective of the guidebook, which explores the planning, design,
implementation and ongoing operations and maintenance of HOT lane
facilities converted from existing HOV lanes, is to provide:

1)  Technical guidance that will assist the state and local
    transportation planners in determining the conditions where
    conversion from HOV to HOT lanes is feasible and advisable, and

2)  comprehensive list of activities to be performed in the planning,
    implementation and operation of an HOT lane facility. Special
    attention is paid to institutional, system design and operational
    challenges that typically present themselves in the course of a
    conversion to HOT lane.

Three case studies of HOT implementations are provided in the guidebook
to further illuminate key practical insights and lessons learned that
would be of value to HOT planners. The case studies are based on
information gathered from on-site visits and a focused interview
methodology. Focused interviews were conducted with key managers at
three HOT lane projects:

1)  MnDOT's MnPass I-394 HOT lanes,

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
3)  SANDAG I-15 Express and HOT lanes, and

4)  CDOT's I-25 Express Lanes.

## Study Approach/Methodology

The approach and methodology used in developing the Guidebook included:

-   Establishing a project development framework that advances the HOT
    conversion project from concept to implementation;

-   Employing a combination of formal interviews with recognized
    industry experts and selected agencies with experience in the
    implementation of both managed and HOT lanes;

-   Conducting on-site focused interviews that inform three "case
    studies" of functioning HOT lanes; and,

-   Conducting a literature review of current industry practices.

The research and case studies focused on all elements of project
implementation, including items such as planning, design, pricing
strategies, construction, operational requirements, and the integration
of ITS with the HOT lane application.

This page intentionally left blank.

# High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Policy and Planning

## Baseline Performance Framework for High Occupancy Vehicle Lanes

Minimum occupancy requirements for the HOV lanes should be set to avoid
both underutilization and overcrowding of the HOV lanes. The primary
benefit of adding an HOV lane is that total highway capacity is
increased, causing preexisting HOVs to divert onto the new HOV lane and
allowing Single Occupant Vehicle (SOVs) to share highway mainlines with
fewer vehicles. After this initial shift in lane utilization, the
resulting travel time differential between the HOV lane and highway
mainline lanes could induce secondary shifts (second order changes) from
SOV to HOV up to the point where service levels in the HOV lanes are
impacted.

Research on HOV lanes (Dahlgren 1995) suggests that approximately 20
percent of the existing vehicles on a three-lane highway must be HOVs
for an HOV lane addition to be effective and still offer enough of a
travel time savings incentive to induce ridesharing. If enough travelers
shift from SOV to HOV, congestion on HOV lanes can erode the travel time
differential, thereby dampening the incentive needed to promote further
shifts to HOV in the long term. In cases where the pre-existing HOV
share is high, HOV lanes can suffer from periodic traffic congestion
during the busiest times of day. Ultimately, HOV priority treatment may
contain a self-limiting threshold both in very high congestion and no
congestion conditions beyond which there are limited incentives to
rideshare.

HOV lane performance studies typically collect peak vehicle and
passenger counts for HOV lanes and highway mainline lanes and obtain
average travel speed and travel time data. HOV lanes can average three
to 20 times the person movement of highway mainline lanes during peak
hours. If HOV lanes that carry more peak passengers than comparable
highway mainline lanes and maintain peak hour volumes between 800 --
1,000 vehicles per lane per hour are determined to be an effective
system management strategy.

Many HOV lanes throughout the country, under existing HOV priority
allowances, achieve performance consistent with those outlined in FHWA
HOV Lane Performance Guidelines. The remainder of HOV lanes currently in
operation suffers from mild to severe underutilization or overcrowding
or both, depending of prevailing traffic conditions. It is this subset
of HOV facilities that represent the pool of potentially feasible HOT
conversion projects.

## Understanding the Effects of Converting an HOV Lane to HOT Lane

The conversion of an HOV lane to HOT lane results in both operational
and behavioral shifts. These shifts must produce a combined positive net
benefit to users in order for the conversion from HOV lane to HOT lane
to be deemed worthwhile. The purpose of this section is to describe the
possible behavioral effects resulting from the conversion of an HOV lane
to HOT lane that should be considering in evaluating and planning.

As discussed above, the primary operational effect caused by the
conversion to HOT lane is that Low Occupancy Vehicles (LOVs)[^5] who now
pay to use the HOT lane will gain travel time savings. Converting an HOV
lane to HOT results in overall delay reduction for LOVs both for those
remaining in the highway mainline lanes and those that buy into the HOT
lane. Pricing optimization techniques enable the HOT lane operator to
maximize travel time savings differential between HOT lane and highway
mainline lanes through the day. The ability to achieve and sustain
travel time savings is generally considered one of the most important
operational differences between HOV lanes and HOT lanes.

Figure 2-1 provides a diagrammatic overview of the various effects of
converting an existing HOV lane to HOT lane.

![](media/image6.wmf){width="5.497916666666667in"
height="2.6694444444444443in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023868 .anchor}Figure 2‑1: Effects From
Converting to HOT lanes

### Shifts from HOV to LOV and from LOV to HOV

After an existing HOV lane is converted to HOT lane, the LOV toll buy-in
feature will induce some additional shifts from HOV to LOV. Before the
HOV lane was converted to HOT lane, all motorists who could be induced
to shift to HOV presumably had already done so. Converting the HOV lane
to HOT lane is unlikely to increase or even maintain existing levels of
rider sharing. HOVs that are made better off by disbanding the HOV in
favor of paying for HOT lane service as an LOV will shift from HOV to
LOV. Likewise, some travelers will disband HOVs simply because the
diversion of LOVs onto the HOT lane will cause enough highway mainline
delay reduction to make HOV travel no longer worthwhile.

### Shifts from other Routes and Times

The travel time reduction on highway mainline lanes and the presence of
a HOT lane will induce some secondary behavioral shifts:

-   From alternative routes to the subject highway

-   From off-peak to peak, which is not less congested

With reduced delay on highway mainline lanes, LOVs that had that had
previously shifted to alternative routes to save time will return to the
highway via mainline lane use or HOT lane. With reduced delay on the
highway, both HOVs and LOVs that had previously shifted to alternative
routes to save time will return to the highway. Both groups are better
off.

### Second-order Effects and Long-Run Equilibrium

The marginal shifts from other times of day and routes, coupled with
additional trips stimulated by the reduction in peak highway delay, will
gradually result in increases in highway volumes, thereby offsetting
some of the delay reductions caused by opening HOT lane service to
toll-paying LOVs. Patterns will evolve toward a long-term equilibrium in
which the relative costs and benefits of HOT lanes and highway mainline
lanes are no longer sufficient to motivate further shifts from HOV to
LOV. Patterns will also be stabilized to the point where additional
shifts to and from other times and routes are no longer induced.

## Key Planning and Policy Criteria

The purpose of this section is to describe the HOT lane project
screening criteria, and identify opportunities where HOT lanes may be
the most effective means of addressing a critical mobility need.

As discussed in Chapter 1, HOV lanes can be classified in terms of their
average peak hour performance. HOV lanes that experience chronic
underutilization (below 700 vehicles per lane per peak hour) generally
comprise the pool of potential candidates' conversions to HOT lane. In
these cases, the presence of an optimal toll set to maintain a minimum
operating standard on the HOT lane will divert LOVs onto the HOT lane.
Underutilized HOV lanes are considered the best candidates for
conversion because : a) no additional lane capacity needs to be added to
the existing operating envelope, and b) the minimum vehicle occupancy
requirement does not have to be adjusted.

HOV lanes that experience chronic peak hour congestion also reflect a
mismatch between existing travel demand and lane capacity, and merit
some type of policy treatment to address recurring operational
shortcomings. However, all congested HOV lanes are not necessarily
appropriate candidates for conversion to HOT lanes. In cases where there
is potential excess lane capacity and there is no operational
justification for adding a second HOV lane to an existing one-lane HOV
facility, conversion to a two-lane HOT facility may achieve optimal
operational conditions that cannot be duplicated by a two-lane HOV lane
facility.[^6] (In other words, LOVs can occupy some of the otherwise
under-utilized lane capacity).

Based on considerations such as those described above, the planning
process should address a number of questions to determine how
effectively a potential HOT conversion project addresses a current unmet
transportation need. These include:

-   Is there sufficient excess peak capacity to allow SOV toll buy-ins
    on an existing HOV lane without the need to expand lane capacity?
    The feasibility of a potential conversion project depends in large
    part to the amount of excess capacity that can be sold to SOVs. If
    there is abundant excess capacity on the existing HOV lane and
    traffic congestion on highway mainlines is moderate, it may be
    feasible to attract just enough SOVs onto the HOT lane through
    optimally priced dynamic tolling without necessitating any change in
    HOV toll exemption policies. In Chapter 6 Case Studies, further
    discussion is devoted to factors that result in a change in HOV toll
    exemption policies in place.

-   If there isn't enough excess peak capacity in the existing HOV
    lane(s) to allow for SOV tolling, is there additional capacity that
    can be added to the existing HOV facility as part of an HOT
    conversion project? Many HOV lanes are only one-lane facilities with
    either limited or no barrier separation from highway mainline lanes.
    In cases where the potential market for premium HOT-lane service is
    large and mainline lanes suffer from severe to extreme peak
    congestion, it may be necessary to: 1) change the HOV exemption from
    HOV 2+ to HOV3+ or higher, 2) add a second HOT lane, or 3) do both.

-   If changing the HOV exemption from HOV-2+ to HOV-3+ or higher is
    necessary, will it result in behavioral shifts that undermine the
    mobility improvement objective? The existing HOV eligibility status
    in the HOV exemption policy should be preserved in the HOT lane
    context whenever possible. In many instances, however, preserving
    the current HOV exemption may not free up enough capacity to auction
    to LOVs willing to pay a toll for premium HOT lane service. If the
    exemption is increased from HOV-2 to HOV-3+, the magnitude of HOV-2s
    that disband may offset any increases in carpooling motivated by the
    presence of tolling. Should the ultimate effect be a net reduction
    in HOVs and a net increase in LOVs, this may undermine one of the
    key objectives underlying the HOT lane concept, which is to promote
    trip reduction corridor-wide.

-   Are there any unique operational and physical characteristics of the
    existing HOV lane facility that will require major reconfiguration?
    Not every HOV lane, under its current operating configuration can be
    readily converted to HOT without some significant physical
    improvements to the existing facility envelope. In addition
    improvements to the to limiting ingress and egress into the HOT
    facility, it may be necessary to modify lane configurations both at
    the entry and exit points of the HOT facility to minimize queuing
    behind bottleneck locations. The facility may also have to
    accommodate additional equipment including location of variable toll
    message signs (VTMS) and electronic toll collection equipment and
    supporting gantries and cabinets, and maintenance areas and
    enforcement envelopes.

### Legal and Institutional Challenges

While there is growing interest in HOT lanes among local, state and
federal transportation officials, there remain significant legislative
and institutional barriers to widespread HOT lane implementation. Prior
to the enactment of *Safe, Accountable, Flexible, and Efficient
Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)*, states were
expressly prohibited from converting federal-aid highways and
Interstates into toll facilities.

However, that policy was modified under *SAFETEA-LU* Pub. L. 109-59,
August 10, 2005 to allow States and qualifying transportation agencies
to use Federal funds for toll facility applications. Congress enabled
three new exceptions, and modified one existing exception, to Title 23
of the United States Code, Section 301, which otherwise generally
prohibits the imposition of tolls on facilities that use Federal funds.

Through the applicable program States and qualifying transportation
agencies may, with the execution of a toll agreement under Section 129
(a)(3), use Federal-aid funds for either the construction of or
improvements to a toll facility or to the approach to a toll facility;
or, for the reconstruction or conversion of a free highway, bridge or
tunnel previously constructed with Federal-aid funds to a toll facility
thus enabling conversion of HOV lanes to HOT lanes.

Specifically related to the conversion of HOV to HOT lanes, Section 1121
of SAFETEA-LU replaces Section 102(a) of Title 23 of the United States
Code (23 U.S.C.) with a new Section 166 that clarifies some aspects of
the operation of HOV facilities and provides more exceptions to the
vehicle occupancy requirements for HOV facilities. It also authorizes
states to create HOT lanes and allows states to charge tolls to vehicles
that do not meet the established occupancy requirements to use an HOV
lane if the state establishes a program that addresses the selection of
certified vehicles and procedures for enforcing the restrictions. Tolls
under this section may be charged on both Interstate and non-Interstate
facilities. There is no limit on the number of projects or the number of
states that can participate.

### Building Support for HOT Lanes

Perhaps the biggest barrier to wider HOT lane implementation is public
opposition. Recent experience demonstrates that HOT conversion projects
are feasible from an operational and technological standpoint. With the
mainstreaming of HOT lanes on the state and federal level, the public
become increasingly familiar with the HOT lane concept, and the benefits
these facilities offer in terms of congestion relief. Today, they are
not as controversial as they once were. However, HOT lane conversion
projects -- because they include a tolling component -- often raise
spirited opposition based on equity and fairness concerns. Yet HOT lanes
still provide access for HOV users as well as providing both HOV and
non-HOV users with an option, or another travel choice.

With the increased federal support for tolling initiatives, states and
metropolitan regions throughout the country have looked closely at their
highway assets for opportunities to improve mobility via
facility-specific electronic tolling or 'smart road' applications. In
states like California, Texas, Utah, Minnesota, Colorado and Washington,
HOT lanes have been folded into statewide and regional transportation
management plans that place increasing emphasis on system management
objectives.

Over the past decade, public acceptance of electronic tolling
applications on urban highways has increased, with the maturation of
landmark projects like the 91 Express Lanes in Orange County, CA and the
I-15 Express Lanes in San Diego, CA. Today, these facilities are
commonly accepted by the public as critical elements of the region's
transportation system.

A common thread in every successful HOT conversion project is the
execution of a coordinated effort to convey the justification for and
benefits of the project and address public concerns about the
implementation and ongoing operation of the project. It is important to
note that the success of an HOT lane implementation should be measured
by public acceptance as well as the ability to provide added capacity,
and potentially additional revenues to support enhanced maintenance
support and regional mobility objective. Public consensus for the
planned project requires strong public involvement program throughout
the life of the project, especially from the early planning stages.

#### Public Outreach Strategies {#public-outreach-strategies .unnumbered}

Project sponsors that manage inclusive, responsive and effective
outreach to stakeholders establish their own legitimacy and the
legitimacy of the technical analyses, decision-making, and public
processes that support project implementation.[^7] Establishing
transportation taskforces and technical committees consisting of
business, community members, and elected officials is a proven key to
successful implementation for managed lane projects. For example, the
QuickRide Program in Houston over individuals participated in 14 public
meetings which helped bring forward issues such as access points and
directional flow. In addition, having a strong public champion is a
critical element in lending credibility to the outreach process and
influencing key decision makers who may initially oppose HOT conversion
projects without a clear understanding of potential project mitigations.

![](media/image7.wmf){width="5.249305555555556in"
height="3.7472222222222222in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023869 .anchor}Figure 2‑2: Public Outreach
Model Used at MnPass

SANDAG as well as MnDOT (MnPass) began public outreach programs very
early in the project planning. SANDAG conducted stakeholder interviews,
established a program of continuing surveys with both stakeholder and
the public and held numerous public forums through implementation.
MnPass created a local taskforce, the I-394 Express Lane Community
Taskforce, at the outset of the program to address issues, desires, and
design options. In addition they also held continuing public forums to
keep the public informed and to address relative issues.

### Application of Project Development Approach

Figure 2-2 provides an overview of the multiple phases involved in the
project development of the conversion of an HOV lane to HOT lane.
Following an initial assessment of conversion feasibility and the
decision to investigate the HOT lane conversion further, the conceptual
framework for the HOT lane project is then developed and refined. The
conceptual refinement stage evaluates various system design
alternatives, and eventually recommends a preferred alternative.

![](media/image8.wmf){width="4.404861111111111in"
height="3.7805555555555554in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023870 .anchor}Figure 2‑3: Sketch Development
Approach

The third phase identified in Figure 2-3 -- Program & System Design --
focuses on clarifying the design, operational and technological elements
of the HOT lane conversion project. The fourth phase of the project
involves developing the operational requirements of the system. The
project sponsor, most likely the state DOT, will complete detailed
engineering and design studies for the recommended alternative and
develop the design specifications for the HOT lane project. The fifth
phase involves the preparation of procurement documents for the
construction of the HOT lane project and the selection of a contractor
through a competitive solicitation process.

### Unique Project Risks/Challenges

While there are a significant number of technical, policy and public
issues that provide both risks and challenges for the successful
implementation, the success of an HOT implementation is the ability to
meet stated program goals. These goals must have community support early
on in the planning process, and the development of the project must be
consistent with the public's expectations. In addition to public
acceptance, there are a number of other critical hurdles that must be
addressed in a successful implementation.

***A risk mitigation plan*** is an important element of a successful HOT
Lanes project. Risks should be outlined as a part of the alternatives
analysis described above and used for evaluation of alternatives. Then,
as the project moves through design and construction a risk management
plan should be developed and periodically updated. The plan should
identify all risks associated with the project, the degree of impact
should the risk occur and the likelihood of that risk occurring.
Examples of categories of these risks are schedule, technology,
operating, public acceptance and environmental. Within these categories
numerous sub-categories specific to the project can be identified and
therefore mitigated.

All HOT implementations must address the following areas to minimize
potential areas of risk:

-   **Strong Interagency Support** -- Creating a strong public campaign
    that explains intended benefits and outcomes is critical to
    advancing a HOT conversion project from the earliest planning
    through project construction implementation to promote understanding
    and support for the project. There must also be:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   Strong support from local, regional and state transportation
    officials and State Legislature,

-   Strong Project Champion -- Having a dynamic and respected public
    official publicly support and advance HOT lanes is critical to
    winning public support and can often accelerate the public outreach
    timeline.

-   Strong support from the Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO),
    with HOT lanes identified in Regional Transportation Planning
    documents,

-   Strong local sponsor, typically a regional transportation agency
    with highway management and operations responsibilities.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **Defining Program Objectives** -- HOT conversion projects must
    identify program objectives clearly from the outset, because the
    program objectives influence both project financing and potential
    for public/private partnership (PPPs). The program objectives should
    be realistic and defensible.

-   **Traffic Forecasting** -- It is critical that traffic forecasts are
    rigorous and conservative in testing the program alternatives, as
    these projections serve as input into potential revenue bonding and
    other project financing mechanisms.

-   **Capital and Operating Cost Forecasting** **-** It is also critical
    that estimates for the initial capital costs and ongoing operating
    costs are conservative and realistic, as these factors in
    combination with traffic forecasting, will determine the basic
    economic viability of the project.

-   **Project Financing** -- Some HOT conversion projects will be
    financed entirely with state and local funds, with some federal
    matching support. Others may be viable as investor-owned utilities
    underwritten by private investment. The financing arrangement may
    present risks to both the public and investors if project rates of
    return are lower than expected, and debt cannot be adequately
    serviced.

-   **Procurement** -- There are both financial and schedule risks
    associated with traditional versus more innovative procurement
    strategies; development of solid ETC system specifications and
    selection of a vendor (system integrator) is critical to the success
    of the project.

-   **Achieving Operational Goals** -- The HOT lanes can only be
    successful if they provide consistent and reliable Level-of-Service
    (although some degradation in LOS may occur from time to time). If
    the customer doesn't get value (i.e. travel time savings)
    commensurate with the toll charge, then public trust in the HOT
    lanes will erode and the system will fail.

-   **Establishing the Right Operating Model** -- It is critical that
    operating framework for the HOT conversion project reflect the
    program objectives. As further described in our case studies, (see
    MnPass) the operation and pricing strategies must be feasible,
    reasonable, and compatible with the program objectives.

-   **System Design** **Consideration** -- Creating a toll facility
    within an existing highway requires attention to all system design
    considerations including facility operations. Desired operational
    characteristics must be considered during both the planning and
    design phase of implementation so that the facility design is
    operationally functional. Where possible design should be flexible
    to allow for changes in operational policies. Modes of operation
    such as two-way flow, reversible flow and contra-flow, incident
    management and allowed vehicle types allowed affect the geometric
    configuration. In addition to the operational considerations that
    impact design consideration other design considerations are listed
    in Section 2.4.

## Project Financing

Substantial resources are required to plan, design, construct, operate
and manage a HOT facility. The method of financing selected for a given
HOT lane conversion project can involve both public and/or private
funding sources. Based on recent experience, HOT project financing
typically rely on traditional sources of public funds (e.g., fuel tax
revenues), with some opportunities to leverage federal grant support. In
a few unique cases, HOT lane conversion projects may be suitable for
some form of revenue bonding or the sale of a private concession to
construct, operate and maintain the facility. This section describes how
HOT program goals influence both the method of project financing and,
ultimately, the operating model chosen for the HOT lane.

Project funds for transportation capital expansion and facility upgrades
are traditionally allocated by state DOTs or other local agencies
according to the goals of long-range plans and the availability of
programmable funds. Because HOT lanes generate revenues, however, they
need not necessarily rely on allocation of total project funding through
the traditional planning and programming processes. Instead, agencies
can take advantage of innovative financing mechanisms such as revenue
bonding and private concessions in order to accelerate HOT conversion
projects.

Revenue bonding for HOT lanes is similar to revenue bonding for other
tolled transportation facilities. Under revenue bonding, a government
agency issues bonds backed by future facility-generated revenues.
Although revenue bonds typically carry higher interest rates than
municipal bonds (which are guaranteed by more stable general tax
revenues), they allow agencies to generate the capital necessary to
implement projects quickly. Once the project is completed, the HOT lane
revenues are, at least in part, dedicated to fulfilling obligations to
the bondholders.

A second potential project financing mechanism is private concessions.
Under the private concession model, a transportation agency leases the
HOV facility to a private operator, sometimes in exchange for an
up-front fee. The private operator is then responsible for any or all of
the planning, design, construction, and operation aspects of the HOT
conversion project. This arrangement makes most sense when the private
operator is granted a contract to operate the facility and collect
revenues for some fixed time frame, such as 30 or 50 years, beyond
project completion. Benefits to the transportation agency include a
transfer of project responsibility and risk as well as outsourcing of
project activities (e.g., design and construction) to the private
concessionaire. The concessionaire, on the other hand, must produce
financial resources to complete the project, but is compensated by
keeping a share of the revenues generated by the HOT facility once it
opens.

On the other hand, revenue bonding may be sufficient to generate the
capital necessary to complete the project in a reasonable and expedient
time frame, in which case a private concession may not be desirable.

Regardless of the arrangement for financing the conversion project, HOT
lanes will generate revenues, which accrue to either the operating
agency or to the private concessionaire. In almost all cases, some
proportion of the revenues generated will be dedicated to operating the
HOT facility. Operations costs include lane management, toll collection
and administration, enforcement, service patrols and incident
management, basic infrastructure maintenance, back-office support, and
perhaps facility depreciation (these activities are discussed in Chapter
4). Under a private concession or revenue bonding financial arrangement,
the next obligation for generated revenues is to the debt and/or equity
investors. Finally, once the obligations to all stakeholders are
fulfilled, there is reasonable expectation that the operating agency or
concessionaire may generate excess revenues from the HOT lane operation.

The allocation of excess revenues, should they materialize, depends on
the goals and objectives determined by the operating agency prior to
project initiation. Revenues can be dedicated for improvements to the
HOT facility itself, applied to the entire HOT corridor, or distributed
regionally to other corridors and/or other travel modes such as mass
transit. In some instances, agencies may even determine appropriate uses
outside of the transportation arena.

Regardless of whether excess revenues materialize, the success of HOT
conversion hinges on the ability of any particular project to meet two
requirements. First, revenues should support the maintenance and
operation of the HOT facility. Secondly, revenues should be sufficient
to meet financial obligations to project investors. Consequently,
accurate project cost estimates and realistic revenue forecasts are
essential to the financial success of a conversion project.

This page intentionally left blank

# HOT Lane Implementation & Design

The previous chapters addressed issues related to the planning, design
and operational considerations when converting existing HOV lanes to HOT
lanes. This chapter is intended as guide to all aspects of the
implementation phase from project organization, procurement and
financing through construction.

![](media/image9.wmf){width="5.682638888888889in"
height="2.564583333333333in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023871 .anchor}Figure 3‑4: Stages of HOT Lane
Project Development

The remainder of this section discusses the various elements of the key
stages of project development necessary to convert an existing HOV lane
facility to HOT lane.

## Organization and Management

### Participation

There are several transportation organizations that can successfully
plan, build, operate and manage an HOT lane program. The specific
organizational and management structure may differ based on a variety of
factors: state enabling legislation, asset ownership, project financing
(e.g., revenue bond or general funds), and the role of the state DOT,
regional planning organizations (RPOs) and metropolitan planning
organizations (MPOs) in the region. It is important to identify the
players involved in the HOT lane implementation process and describe
their roles and responsibilities. In addition, it is important to
establish an interagency framework that enables their participation.

Described below are entities that should be involved in the planning and
implementation of the program:

-   **Owner:** agency that legally owns the HOT facility and right of
    way, usually the state Department of Transportation (DOT).

-   **Sponsor**: the agency with responsibility for overall project
    planning, design and implementation (Note: the sponsor can be the
    same as the owner but may be a separate transportation agency).

-   **Operator**: the organization responsible for the operations and
    management of the HOT lane facility (Note: the operator can be the
    same as the owner and sponsor but may be a different organization).

-   **Interfacing organizations and institutions**: There are several
    other agencies, including those involved in the development,
    implementation and operation of the HOT lanes. Examples are:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   *Emergency Services and Incident Management*: The HOT lane system
    will need to interface to these services and coordinate provision of
    incident management and emergency management services. Decisions
    must be made on which entities are responsible for control of lanes
    in emergency and incident situations and protocols and interfaces
    must be established.

-   *511 and other information services*, including Web based links to
    regional traffic information. Traveler information should be
    provided on a local and regional basis on the HOT lane operation.

-   *State DOTs* who may govern policy and in some cases own or operate
    the roadway or intersecting roadways.

-   *Intersecting roadways* - There will be temporary impacts to these
    roadways during construction and more permanent impacts due to
    changes in traffic patterns resulting from the HOT lanes that need
    to be coordinated with intersecting roadways. Also, advanced signage
    for the HOT lanes will need to be placed on these roadways.

-   *Regional Interoperability Groups* - As discussed below, depending
    upon the state or region in which the planned HOT lane is located,
    the Sponsor will most likely need to work with the regional group
    (e.g., SunPass, E-ZPass, CTOC) in order to use a transponder
    technology that has regional penetration.

-   *MPOs and RPOs* -- These organizations may be involved only in
    elements of planning in some cases and in other cases may take a
    more active role in the regional implementation of HOT lanes and
    related programs.

-   *Stakeholders* -- Stakeholders including local, regional and state
    government agencies, interested parties and the general public must
    be considered at appropriate points in the implementation.

### Organization and Management Plan

Early in the planning and implementation process, it is strongly
recommended that the interim sponsoring agency establish an organization
and management plan. At a minimum, the organization and management plan
should identify:

-   Roles and responsibilities;

-   A detailed responsibility matrix that clearly identifies each
    element of work and varying responsibilities associated with that
    work element (e.g., who has direct responsibility, support
    responsibility etc...);

-   An overall program schedule (developed under this process or another
    related process); and,

-   A communication and meeting plan to establish how the project team
    will interact, obtain consensus and approvals and what types and
    frequencies of meetings can be expected.

This plan will evolve and should be updated periodically as the project
moves toward implementation. In order to ensure transparency, the
organization and management plan should be reviewed and approved by each
of the entities directly involved in the project.

## Public Private Partnerships (PPPs)

Over the past several years, public private partnerships have become an
increasingly intriguing method of introducing new highway capacity when
and where conditions are suitable for these innovative but sometimes
controversial arrangements. While most PPPs have emerged in the context
of traditional expressway projects, there are a number of PPPs either in
place or planned in niche transportation markets involving Express Lanes
and HOT lanes.

It is important to develop clear lines of responsibility for the PPP
entity and the public entity, or DOT, especially in regard to
operational and maintenance decisions on the HOT lanes or the general
purpose lanes that have an operational impact on the other facility.

![](media/image10.wmf){width="6.499305555555556in"
height="2.988888888888889in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023872 .anchor}Figure 3‑5: Benefits vs. Risks

The decision to proceed with a PPP requires consensus at the highest
levels in state government on program objectives, tolerance to financial
risk and benefits to the public interest. States such as California have
tested the PPP waters by authorizing the California Department of
Transportation (Caltrans) to enter into franchise agreements with
private companies to operate and maintain private toll roads. Other
states struggling with traffic congestion have also investigated private
toll roads as a means of addressing expanding roadway capacity through
private toll roads.

## Procurement Strategies

Once the concept of operations is defined and operational requirements
are established, the sponsoring agency must develop a procurement
strategy through which the components of the HOT lane system are
acquired. Given the time frame required for most HOT lane procurements,
this decision should be made no later than approximately two-and-a-half
to three years prior to the planned live date for reasons described in
more detail below.

## Procurement Options

There are two major elements of the HOT lane system that will be
procured: 1) roadway-related work, and 2) the electronic toll collection
(ETC) system. For several important reasons, the two elements should not
necessarily be procured using the same strategy:

-   **Roadway Work**. Improving the roadway involves civil work such as
    widening, paving and surfacing, gantry installation and electrical
    work, including power and communications to the ETC and variable
    message sign (VMS) equipment. Much of this work lends itself to
    competitive bidding on a low price basis from qualified bidders.
    There are two procurement options for roadway work:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **Design-Bid-Build**. Under this option, the sponsoring agency
    provides all of the roadway design detail and puts the package out
    for bid on a low bid basis.

-   **Design-Build.** Here, the sponsoring agency develops preliminary
    designs and then puts the package out for bid to a design-build
    team. (Note: this procurement option may lend itself to the RFP
    process discussed in the next bullet in order to facilitate an
    evaluation of the design/build team's overall design capabilities
    and concepts).

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   **ETC Systems Work**. ETC work involves designing (including
    developing and integrating), installing and potentially maintaining
    and operating an ETC system, including software and communications
    to the lane equipment and critical back office operations. Because
    the ETC work is highly specialized, it does not lend itself to a
    selection solely on a low bid basis.

A request for proposal (RFP) is the recommended approach to ensure that
the selection of the system integrator considers all critical factors
including technical solution, team qualifications and experience and
price. As mentioned above, the scope of the ETC procurement can be
limited to design and installation of the ETC system or it can cover all
aspects of operations as well. There are three basic models to consider
in the ETC system integrator procurement:

-   **Design-Build.** The System Integrator designs, builds and installs
    the system and then turns it over to the Sponsor, who then hires a
    separate entity to maintain the system (or use in-house resources).
    The Sponsor will also have to a separate agreement with a Customer
    Service Center (CSC) operator to process the transactions and bill
    customers and handle violations. The sponsoring agency can obtain
    these services through a separate RFP or can make an agreement with
    another agency to "piggyback" on their existing customer service
    center operations.

-   **Design-Build-Maintain.** Where the System Integrator not only
    designs, builds and installs the ETC system, but also maintains the
    system for fixed period of time, for example, five years. Here, the
    sponsoring agency would again have a separate agreement for CSC
    operations or could operate the CSC.

-   **Design-Build-Operate-Maintain.** The System Integrator is
    completely responsible for all aspects of HOT lane implementation
    and operations, including maintenance and CSC operations for an
    agreed to period of time.

If the sponsoring agency does not have experience maintaining ETC
systems, it is recommended that the Sponsor use a design-build-maintain
RFP. Whether the sponsor agency also chooses to include CSC operations
in the RFP depends on a number of factors such as the availability and
cost effectiveness of using an existing CSC of another agency and the
desire to separately procure CSC operations through a separate RFP.

### Procurement Sequencing

The proper sequencing of roadway infrastructure and ETC procurements is
critical to project success. Specifically, it is desirable to have the
System Integrator in place prior to the completion of the roadway design
package. *This will enable the System Integrator to have input into the
placement, type and number of ETC equipment gantries, communications
infrastructure requirement, placement and types of equipment cabinets,
and roadway issues related to any in-road ETC equipment.* This will
minimize change orders to both the roadway contract and the ETC
contract. As the roadway improvements are constructed, the System
Integrator can work with the Sponsoring Agency to complete the system
design and development, which typically takes approximately 12 months.

## Procurement, Implementation and Construction Issues

A prerequisite to initial and long-term success of a HOT lane
implementation is proper management of all stages of project development
(from procurement through construction and final testing). The project
development process must be viewed as a unified process, with multiple
interdependent links. Several key guidelines should be kept in mind
while planning the ETC construction process:

-   **A detailed design, implementation and construction schedule should
    be stated in the RFP.** The schedule should be refined prior to
    notice-to-proceed (NTP) and updated regularly throughout the design
    and installation process. The schedule must also recognize all of
    the key design, testing and installation elements and consider
    coordination with roadway design and construction.

-   **The RFP should require the System Integrator to prepare a
    transition plan.** The transition plan, which will be refined in the
    design process, should clearly identify a timeline for the
    construction and transition of the HOV lanes to HOT lanes.

-   **Construction planning, staging and project costs must accommodate
    maintenance and protection of traffic.** Performing work on an
    existing roadway with live traffic operations is a major challenge,
    and plans to mitigate the impact of construction on parallel roadway
    operations must be developed.

-   **The RFP should include rigorous performance standards for the
    installed equipment and the overall system.** It is recommended that
    the RFP be developed as a performance-based document rather than an
    equipment specification. The RFP should specify rigorous performance
    standards, which place the burden of designing a system to meets
    those requirements squarely on the System Integrator.

-   **Include sufficient time for testing in factory, on-site pre-live
    and live acceptance testing in the RFP.** The system should not be
    considered complete until a live acceptance test for a period of 30
    to 60 consecutive days verifies system operation.

## HOT Lane System Design

Creating a toll facility within an existing highway requires attention
to system design considerations, which must be evaluated on its
potential impact within a corridor or region. A feasibility study
assists in the developing support for the venture and provides the basis
for developing a project design plan.

The design plan for the implementation of a specific HOV system
conversion is generally developed from a corridor study that provides
feasible alternatives for consideration. It most likely will be
corridor-specific, or applicable to a network of lanes on several
corridors, depending on the specified problem and demand
characteristics. Regional consistency is desirable, and many areas (e.g.
Los Angeles, Seattle, and Atlanta) have implemented systems where most
facilities operate in the same manner and appear consistent to the user.

### Geometric Requirements

HOT lanes may involve single or double lanes operated on a
reversible-flow basis or one or two lanes providing continual service in
each direction, or multiple lanes that can operate concurrently. An
example of the latter is the planned SANDAG I-15 Managed Lanes which
will comprise four lanes which can operate on a concurrent flow basis
such as 2/2 or 3/1. However, in order to maintain premium traffic
service levels and discourage toll violations, HOT lanes generally
require access control along with effective enforcement. Additionally
the physical configuration of HOT lanes and accesses to the HOT lanes
should minimize excessive weaving between highway mainlines.

![](media/image11.wmf){width="4.188888888888889in"
height="2.292361111111111in"}

Barrier separation on 2-lane reversible I-15 Express Lanes

Guidelines from AASHTO, TxDOT, Caltrans and FHWA provide varying design
standards for implementing managed lane facilities. For example, for
total clear width for a single-lane barrier separated reversible lane,
AASHTO advises 20-22 feet, TxDOT suggests 20-26 feet, Caltrans suggests
27 feet and FHWA recommends 20-32 feet for HOT lanes.[^8] In the absence
of HOT design standards, highway design standards and guidelines
pertaining to HOV lanes are often applied to HOT lanes. Since express
lanes are essentially HOT lanes with all traffic being tolled, these
design standards are also compatible for implementing express lanes.

Table 3-1 provides the recommended cross-section standards for HOT
lanes, or tolled managed lanes, as recommended by the FHWA.

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023863 .anchor}Table 3‑1: Managed Lane
Cross-section Standards

+------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
| **Cross-section**      | **Element Standard**                        |
+========================+=============================================+
| Lane Width             | -   12 feet, 3.6 meters                     |
+------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
| Shoulder Width (Right  | -   10 feet, 3.0 meters preferable 2 feet,  |
| and Left)              |     0.6 meters minimum (dependent on number |
|                        |     of lanes, type of operation, sight      |
|                        |     distance).                              |
+------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
| Separation (Buffer)    | -   4 feet, 1.2 meters.                     |
| Width for non-barrier  |                                             |
| separated operation    |                                             |
+------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
| Sight Distance         | -   Standard stopping sight distance for    |
|                        |     facility type                           |
+------------------------+---------------------------------------------+
| Safety Considerations  | -   Crash attenuation for exposed barrier   |
|                        |     ends                                    |
|                        |                                             |
|                        | -   Transition treatments with HOV or       |
|                        |     general-purpose lanes                   |
|                        |                                             |
|                        | -   Adequate access opening lengths         |
+------------------------+---------------------------------------------+

As the national guidance for HOV facilities, AASHTO's ranges establish
the minimum values for state DOT's. Development of Express Lane or HOT
facilities by various DOTs are typically based on shoulder widths and
controlling project parameters anticipated at the time project design
guidelines were established.

Because right-of-way availability varies from one location to another
there are various design standards to consider for separating HOT lane
traffic from the general purpose lanes. In addition there may also be
situations where deviations from recommended design standards may have
to be considered because of additional corridor constraints. Geometrics
for managed lane facilities can be divided into four general
categories.[^9]

Table 3-2 provides a summary of the physical design options that may be
implemented and the benefits and issues that may be associated with each
type.

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023864 .anchor}Table 3‑2: Operational Impacts
of Physical Design Options

+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| **Physical Design Options**    |                                     |
+================================+=====================================+
| **Concrete Barrier**           | **Flexible Delineators (Pylons)**   |
|                                |                                     |
| **Benefits:**                  | **Benefits:**                       |
|                                |                                     |
| -   Reversible lane concept    | -   Inexpensive and achieves        |
|                                |     visible separation              |
| -   Safety from general        |                                     |
|     purpose lanes              | -   Easy removal                    |
|                                |                                     |
| -   Easier to enforce          | -   Have a way out                  |
|     compliance                 |                                     |
|                                | **Issues:**                         |
| **Issues:**                    |                                     |
|                                | -   Frequent maintenance /          |
| -   Users have feeling of      |     replacement                     |
|     confinement                |                                     |
|                                | -   Safety due to vehicles able to  |
| -   No way out during          |     drive through delineators       |
|     accidents unless removable |                                     |
|     rail or gates are          | -   Possible flying hazard when hit |
|     installed                  |     by vehicles at speed            |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| **Buffer Separated**           | > **Non-Buffer Separated (Pavement  |
|                                | > Markings)**                       |
| **Benefits:**                  |                                     |
|                                | **Benefits:**                       |
| -   Inexpensive                |                                     |
|                                | -   Inexpensive                     |
| -   Vehicles have a way out    |                                     |
|                                | -   Vehicles have a way out         |
| -   Easy removal               |                                     |
|                                | -   Easy removal                    |
| -   Easy to install            |                                     |
|                                | -   Easy to install                 |
| **Issues:**                    |                                     |
|                                | **Issues:**                         |
| -   Safety due to vehicles     |                                     |
|     cutting in and out         | -   Safety and enforcement issues   |
|                                |     due to vehicles cutting in and  |
| -   Extra right-of way         |     out                             |
|     requirements               |                                     |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+
| **Non-separated Shoulder**     | **Grade Separation**                |
|                                |                                     |
| **Benefits:**                  | **Benefits:**                       |
|                                |                                     |
| -   Provides extra capacity    | -   Exclusive use                   |
|     without having to add a    |                                     |
|     lane                       | -   Safest                          |
|                                |                                     |
| **Issues:**                    | **Issues:**                         |
|                                |                                     |
| -   Confusion over lane use    | -   No way out                      |
|                                |                                     |
| -   Lack of emergency pull     | -   Lengthy construction            |
|     outs for disabled vehicles |                                     |
|                                | -   Expensive                       |
| -   May have to be rebuilt if  |                                     |
|     transit buses are allowed  | -   Users have a feeling of         |
|     to use.                    |     confinement                     |
|                                |                                     |
|                                | -   Easier enforcement              |
+--------------------------------+-------------------------------------+

#### Access Control Strategies {#access-control-strategies .unnumbered}

Another key design consideration is the extent to which drivers have
multiple opportunities downstream of the first HOT access point to
buy-in to the HOT lane. The number of access points is linked to the
corridor geometry, safety, facility revenue collection objectives and
violation enforcement.

For example, in the case of the 91 Express Lanes, Riverside County
officials perceived the 91 Express Lanes as a tube, with few
opportunities to enter the facility westbound beyond the eastern access
location. For MnPass, MnDOT identified multiple access strategies to
accommodate

![](media/image12.jpeg){width="5.5in" height="2.879861111111111in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023873 .anchor}Figure 3‑6: Access Control
Diagram for MnPass

their system configuration; very restricted access for the 3-mile
reversible segment and multiple access point for the 8 mile concurrent
flow segment. Besides safety considerations, separate pricing strategies
were implemented to manage demand in each section.

Additionally, in developing the number and locations of exit and entry
access points, consideration must be given to the tradeoff impacts of
items such as the additional infrastructure, operating and violation
enforcement, the cost of additional entry/exit points, and the
attractiveness of additional entry and exit points for SOV, HOV, and
transit (where applicable) users.

#### Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) {#electronic-toll-collection-etc .unnumbered}

The technologies involved in electronic toll collection are all
well-proven and in use on nearly every significant toll road, bridge,
and tunnel in the country. Electronic toll collection systems generally
rely on four major components: Automated Vehicle Identification,
Automated Vehicle Classification, Violation Enforcement and Transaction
Processing.

All of these systems are included in A Highway 407 ramp toll zone.
However, depending on agency objectives, some implementations do not
employ all four components. In this section, we will briefly introduce
and discuss these components:

-   ***Automatic Vehicle Identification (AVI) System*.** An AVI system
    determines the identity of a vehicle traveling through either toll
    gates in a traditional barrier configuration toll plaza, or through
    an open road (high speed) tolling area. In either facility
    configuration the object is to correctly identify the vehicle in the
    tolling area and to apply the applicable toll charges to the correct
    account.![](media/image13.jpeg){width="1.8333333333333333in"
    height="1.5118055555555556in"}

Current AVI systems rely on radio frequency identification (RFID), where
an antenna located above the roadway communicates with a
[transponder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transponder), similar to the
TransCore eGo Plus Sticker Tag, also known as an RFID tag, and mounted
on the vehicle via [Dedicated Short Range Communications
(DSRC)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dedicated_Short_Range_Communications).
RFID tags have proven excellent accuracy, and can be read at highway
speeds. All transponder tags currently in use by toll agencies in the
United States operate at 915 MHz. While all of the AVI system providers
in the US, operate in the 915 MHz band they are not all interoperable.
Generally there is regional interoperability, where agencies in the
region use the same transponder, antennas and associated protocols.
Examples of this are CTOC (California), E-ZPass (Northeast and portions
of the Midwest) and SunPass (Florida). There is some movement toward the
use of multi-protocol readers, which could read more than one
transponder type and protocol but this has not yet been implemented on
any large scale.

-   ***Automatic Vehicle Classification (AVC) System.*** Vehicle
    classification determines the toll rate to be charged a vehicle
    using the HOT facility. It may also be used in combination with the
    AVI and VES technology to determine if a vehicle is violating
    vehicle access restrictions.

Various sensors may be used to determine classification. Some agencies
may opt to use a single type of classification sensor while other
agencies may use more than one sensor type in order to eliminate
classification errors or mismatches. The various sensors include:

-   Inductive sensors embedded in the road surface can determine the
    gaps between vehicles, to provide basic information on the presence
    of a vehicle and the approximate vehicle length.
    ![](media/image14.jpeg){width="1.7604166666666667in"
    height="2.5819444444444444in"}

-   True Presence Microwave Radar can determine vehicle classification
    by length in a manner similar to the inductive sensors. Remote
    Traffic Microwave Sensor (RTMS) by Electronic Integrated Systems
    (EIS) and Smart-Sensor by Wavetronix are examples of this type of
    detector which monitor traffic from the roadside as shown.

-   Treadles permit counting the number of axles as a vehicle passes
    over them and, with offset-treadle installations, also can detect
    dual-tire vehicles.

-   Light-curtain [laser](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Laser) profilers
    record the shape of the vehicle, which can help distinguish trucks
    and trailers. Active Infrared Detectors have the ability to classify
    vehicles by measuring and identifying their profiles. Some examples
    of Active Infrared Detectors are Autosense II and Autosense III by
    Schwartz Electro-Optics, Inc and the Laser Scanners by Sick, Inc.

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   ***Violation Enforcement System (VES).*** Enforcement is critical if
    a HOT lane facility is to be successful and effective. The
    enforcement strategy and the technology implemented must be
    reliable, highly visible and one that promotes fairness. Most
    facilities currently use visual (manual) enforcement together with
    some technical support to monitor HOT lanes. Although utilizing
    enforcement vehicles to stop apparent violators may not be the most
    efficient method to actually gain compliance with the managed lane
    restrictions it is the most visible to the public, including the
    public traveling in the general purpose lanes. This visible
    enforcement effort demonstrates that the agency or entity
    controlling the use of the managed lanes is serious about
    maintaining the integrity of use by vehicles qualified to be in the
    designated managed lanes.

The technical support that often is used to supplement manual
enforcement may consist of a gantry mounted violation indicator light to
provide an indicator for near-by enforcement vehicles to act on.
Additionally some facilities use video cameras together with optical
character recognition (OCR) system to capture the license plate image of
the vehicle as it passes through the toll zone. The camera may be
mounted above the roadway or along side the roadway, depending on the
geometry of the HOT facility and the violation objectives of the
facility. Once the license plate image is captured it must be correctly
'read' by the OCR in order to successfully locate the vehicle owner to
collect the toll and if applicable, the toll evasion fine.

-   *Transaction Processing System.* The transaction processing
    component, is commonly referred to as the 'back office) of most
    systems. It also may be referred to as the \"Customer Service
    Center\" which in many respects, performs activities that resemble
    banking functions. Transaction Processing deals with maintaining
    customer accounts, posting toll transactions and customer payments
    to the accounts, handling customer inquiries and determination and
    processing of violations.

For transaction processing to be both accurate and effective requires a
reliable communication network to transmit the ETC and/or image
transaction information from the lane to the back office processing
center. It is imperative that appropriate data collection and delivery
techniques, as well as redundant and manual systems, are in place to
guard against data loss or corruption particularly with any
transactions, images, or operational information.

The transaction data transferred to the 'back office' for processing not
only must be accurate, processed and reported in a timely and consistent
manner to support a dynamic 24/7 operation, but must also be auditable.
Of singular importance is the issue of security and integrity of all
data collected by the toll collection system.

#### Supporting Systems {#supporting-systems .unnumbered}

With ETC, there are several supporting systems that need to be
integrated into the overall system architecture to ensure that the
functional requirements of the system are met, and the customer
interfaces with the system in a simple-to-understand and seamless
manner.

-   **Closed Circuit Television (CCTV).** The use of video CCTV cameras
    along the facility may be used to support general traffic
    surveillance, detect incidents within the HOT lane facility, confirm
    message accuracy displayed on VMS or variable toll message signs and
    provide supplemental image support for violation
    enforcement.![](media/image15.jpeg){width="2.9409722222222223in"
    height="2.2in"}

-   **Variable Message Signs (VMS).** VMS provide traveler information,
    traffic, construction or incident alerts, and travel time advantage
    comparison and costs for use of the HOT lane. A special application
    of VMS is the announcement of the toll in effect at the time of
    entry into

![](media/image16.jpeg){width="2.9930555555555554in"
height="2.2534722222222223in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023874 .anchor}Figure 3‑7: MnPass Variable
Message Sign

the HOT facility. This specific application is referred to as a Variable
Toll Message Sign (VTMS) and may either be implemented as a stand alone
electronic VMS type of sign or it may be a hybrid combination with
static information with a variable insert to provide either the toll
rate or estimated travel times to some down stream locations.

-   **Digital Video Audit Systems (DVAS).** DVAS provide an audit
    capability of transactions at a toll zone location. The systems
    provide a time based video record of activity in a given toll zone
    that ties an image to the transaction data generated by the system.
    The DVAS system provides remote access for both real time monitoring
    and file query to verify a transaction record. The transaction data
    record consisting of the location, time of day, lane (if more than
    one), vehicle classification and transponder ID is overlaid on the
    video record permitting fast and accurate assessment of any anomaly.

-   **ITS Support Systems.** ITS is being integrated with HOT system
    requirements to provide traveler information and for integration
    into regional traffic management systems. Some of the support
    systems that are being employed along HOT corridors include:

```{=html}
<!-- -->
```
-   511 Interface;

-   DMS signage for regional traffic information;

-   incident detection systems to assist in both facility and regional
    traffic management and
    control;![](media/image17.wmf){width="2.651388888888889in"
    height="1.8215277777777779in"}

-   traffic monitoring devices for integration in the regional
    monitoring plan;

-   CCTV surveillance; and

-   highway advisory radio

#### HOV Enforcement {#hov-enforcement .unnumbered}

Accurately determining the number of occupants in a vehicle is difficult
at best and often results in having an enforcement officer mistakenly
stopping HOV vehicles because an occupant, such as a child, in addition
to the driver, is not readily visible in the back seat. *Enforcement of
occupancy requirements is the most difficult operational challenge
facing toll agencies and enforcement officers in HOT lane
implementations because automatic technologies have not yet met
reliability and field accuracy requirements required for operational
deployment.* In addition, there are a host of cost and privacy
considerations associated with the technology.

Facility design also influences the types of enforcement needed. Barrier
separation features act as a deterrent to potential violators, but
require areas along the facility to monitor, apprehend and cite
violators. Barrier separated facilities generally make apprehension
fairly easy, since the violator is confined in the lanes after entering
the facility; however, it should be noted that the larger the facility
(i.e., number of lanes) and the larger the quantity of entry and exit
points, the more difficult manual enforcement is.

Non-barrier separated HOT lanes are the most difficult to enforce, since
it is easy to enter and exit the lane simply by changing lanes.
Facilities that use delineators, such as the SR91, deter violators, but
may still experience violators 'diving' through the delineators.
Locations where delineators are used typically do not have adequate
shoulder space for effective road side enforcement.

Some actions that can be taken to enhance the performance for HOV
violation enforcement may include:

-   During the design phase have engineers meet with highway patrol
    officers to determine locations best suited (safe adequate space)
    for road side enforcement.

-   If there is adequate space lanes consider installing concrete
    barriers.

-   Prominently and with consistency post the fine for HOV/HOT
    violations on roadside signs.

-   Use random and prominently visual, special enforcement followed by
    routine enforcement.

.

# HOT Lane Operations and Management

Vehicle movements between highway mainline lanes and HOT lanes must be
managed carefully, with well-designed ingress and egress to avoid
unnecessary bottlenecking, violation and unsafe weaving. Special
attention to enforcement techniques, particularly with respect to
verification of vehicle occupancy, is necessary to regulate demand and
maintain facility integrity.

Effective lane or facility geometry is a critical prerequisite to
achieving LOS design and safety goals. Another important function is the
ability to capture and identify user data for automatic billing. This
requires an integrated system of in-lane devices with back office
support that not only provides account management, customer service
support and violations processing but also ITS support functions such as
511, advanced traveler information and incident management. The purpose
of this chapter is to describe the basic element of effective HOT lane
operations and management.

## Lane Management

When converting to a HOT lane within a larger highway network,
consideration must be given to weighing appropriate balance between
eligibility, level of service and pricing conditions in order to achieve
effective and sustainable lane management. Determining peak hour volumes
in highway mainline lanes and HOT lanes and establishing the minimum
desired LOS in the HOT lane is the initial step in establishing a lane
management process. *The lane management system must establish LOS
performance objectives and determine the maximum allowable peak hour
volumes to achieve those objectives.* The HOT lane pricing conditions
function as a tool to manage traffic flow against the LOS performance
objectives.

Without effective lane use management, there is a risk that the
commodity being sold to the public -- i.e. time savings over highway
mainline lanes -- will be greatly compromised. HOT lane traffic levels
should be limited to volumes that provide reliable speed advantages over
adjacent highway general purpose lanes. There are two critical issues
that affect lane management:[^10]

-   Determining the HOT lane capacity for paying vehicles before
    congestion occurs; and

-   Understanding the types of lane management strategies that can be
    applied to regulate demand.

HOT lane capacity is a function of the number of access points, the
vehicle mix, roadway slope and configuration, separation treatments, and
the number of travel lanes, among other variables. HOT lanes with fewer
access points have higher lane capacity with those with more access
points. Likewise, a multilane HOT facility will have a higher managed
capacity (vehicles per lane per hour) than a single HOT lane
configuration. For example, flows on the Houston I-10 Katy Freeway
QuickRide -- a one lane, reversible-flow facility are kept to 1,500
vehicles per lane per hour.[^11] In contrast, the 91 Express Lanes --
which provide two travel lanes in each direction -- operate at
acceptable conditions with flow rates of 1,800 vehicles lane per hour.

On an unpriced highway, increasing volumes result in decreased speed.
When the volumes reach an unstable point, speeds to drop to around 15-20
miles per hour. With this reduction in speed, lane capacity will drop
from 2,000 to 2,100 vehicles per lane per hour to about 1,300 vehicles
per lane per hour.[^12] In order to maintain "free flow" conditions in
HOT lane facility, vehicle throughput is regulated through variable
pricing to a level below maximum capacity. This volume threshold serves
as the benchmark for ensuring premium level of service for HOT lane
users.

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023865 .anchor}Table 4‑3: Lane Management
Control Strategies

+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| **Tool**      | **Operational Impact**                               |
+===============+======================================================+
| Occupancy     | Limiting lane use to vehicles carrying a minimum     |
|               | number of passengers. HOV 2 and HOV 3 are typical    |
|               | occupancy constraints, however there can be          |
|               | variations on this theme if the managed lane         |
|               | facility is an express lane project where every      |
|               | vehicle pays a fee with vehicles carrying more than  |
|               | one occupant receiving a discount (similar to SR-91  |
|               | HOV3+ discount).                                     |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| Eligibility   | Limiting lane use to specific types of users, such   |
|               | as two axle vehicles only, motorcycles, low emission |
|               | vehicles, or trucks.                                 |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| Access        | Limiting the number of access points or using ramp   |
|               | metering for lane access so that demand cannot       |
|               | overwhelm the managed lane capacity.                 |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+
| Pricing       | Imposing a user fee that help regulate demand by     |
|               | time of day or day of week. The fee increases during |
| (Variable,    | expected periods of highest demand if time-of day    |
| Fixed, or     | pricing is employed or the fee increases dynamically |
| Dynamic)      | as demand increases.                                 |
+---------------+------------------------------------------------------+

In summary, lane management strategies to regulate traffic flow on HOT
lanes include:

-   Eligibility,

-   Vehicle Occupancy,

-   Access,

-   Toll Rate (variable or fixed),

-   Type of variable pricing

-   (dynamic based on travel value,

-   time of day etc...)

The impact of each lane management tool is briefly presented in the
adjacent table. Applied in combination, these tools offer the
flexibility needed to maintain strong LOS on the HOT lanes. An
appropriate range for HOT lane capacity in most project settings would
be approximately 1,600 to 1,800 hourly automobile equivalents per lane.

## Toll Collection Operations

Toll collection systems may consist of conventional cash lanes,
dedicated electronic toll collection lanes or Open Road Tolling (ORT).
If at all possible, toll collection must have a seamless customer
interface and, equally importantly, have no negative impact on traffic
flow. ETC is used on nearly every significant toll road, bridge, and
tunnel in the country. These technologies are well-proven and provide
the type of seamless customer interface and transaction reliability that
make them critical to HOT lane operations. The technologies used for
electronic toll collection and pursuit of toll violators consist of
Automated Vehicle Identification and Transponder Technology, Automated
Vehicle Classification Video Image Capture and Account Processing and
Customer Service. The electronic toll collection technologies for
capturing tolls automatically is generally referred to as ETC (with a
transponder) and Video Tolling (no transponder).

### Transponder and AVI Technology

Most current AVI systems rely on Radio Frequency Identification (RFID)
technology, which enables communication with a
[transponder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transponder) affixed to a
vehicle via [Dedicated Short Range Communications
(DSRC)](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dedicated_Short_Range_Communications).
A transponder is an RFID device that, when mounted on a vehicle's
windshield, enables the electronic collection of highway tolls by an AVI
system as it passes through the toll zone. The 'reading' of the
transponder may occur while the vehicle is traveling at stop and go or
highway speeds. The AVI system typically consists of an antenna and
reader installed above a toll lane to automatically "read" or identify
the transponder, and the vehicle associated with
it.![](media/image18.jpeg){width="2.3125in"
height="2.113888888888889in"}

ORT and HOT lane implementation requires that tolling occur at highway
speeds up to 100 mph. The difference between an HOT and an ORT
implementation is the toll zone for an HOT implementation is lane based,
generally one or two lanes, while in an ORT implementation a toll zone
consists of multiple lanes. With both ORT and HOT implementations, there
are no physical toll plazas, but the factors that determine gantry
locations and how tolls are assessed are no different than those which
determine conventional toll plaza locations. The features observed by
the driver are the toll gantry (basically a highway sign structure) with
the electronic toll collection equipment on it, the related support
infrastructure, and toll signage to tell drivers that they are passing a
payment point and how much is being charged. The technologies used in
both implementations are basically the same.

Users who have established an automatic toll account are provided a
transponder to install in their vehicle. The data written to the
transponder at the time an account is established typically include
information on vehicle classification, special group discounts, or
special authorizations for a given vehicle type. When passing through a
toll zone, the transponder data is compared with the in-lane monitoring
systems to validate vehicle classification, special discounts or special
authorizations that transponder and vehicle combination for a given
account. Once proper account authorization has been verified, the
applicable toll is then charged to the account and automatically
deducted from a pre-paid account balance.

If the information on the tag and vehicle data do not correspond with a
valid account, or if for some reason there is insufficient funds
available in an account, or if the vehicle does not have a transponder,
or has an improperly mounted transponder, the vehicle will be treated as
a violator.

For many HOT lanes, SOV users are required to have a transponder while
HOVs are exempted. Recent studies, however, have shown that requiring
transponders on all vehicles improves enforcement through the use of
visual indicators and/or video image capture of license plates.
Requiring transponders in all vehicles, HOV, SOV, and transit, provides
for easier identification of SOV and HOV vehicles or violators without a
transponder, and for quick and easy implementation of special discount
program rates at the back office and not in the lane.

### Video Tolling

Video tolling generally makes use of the open road toll enforcement
cameras and the computer systems that support image and license capture,
character recognition, and user location or citation processing. Video
tolling allows the occasional user, tourist, or rental car motorist to
establish a valid toll account either prior to using an ORT lane, or
within a specified time after completing their trip. The time after trip
completion is typically on the order of up to 72 hours. Generally a
video toll account may be established by phone or WEB based interface
with the motorist providing a credit or debit card number, vehicle
license plate, make, model and type of vehicle.

Video toll accounts, using valid vehicle license plate numbers, are
downloaded to the toll zone or lane controller and the video controller
in the lane in accordance with procedures established by the facility's
Business Rules. If the motorist does not have either a valid transponder
or valid video account the captured image is retained to be processes as
a violation transaction.

The violation will be subjected to an image review process to determine
if the license plate belongs to either a transponder customer or video
toll account. If verified to be a valid license plate account the
'violation image' is converted to a toll transaction using the video
image review and posted to the customer account.

The implementation of video toll systems in the lane use one or two
video cameras with supplemental lighting to capture either the rear of
the vehicle centered on the license plate area or two cameras to capture
an image of both the rear and front of the vehicle. In facilities that
restrict vehicle traffic to cars or two axle vehicles a single camera is
sufficient to capture the rear of the vehicle and satisfactorily obtain
an unobstructed and readable license plate image. For facilities that
permit towed vehicles or semi-trailers, it is recommended that both
front and read image capture cameras be used to ensure an unobstructed
capture the truck's front license plate and possibly the license plate
of the towed trailer. It is essential that a front image capture be
utilized for facilities with high truck and/or semi-trailer traffic
since the rear license plate of the truck will normally be blocked by
the towed trailer.

Image capture systems with camera and supplemental lighting may be
mounted either overhead or along the side of the toll lane(s). The
majority of image capture implementations use pulsed or flashed, high
intensity LED white lighting since it is best suited to handling
multiple colored license plate characters and backgrounds, and infrared
lighting for license plate character capture in a black and white image.
However, there are some implementations that measure ambient lighting
and supplement with continuous lighting as needed to successfully
perform optical character recognition on the captured image.

The millisecond flashes for pulsed and strobe lighting that are only
triggered when an apparent violation (includes Vtolls) has occurred, or
is detected must be unnoticeable by the user. Cameras mounted overhead
with continuous white lighting is likely to cause visual impairment to
the driver and should not be deployed for front license plates capture.
Flashed/pulsed, strobe and infrared lighting solutions should be
considered to avoid impairing the driver's vision.

### System Oper**a**tions

In order to ensure reliable system operations, the HOT lane facility
must include operational resources to provide maintenance, customer
service, and account management.

-   **Maintenance.** Since HOT lane systems employ totally automated
    electronic toll collection equipments, it is critical to the
    seamless use of the system by customers and to maintain revenue
    collection capability to employ 24/7 maintenance of the system. To
    minimize down time and to facilitate maintenance actions, it is
    critical that a maintenance on line monitoring (MOM) system is
    included with the HOT ETC system. Monitoring of all toll zone
    collection equipment status for failures or malfunctions that could
    impact the collection of revenue will minimize down time and revenue
    losses.

-   **Customer Account Service Center.** Customers should have easy
    access to account information via a variety of means including
    web-based, telephone and mail and should be able manage their
    accounts with the tools provided. The Service Center must provide
    customer support and handle customer problems and complaints
    promptly handle customer problems and complaints; it must maintain
    ongoing communication with the public as well as stakeholders; and
    provide ongoing outreach information to provide the latest
    information on the HOT lanes operations and status.

-   **Video Processing Center.** As video tolling becomes more
    widespread together with video image capture of violators the
    Account Service Center may well develop into dual purpose Customer
    Service and Video Processing Center (CSC/VPC) that not only
    establishes and manages transponder and Video Toll accounts, but
    also ensure that true violations are processed and funds are
    recouped.

## HOT Lane Enforcement

Enforcement is critical to the successful operation of any HOT lane
facility. An effective HOT lane enforcement program should ensure that
operating requirements, including enforcement of toll-exemption
eligibility based on vehicle occupancy, are maintained to preserve
travel time savings, discourage unauthorized vehicles, and maintain a
safe operating environment.

This section reviews HOT lane operational concepts and identifies unique
issues and challenges associated with HOT lane enforcement. Enforcement
strategies used in several HOT lanes similar in scale and length to the
projects reviewed in this study are discussed.

### Concept of Operations

HOT lanes are toll facilities that charge a toll to all HOT lane users
except for vehicles that meet the minimum occupancy for toll-exemption
eligibility. In order to deter violations and reserve capacity for
users, the HOT lane operator must be able to identify violators who use
the HOT lane without paying. In addition, the HOT lane operator must be
able to distinguish between vehicles required to pay the toll and HOVs
that are eligible for toll-exemption.

Most HOT lanes today that utilize electronic toll collection require
users to establish a pre-paid account from which toll transactions are
debited for HOT trips taken. The requirement for users to have an active
HOT lane account provides a partial solution for toll lane enforcement.
Because all vehicles are required to have an active HOT lane account,
motorists entering the HOT lane without a valid account are, by
definition, considered in violation of the usage policy. Image capture
technology is very reliable and can be utilized to read and capture
license plate information. With this information, HOT lane operators can
issue violation citations, collect tolls owed, and process fees.

The technology used for violation enforcement is similar to Video
Tolling for image capture and license plate reading. All images of the
license plates of suspected violators are sent to the VPC, the interface
to the CSC for toll violation processing. The CSC contains
infrastructure equipment, software and services to process violations
and license plate read images. Once the VPC has confirmed that the
captured license plate is not linked with a valid transponder, the VPC
will link to associated VPC and/or DMV databases to obtain the identity
and address of the vehicle's registered owner, prepare billing for
notification to the violator, and, if required, pursue that individual
for reimbursement of tolls, fees, and penalties.

The enforcement system must be able to recognize HOVs that meet the
minimum occupancy requirement and exempt them from the toll. In
addition, the system must be able to distinguish toll-exempt HOVs from
violators. Can this be accomplished without requiring all vehicles to
establish a pre-paid account, including vehicles that will use the HOT
lane primarily as toll-exempt HOVs? Based on the experience of recent
HOT lane projects, the answer is no. Given the current state of
technology, it is not possible to distinguish a violator from an
eligible HOV from among the population of non-transponder equipped
vehicles. ***Consequently, most HOT lane operators have chosen to
require all vehicles, including toll-exempt HOVs, to establish active
accounts with the HOT lane.***

For HOT lanes that offer toll-exemption for eligible HOVs, the task of
enforcement remains a major operational challenge. Why? Because there is
currently no technology available that allows a HOT lane operator to
assess a differential toll or provide a toll exemption based on observed
vehicle occupancy. ***As a result, determination of vehicle occupancy
has to be performed manually through visual inspection either at a fixed
post or in transit.*** Another important wrinkle -- given the operator's
inability to determine vehicle occupancy prior to a vehicle entering the
HOT lane -- is that the burden of realizing the HOV toll exemption is on
the driver, not the HOT lane operator. In other words, the driver of the
toll-exempt HOV must de-activate the transponder to prevent the HOT lane
operator from inappropriately charging the toll. This in turn requires
the enforcement system to be able to verify occupancy for HOVs that
might otherwise be confused for a violator.

### Facility Design Considerations

Facility design is also an important element of HOT lane enforcement.
Barrier separation features can be effective in deterring potential
violators, but barrier separated systems also require additional space
along the facility to monitor, apprehend, and cite violators. Barrier
separated facilities generally make apprehension fairly easy, since the
violator is confined within the lanes after entry; however, it should be
noted that the larger the facility (i.e., number of lanes) and the
larger the quantity of entry and exit points, the more difficult manual
enforcement becomes.

Non-barrier separated HOT lanes are more difficult to enforce, since it
is easy to enter and exit the lane simply by changing lanes. Lane
delineators such as those in use on the 91 Express Lanes in California
can deter violators, with some instances of violators 'diving' through
the delineators. Locations where delineators are used typically do not
have adequate shoulder space for effective road side enforcement.

Some actions that can be taken to enhance the performance for HOV
violation enforcement may include:

-   During the design phase, have engineers meet with state highway
    patrol officials to determine locations best suited (safe, adequate
    space) for road side enforcement.

-   If there is adequate space, consider installing concrete barriers.

-   Prominently post the fine for HOV/HOT violations on roadside signs.

-   Use random visual, special enforcement followed by routine
    enforcement.

### HOT Lane Enforcement Functions

Enforcement is critical if a HOT lane facility is to be successful and
effective. The enforcement strategy and the technology implemented must
be reliable, highly visible, and one that promotes fairness. Most
facilities currently use visual (manual) enforcement together with some
technical support to monitor HOT lanes. Although utilizing enforcement
vehicles to stop apparent violators may not be the most efficient method
to catching violators, it is the most visible to the public, including
the public traveling in the general purpose lanes. This visible
enforcement effort demonstrates that the agency or entity controlling
the use of the managed lanes is serious about maintaining the integrity
of use by vehicles qualified to be in the designated managed lanes.

Enforcement of HOT lane usage must accomplish the following key
operational functions:

-   Verify toll payment (or credit)

-   Verify vehicle occupancy

-   Assess fine to violators.

#### Verify Toll Payment {#verify-toll-payment .unnumbered}

Most current AVI systems rely on RFID technology, which enables
communication with a
[transponder](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transponder) affixed to a
vehicle via [Dedicated Short Range
Communications](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dedicated_Short_Range_Communications).
A transponder is an RFID device that, when mounted on a vehicle's
windshield, enables the HOT lane operator to collect an electronic toll
as it passes underneath the toll zone.

The 'reading' of the transponder may occur while the vehicle is
traveling at stop and go or highway speeds. The AVI system typically
consists of an antenna and reader installed above a toll lane to
automatically "read" or identify the transponder, and the vehicle
associated with it.

#### Verify Vehicle Occupancy {#verify-vehicle-occupancy .unnumbered}

As stated earlier, accurately determining the number of vehicle
occupants poses a tremendous challenge. When volumes rise, it is
difficult to catch all violators, let alone distinguish violators from
eligible HOVs. From time to time, an enforcement officer mistakenly
stops HOVs because an occupant in addition to the driver (e.g. small
child) is not readily visible in the back seat. ***Enforcement of
occupancy requirements is perhaps the most difficult operational
challenge facing toll agencies; this is because automated technologies
have not yet met reliability and field accuracy requirements needed for
operational deployment.*** In addition, there are a host of cost and
privacy considerations associated with the use of such detection
technology.

The technical support used to supplement manual enforcement typically
consists of a gantry-mounted violation indicator light to provide an
indicator for near-by enforcement vehicles to act on. Additionally, some
facilities use video cameras together with an OCR system to capture the
license plate image of the vehicle as it passes through the toll zone.
The camera may be mounted above the roadway or along side the roadway,
depending on the geometry of the HOT facility and the violation
objectives of the facility. Once the license plate image is captured, it
must be correctly 'read' by the OCR in order to successfully locate the
vehicle owner to collect the toll and if applicable, the toll evasion
fine.

#### Assess Fine to Violators {#assess-fine-to-violators .unnumbered}

Violations fall within two classes: a) enforceable (no transponder read,
but license plate read; vehicle not linked to an active account), and b)
Unenforceable (no transponder read and no license plate read). An
effective HOT enforcement program should attempt to keep violations
(enforceable and unenforceable) to at or below 10% of total trips.

HOT lanes typically require the creation of local ordinances that
carefully document the process for resolving violations. The ordinance
should establish a multi-stage notification process, in addition to
establishing fine notification procedures that are consistent with the
Georgia vehicle code. A multi-stage notification process with a
graduated fine structure is typically used to provide differential
penalties for first-time violators versus habitual offenders.

In California, for example, the 91 Express Lanes uses the following
graduated violation structure:

-   Notice of Toll Evasion (NTEV) - \$20

-   Notice of Delinquent Toll Evasion (NDTEV) - \$55

-   Notice of Toll Violation Assignment - \$80

-   Other Collections - per Georgia vehicle code penalties

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) reports that of the
total number of enforceable violations, 60% are dismissed with no
penalty, 11% pay toll + penalty and 20% go to collections. In total, 80%
of all enforceable violations are addressed at the NTEV/NDTEV stage.

### Recent Experience with HOT Lane Enforcement

#### I-15 Express Lanes (San Diego, CA) {#i-15-express-lanes-san-diego-ca .unnumbered}

The I-15 Express Lanes is a barrier-separated, reversible flow HOT lane
that has recently expanded from an 8-mile facility (with two toll zones)
to a 20-mile facility with multiple access points. Because of the
limited roadway geometry and restricted shoulders, shoulder enforcement
on the extended segment is a major challenge. The mode of enforcement
will require more mobile enforcement capabilities, with use of
supporting reader technologies in mobile units.

The San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) contracts with the
California Highway Patrol (CHP) to perform manual enforcement at
designated enforcement areas. Under this contract, CHP periodically
supplements the fixed post visual enforcement with mobile enforcement
units. SANDAG reports enforcement remains one of the biggest challenges
facing the day-to-day operations of the I-15 Express Lanes, especially
given the opportunities to violate the facility along the extended
segment. I-15 Express Lanes violation rates range between 5% and 15%,
with some time-of-day and seasonal variations.

#### 91 Express Lanes (Orange County, CA) {#express-lanes-orange-county-ca .unnumbered}

On the 91 Express Lanes, visual enforcement is performed at three
locations where the median was widened to accommodate a vehicle.
Flexible delineators separate the Express Lanes from the SR-91 mainline
lanes, with no intermediate access locations between the eastern and
western entry points of the facility. The entry points have a dedicated
HOV3+ lane and an Express Lane. Only eligible HOV3+ vehicles can enter
the HOV3+ lane; these vehicles are charged a half-toll.

The Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) contracts for
enforcement with the California Highway Patrol (CHP), which performs
visual enforcement at three locations along the 91 Express Lanes. OCTA
reports that the violation rate for the 91 Express Lanes is
approximately 8%.

#### MnPass (Minneapolis, MN) {#mnpass-minneapolis-mn .unnumbered}

MnPass uses a solid double white line to separate HOT lanes from general
use lanes. A dotted striped line indicates authorized access / exit
points. According to MnDOT, after lane striping was implemented, there
was a drop in the violation rate from over 20% to less than 10%.
Violators of marked striping are fined \$165.00 per occurrence.

The enforcement strategy, which was considered critical to the success
of the MnPass program, combines visual enforcement with mobile reader
technology. It is worth noting that there was very little enforcement of
the I-394 HOV lane prior to conversion to MnPass, with violation rates
between 20-30%. With the opening of MnPass, enforcement was carried out
through a partnership with the Minneapolis Highway Patrol, Minneapolis
Police Department, and Golden Valley Police Department. Combined, the
enforcement contracts cost approximately \$165,000 annually.

Enforcement of valid trips is accomplished through three methods:

-   Enforcement tags -- special transponders in police vehicles that
    register an audible tone if a valid transponder is read.

-   Mobile reader -- this device is mounted on police vehicles and can
    provide information on last valid reads.

-   Enforcement beacons -- stationary flashing light that flashes when a
    valid transponder is read at the access point.

![](media/image19.jpeg){width="5.5in" height="2.9131944444444446in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023875 .anchor}Figure 4‑8: Enforcement
equipment used in MnPass

MnPass has supplemented the violation indicator light by adding a
portable transponder reader in the enforcement vehicles enabling
enforcement officers to validate operational transponders while driving
along side of or immediately behind a target vehicle.

#### SR-167 HOT Lanes (Seattle, WA)  {#sr-167-hot-lanes-seattle-wa .unnumbered}

SR-167 uses an electronic toll collection system that features an
in-vehicle transponder, over-roadway transponder readers mounted on
overhead gantries, and variable message signs that post the time-of-day
toll. Similar to MnPass, SR-167 uses a solid double white line buffer to
separate the HOT lane from adjacent highway mainline lanes.

When a vehicle passes through the access point with an active
transponder, a flashing enforcement light activates. If the light does
not flash, state highway patrol checks to see if the vehicle has two or
more occupants. If not, the vehicle is cited with a violation.

### Best Practices in HOT Lane Enforcement

The successful operation of a HOT lane facility is dependent upon a
visible and effective enforcement program that the public perceives as
fair and consistent. For the time being, the ability to deter violations
and abuses of the HOV exemption allowance is strongly tied to the
visibility of HOT lane enforcement presence. When lane enforcement
presence is weak or non-existent, violation rates can rise above the
generally accepted range of between 8-15%.

The enforcement strategies used HOT by lane operators provide some
useful insights on best practices and lessons learned. Below is a
summary of key findings:

-   All users should be required to have a valid account for the HOT
    lane, regardless of vehicle occupancy status.

-   Establishing contracts with state highway patrol and local law
    enforcement is the most effective and practical means of monitoring
    vehicle occupancy.

-   Providing enforcement vehicles with mobile transponder readers helps
    law enforcement with verification of valid transactions.

-   Barrier-separation of the HOT lane from mainline lanes is more
    effective in deterring in-and-out-weaving and opportunistic
    violations.

-   Allowing HOVs to turn off transponders is an effective but flawed
    way (since it relies on the driver taking an action that they forget
    to take) to allow HOVs to self-provide the toll exemption.

-   Space along a widened median should be provided at strategically
    located enforcement zones, where law enforcement can visually
    inspect vehicle occupancy from a fixed location.

-   The other method of allowing HOVs to receive a toll exemption or
    discounted toll, is to set aside a separate HOV entry lane that
    segregates HOVs from toll-paying SOVs.

-   Having a strong enforcement presence is a key to deterring
    violations and maintaining the integrity of HOT lane operations.

-   The following table provides a summary of enforcement strategies,
    their complexity, and effectiveness.

## Signage

Accurate, informative signs are essential in explaining operational
procedures of HOT lane facilities and ensuring safe access and egress
from the managed lanes. HOT signs should provide motorists with
information on:[^13]

-   Access and egress location

-   Occupancy requirements

-   Operating hours

-   Toll rates

-   Enforcement

A major element in HOT operations and management is signage, both
upstream and downstream of the facility's ingress/egress points.
Inadequate signage can diminish the customer's ability to make an
informed travel decision and may compromise vehicle safety. Often there
are possible conflicts between signing for general purpose lanes and for
managed lanes. Drivers in both lane types can see not only a message
intended for their lane use but can also see the message for the other
lanes as well. The signage needs to be such that each driver clearly
understands which message should be followed.

Coordination of signage both from a visual and an operational
perspective is important. FHWA, in collaboration with the International
Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), recently completed a
study of traffic control strategies at toll plazas and issued a report
entitled, \"State of the Practice and Recommendations on Traffic Control
Strategies at Toll Plazas.\" The recommendations contained in the report
address (1) solutions to improve safety and operations of existing toll
plazas; (2) contemplating replacement or modification of an existing
toll plaza; or (3) planning a new toll plaza. While potentially
applicable to HOT lanes, the report includes recommendations for Advance
Signage and the Color of Toll Signs, but does not specifically address
HOT operations. Unfortunately, The Manual on Uniform Traffic Control
Devices (MUTCD) for Streets and Highways 2003 Edition does not provide a
recommendation or standard for HOT signage. Some current toll agencies
and other future ORT toll facilities have implemented purple-background
signs to differentiate the facility from conventional roadways or other
toll facilities. The Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) uses
purple-background signs on their WestPark Tollway in Houston as part of
an Experimentation Project (see [Section 1A.10 -- Interpretations,
Experimentations, Changes, and Interim Approvals]{.underline}, pages
1A-4 through 1A-7 of Chapter 1 from the 2003 MUTCD. The MUTCD 2003
Edition does not prohibit such use, but also does not endorse/recommend
its use. The two signs[^14] below where used for conventional toll
plazas, but their color distinctions should be considered as an example
to provide unique and distinct HOT signage.

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023876 .anchor}Figure 4‑9: Sample HOT
Signage![](media/image20.png){width="2.0555555555555554in"
height="1.538888888888889in"}![](media/image21.png){width="2.1118055555555557in"
height="1.5881944444444445in"}

Since SAFETEA-LU failed to fund the development of the 2008 MUTCD, no
new recommendations or standards are planned at this time that would
include toll roads or HOT lane applications. Until the MUTCD provides
standards for toll road or HOT signage, it is recommended that agencies
or DOT's plan to use purple signs, similar to the HCTRA signs used for
the WestPark Tollway, and that that application be made to FHWA for an
Experimentation Project, similar to the HCTRA project, for use of the
purple signs. This will permit the use of the signs, while not
officially covered by the MUTCD at this time.

While the MUTCD currently provides no guidance on signing for HOT lanes
it is particularly important to have good signage when variable tolls
are involved and it is critical in directing motorist to access and
egress locations. Although MnPass chose not to use purple for their
implementation the figure here is a good example of a distinctive sign
that is in use by MnPass on their HOT implementation on I-394. It is
clear, easy to understand, and provides the driver with information on
the toll and distance to the HOT access. Two additional examples of
informative and clear signage are shown in the figures below.

  ---------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------
  **SR 91**                                            **MnPass**

  ![](media/image22.png){width="2.907638888888889in"   ![](media/image23.png){width="2.1840277777777777in"
  height="1.4861111111111112in"}                       height="1.49375in"}

                                                       
  ---------------------------------------------------- -----------------------------------------------------

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023877 .anchor}Figure 4‑10: Sample HOT Lane
Signage

Signage placement must be located at a sufficient distance to provide
the motorist with enough time to safely execute the directions provided
or to change lane if needed to comply with the signage. The chances for
operational success of a managed lane facility will be enhanced by good
informational and directional
signs.![](media/image24.jpeg){width="1.8020833333333333in"
height="2.1194444444444445in"}

It is equally important to ensure that signage displaying enforcement
provisions for lane violations is displayed consistently and frequently
along the HOT corridor. Shown below is and example of enforcement
signage. It has been found that the lack of consistent enforcement
signage contributes to unauthorized users accessing the facilities.

Additionally, the inadequacy of enforcement signs also appears to
contribute to the practice of lane diving from the general purpose lanes
into the HOT lanes that are not barrier separated which can create
safety hazards.

## Incident Management

The sponsoring agency must develop a comprehensive incident management
plan to address a wide range of situations that can impact facility
operations. For example, if there were a major accident on highway
mainlines that resulted in severe backups, should the HOT lane
eligibility requirements be temporarily waived to maximize corridor-wide
throughput until the accident is cleared? Conversely, if there were a
major incident on the HOT lanes and they were to be closed, how should
the event be handled? How will necessary information be conveyed and
what information should appear on VTMS?

The functional requirements for HOT lanes are best integrated into a
region's traffic operation center. The development of a Regional
Incident Management Plan that addresses incident types and mitigation
options for each type must be developed and updated regularly. For an
Incident Plan to be effective, the plan must be tested and training on
the execution of the plans must be performed on a regular basis. If
transit operations are integrated in the facility, then transit vehicle
incident management must be included in the Incident Management Plan.

With a regional traffic operations center, on-site personnel may be
employed to monitor and address traffic incidents and enforce rules and
regulations that cannot be addressed remotely. For example, although
SANDAG's I-15 Express Lanes is operated by a private company, incident
management is under the sole control of Caltrans, who make decisions to
divert traffic from or onto the Express Lanes depending on the nature of
the incident. Reversible flow lanes, in particular, must have on-site
staffing to ensure safe and efficient opening and closure of lane
operation, regardless of the level of automation applied to the
deployment of traffic control devices. Typically, staffing resources
varies with the amount of automation, but a minimum of one person per
peak period needs to drive the lane and make sure all of the traffic
control devices are fully deployed in a correct manner.

HOT lanes are increasingly turning to ITS systems to track users,
monitor operation performance, confirm whether tolls have been paid, and
confirm lane status when incidents occur. The implementation of a basic
incident detection system must include automated interfaces, typically
with video and incident detection software application to effectively
detect incidents and to deal with regional traffic issues in a timely
manner.

As soon as the severity of an incident is determined by operations
personnel, information on travel options should be posted in real time
on VTMS and DMS in the area. If Highway Advisory Radio, (HAR) is
included in the region's ITS suite of equipment, incident alerts should
be announced through this medium as well. Along with the message sign
and HAR notifications, website posting of separate real-time travel
speeds, travel options, and service reliability for the HOV lanes should
also be used. In some cities such as Atlanta, Seattle, Houston and
Orange County, California, website postings are already occurring,
enabling users to quickly assess incident travel options, and available
travel benefits between the parallel roadways.

Functional requirements for the HOV/managed lane system should be
reviewed periodically as design upgrades in technology and traffic
operations management allow.

This page intentionally left blank

# CASE STUDIES OF HOT LANE CONVERSION PROJECTS

The purpose of this chapter is to identify lessons learned from three
case studies of HOV to HOT conversion projects:

-   I-15 Express Lanes (San Diego, CA)

-   MnPass (Minneapolis, MN)

-   I-25 Express Lanes (Denver, CO)

![](media/image25.wmf){width="6.2347222222222225in"
height="3.522222222222222in"}

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023878 .anchor}Figure 5‑11: Location of Hot
Lane Case Studies

These three case studies were chosen to supplement the growing body of
research exploring the relationship between program objectives, system
design, concept of operations, toll collection strategies and
operational requirements. Each case studies attempts to identify
outcomes (intended and unintended) based on specific operational choices
and address key lessons learned, or best practices in the planning,
design and implementation.

## Data Collection Approach

Information available form published data for each of the operational
case study sites was integrated with focused interviews conducted at the
project site, when possible. To provide a common baseline, or starting
point for the interviews, a focused interview guide was developed to
facilitate in-depth probing of key project development issues and
challenges in four main areas, including:

-   Public Outreach and Communications

-   Planning and Policy

-   System Design Procurement

-   Management & Operations

The interview guide is included in Appendix A for reference.

## Focused Interviews

The three systems were specifically chosen for the case studies because
they were converted from HOV lanes to HOT lanes or were in the planning
process for expanding existing facilities to HOT lanes and had been
operational for at least one year.

On-site interviews with the management and operations staff were
conducted at the I-15 Express Lanes in San Diego, California and MnPass
in Minneapolis, Minnesota. For I-25 Express Lanes in Denver, Colorado,
remote discussions were conducted with key management staff. As
mentioned previously, the interviews were designed to address specific
issues and challenges faced at each stage of project development to
include public outreach, planning, design, implementation and
operations. Tables 5.1 and 5.2 provide a comparative summary comparison
of the three operational case sites key site properties and operational
characteristics.

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023866 .anchor}Table 5‑4: Facility
Characteristics

+------+------+------------+---------------+--------+----------------+
| **Si | **   | **Type     | **\# Access   | *      | **GP -- ML     |
| te** | Leng | Lane**     | Points**      | *Toll\ | Separation**   |
|      | th** |            |               | Po     |                |
|      |      |            |               | ints** |                |
+======+======+============+===============+========+================+
| I    | 11   | 8 mi - SLn | Multiple --   | 7 WB   | Double White,  |
| -394 | mi   |            | SL            |        | Rev. with      |
|      |      | 3 mi - 2Ln |               | 6 EB   | Barrier        |
|      |      | Rev.       | Rev. Entry /  |        |                |
|      |      |            | Exit          |        |                |
+------+------+------------+---------------+--------+----------------+
| I-15 | 8 mi | 2 Ln Rev.  | Entry / Exit  | 1      | Rev. with      |
|      |      |            |               |        | Barrier        |
+------+------+------------+---------------+--------+----------------+
| I-15 | 12   | 2 Ln HOT   | Multiple      | Mu     | Dbl Yellow,    |
| Exp  | mi   |            |               | ltiple | Movable        |
|      |      |            |               |        | Barrier        |
+------+------+------------+---------------+--------+----------------+
| I-25 | 10   | 3 mi SLn\  | Entry / Exit  | 1      | Dbl White,     |
|      | mi   | 7 mi 2Ln   |               |        | Rev. with      |
|      |      | Rev.       |               |        | Barrier        |
+------+------+------------+---------------+--------+----------------+

Note: I-15 HOT expansion includes four lanes (two in each direction),
with movable barrier separation in southern section and double yellow
strip separation in northern section between HOT and general use lanes.

[]{#__RefHeading___Toc184023867 .anchor}Table 5‑5: Operational
Characteristics

+-------+-------+----------+---------------+--------------+-----------+
| **S   | **O   | **Type** | **Hours of    | **Authorized | **Tag     |
| ite** | pen** |          | Ops**         | Users**      | Requ      |
|       |       |          |               |              | irement** |
+-------+-------+----------+---------------+--------------+-----------+
| I-394 | 2005  | SL HOT   | AM Peak       | 2 axle,      | Only SOV  |
|       |       |          |               | HOV+2 Buses  |           |
|       |       | R2L HOT  | PM Peak       |              |           |
|       |       |          |               |              |           |
|       |       |          | Non-Peak      |              |           |
|       |       |          | Closed        |              |           |
+-------+-------+----------+---------------+--------------+-----------+
| I-15  | 1996  | R2L HOT  | AM Peak       | 2 axle,      | Only SOV  |
|       |       |          |               | HOV+2        |           |
| Rev   |       |          | PM Peak       |              |           |
|       |       |          |               | Buses        |           |
|       |       |          | Non-Peak      |              |           |
|       |       |          | Closed        |              |           |
+-------+-------+----------+---------------+--------------+-----------+
| I-25  | 2006  | SL HOT   | AM Peak       | Trucks,      | SOV, Bus, |
|       |       |          |               | HOV+2        | Truck     |
|       |       | R2L HOT  | PM Peak       |              |           |
|       |       |          |               | Buses        |           |
|       |       |          | Non-Peak      |              |           |
|       |       |          | Closed        |              |           |
+-------+-------+----------+---------------+--------------+-----------+

The following sections briefly summarize the key findings from the
focused interviews for each of the operational sites, SANDAG's I-15
Express Lanes, MnDOT's MnPass, and CDOT's I-25 Express Lanes.

## San Diego, CA I-15 Express Lanes

The I-15 Express Lanes (FasTrak) opened in January 1997 as a three year
value pricing demonstration that has been operational since
transitioning from HOV only to HOT Express Lanes in January 2000. The
original facility was an 8-mile, two lane, reversible HOV facility. With
over 10 years of operational experience, SANDAG will expand the existing
reversible facility to four bi-directional HOT lanes with multiple
intermediate access locations of over 20 miles in length.

### Project Objectives

-   Provide additional highway capacity on what had been a largely
    underutilized HOV facility.

-   Provide better management and utilization of the HOV lanes.

-   Achieve and maintain LOS C or better.

-   Generate enough revenues to support ongoing operations and
    maintenance.

-   Support new express transit service through toll revenues.

-   Improve highway and transit in the corridor.

-   Extend the original reversible lane segment to include and
    additional 12 miles of converted HOV lanes into an HOT corridor.

### Concept of Operations

-   The reversible section was operational only during the AM and PM
    peak periods and closed during the non-peak period.

-   As the facility expands operations for both HOV and HOT will be
    24/7. System will use movable barriers on the new extension.

-   As with the existing reversible sections, HOV 2+ and transit will
    travel at not cost (free) while SOVs will be tolled for use of the
    facility. Trucks will not be permitted to use the facility.

-   Current policy only requires SOV users to have a transponder.
    However, transponder use for HOV users is under consideration.

-   While under consideration, there is currently no electronic
    enforcement, only manual enforcement provided by enforcement
    officers.

-   Dynamic Pricing has been employed from the initial pilot system.
    Toll rates vary, on average from \$.50 to \$4.00 with a maximum of
    \$8.00.

### Innovative Project Features

-   Having local and state leadership engaged in discussions early and
    often throughout the planning and design phases.

-   Using dynamic pricing with adjustments based on time of day,
    congestion levels, and travel time differential with the general
    purpose lanes. Rates may be adjusted every 6 minutes.

-   Sharing revenues with BRT in corridor widely accepted by transit
    agencies and the public.

### Major Project Challenges/Mitigation Actions

-   Higher risk of SOV use violations with continued manual enforcement
    by CHP -- Prior to the expansion of the I-15 Express Lanes,
    enforcement was easier because it was a reversible lane facility
    that allowed access at a single toll point, with wide shoulders and
    one enforcement area. With multiple access points and limited
    shoulder widths, mobile enforcement will be needed to effectively
    target toll violations.

-   The implementation of dynamic pricing required both local public and
    political support. Early and frequent (on-going) public awareness
    initiatives that included public outreach, active marketing and
    surveys contributed to the ready acceptance of dynamic pricing.

### Major Lesson Learned

-   Enlist the support of a strong political champion at both state and
    local levels to provide advocacy for HOT lane conversion.

-   Roll out an extensive public outreach program involving stakeholder
    interviews, focus groups, and taskforces in parallel with early
    project planning efforts.

-   Conduct corridor level market research early in the project and
    update frequently.

-   Share information and research among other agencies, especially
    those involved along the corridor.

-   Recognize the need for employing ITS technology to enhance the
    program and for adding to regional ITS capabilities.

### Keys to Project Success

-   The HOT program must provide viable and recognized travel options
    for the public.

-   For project acceptance strong stakeholder and public outreach
    programs are a necessity.

-   When possible it is important to develop a revenue plan that
    includes a transit component.

## Minneapolis, MN I-394 Express Lanes

The I-394 Express Lanes, better known as MnPass, became operational in
May 2005 and has nearly two years of operational lessons learned since
it opened.

### Project Objectives

-   To improve efficiency of I-394 and to increase person and vehicle
    carrying capabilities of the HOV lanes.

-   To maintain free flow speeds for transit and carpools.

-   To improve highway and transit operations in the corridor with the
    revenues generated.

-   To use electronic toll collection without toll booths.

-   To employ dynamic pricing and in-vehicle electronic enforcement.

### Concept of Operations

-   Conversion of the existing HOV lanes to HOT lanes with concurrent
    travel to be operated 24/7 while operating the two-lane reversible
    section for HOT operations EB during the AM Peak and WB for the PM
    Peak.

-   Only SOVs are tolled while HOV 2+ and Transit are not tolled (free).
    Trucks are not permitted to use the facility.

-   For the non-reversible section there is no barrier between the HOT
    lanes and adjacent GP lanes. Only double white stripe is used to
    delineate HOT-GP separation.

-   For the HOV converted segment there are multiple mid-point access
    locations to the HOT facility. Access to and from the reversible
    lane segment is controlled by three gates that are closed manually
    prior to beginning reverse operations.

-   Variable dynamic tolling is used during peak travel times with an
    average toll rate between \$1 and \$4, with a maximum of \$8.

### Innovative Project Features

-   The engagement of state leadership early and often throughout the
    planning and design phases was instrumental in passing key
    legislation and project acceptance.

-   A local taskforce, the I-394 Express Lane Community Taskforce, was
    created to address issues, desires and design options.

-   The program received local and state support by ensuring that 50% of
    revenues generated were shared with transit for improvements.

-   To maintain support and to encourage continued growth, it is
    important to conduct continuing and comprehensive evaluations of the
    facility to provide to the public and for use in marketing
    campaigns.

### Major Project Challenges/Mitigation Actions

-   Prior to the conversion to HOT lanes there was a high rate of HOV
    lane violations, over 20%. To maintain the integrity of the HOT
    facility a more effective enforcement presence was needed to detect
    and to deter violators. Mobile violation detection equipment was
    employed along with contracts with three law enforcements agencies
    along the corridor to beef up law enforcement presence. Contracts
    are with Minnesota Highway Patrol, Minneapolis Police Department and
    the Golden Valley Police Department.

-   Opposition from pro-transit constituent groups had to be convinced
    that HOT lanes would provide a strong benefit to transit. With the
    strong projections provided from the Toll and revenue studies, and
    the proposed sharing of the revenue generated, the pro-transit
    constituent groups became strong supporters.

-   The added SOV traffic on the HOT lanes created unexpected traffic
    backups in the downtown area that increase congestion. After opening
    of the HOT facility MnDOT constructed an auxiliary lane to provide
    additional vehicle storage capacity to mitigate the congestion
    created by the added SOV traffic.

### Major Lesson Learned

-   Have a fiber backbone and communications infrastructure in place to
    implement an effective traffic management system.

-   The establishment of the I-394 Express Lane Community Task Force was
    critical to getting buy-in from the Governor, state legislators, and
    community groups. It provided an opportunity for the community to
    engage the decision makers early and often through a participatory
    process.

-   Don't create new traffic problems and be prepared to add capacity to
    address unexpected congestion hot spots.

### Keys to Project Success

-   Implement an effective enforcement strategy to regulate demand and
    to maintain the integrity and effectiveness of the facility.

-   Establish a robust public outreach and coordination framework
    through which to build political and public support.

-   Develop a revenue plan that featured a transit component was
    critical in earning the trust and support of the transit community.

## Denver, CO I-25 Express Lanes

The I-25 Express Lane opened in June 2006. Like SANDAG's I-15 Express
Lanes, I-25 Express Lanes consists of two segments: a 2-mile reversible
segment and a 7-mile barrier-separated HOT lane segment.

### Project Objectives

-   Improve the efficiency and capacity of I-25 HOV/HOT lanes.

-   Expand menu of travel options to the motoring public.

-   Use the facility as a showcase congestion management tool.

-   Generate sufficient revenue to cover operating expenses.

### Concept of Operations

-   The reversible section is operational during AM and PM peak periods.
    During non-peak periods the section is open outbound only.

-   The HOT section (converted HOV) is only operational during the AM
    and PM peak periods.

-   The entire facility is barrier separated with single entry and exit
    points.

-   SOV's are tolled for use, while HOV2+ and transit travel without
    being tolled (free). Trucks over 3-axles using the facility are
    charged a premium rate of \$18.00 plus the base toll rate which is
    per axle based.

-   All HOT users, SOV, bus and trucks are required to have transponder.

-   A fixed variable toll rate based on time of day dynamic tolling is
    used. Toll rates average between \$.50 to a maximum of \$3.25).

-   VES enforcement is automatic using license plate photo and optical
    character recognition technology.

### Innovative Project Features

-   Instead of using LOS, bus travel speed is used as a performance
    measure on travel time. If bus speeds or time degrades by 8 min, 45
    seconds then the toll rate is raised to push SOVs off of the
    facility. The tolls are increased on a pre-determined fixed amount
    based on time of day.

-   The facility has single ingress and egress points with the northern
    section interfacing to two distributor connections and the southern
    end feeding directly into downtown.

-   The facility has a single tolling point that requires traffic to
    divide into lanes for HOVs (free) and non-HOV (tolled) vehicles.

-   During off peak hours the reversible lanes are switched using
    multiple gates along the facility to restrict access from direct
    access ramps. All gate closing is completely automated.

-   Customer Service Center is outsourced to existing E-470 Service
    Center

### Major Project Challenges/Mitigation Actions

-   HOV/HOT violations are captured automatically for undetected
    transponder reads using V-tolls, or video tolls.

-   Vehicle occupancy violations done by visual on-site inspection by
    Highway Patrol.

-   Automatic vehicle classification system is required for axle
    classification needed to capture trucks with more than three axles.

-   The reversible lane section in downtown required that travel through
    the section be safely and efficiently revered. Gates are used at the
    entrance and exit points as well as the direct access ramps to
    restrict access. Gate closing is completely automated, is done
    during off-peak hours is connected with traffic operations via a
    verifiable communication link to verify gate status.

### Major Lesson Learned

-   Have a political champion to ensure successful project
    implementation.

-   Avoid justifying HOT lanes implementation as a revenue generation
    strategy for added capacity. Establish the primary program objective
    of HOT lane implementation as a congestion management tool.

-   Ensure that managed lane projects are included in MPO plans early.

### Keys to Project Success

-   Promote future projects as "congestion relief" and promote early to
    the public. Don't promote revenue enhancement; advocate use as a
    congestion tool.

-   An effective enforcement strategy is a must for a success.

-   A strong political champion at both state and local levels is key to
    successful project development and implementation.

This page intentionally left blank.

# Direction for Future Practice

The success of HOT lanes in a growing number of states suggests that
there is a strong market demand for high quality, dependable Express
Lanes that function as a safety valve from highway congestion. However,
the case studies, in addition to the experience of new HOT lane projects
elsewhere, indicate that HOT lanes -- while they demonstrate the
feasibility of several important operational concepts -- are assets that
have diminished valuation compared to other toll alternatives.

While there may be a compelling financial case for requiring all
vehicles to pay a toll regardless of occupancy, the opportunity to
leverage private financing and PPP mechanisms must be weighed against
program objectives developed specifically to mitigate public concerns
such as equity, fairness and privacy. In many cases, there is a strong
consensus to accept suboptimal rates of return in exchange for
mitigations that demonstrate the state's commitment to meeting public
concerns.

As more agencies assess the feasibility of converting existing HOV to
HOT lanes, it is important that planners, designers and other
practitioners avoid 'relearning' lessons others have struggled with in
converting HOV lanes to HOT lanes. One of the biggest challenges facing
HOT lane planning and operations is and will continue to be enforcement.
Perhaps the major lesson learned from the case studies is that while
manual enforcement is imperfect, it can be an effective method of
deterring violations in HOT lanes with limited access. Even with
multiple enforcement zones, it is virtually impossible for law
enforcement to perform 100% occupancy checks of vehicles that
self-identify as HOVs.

This is especially true of HOT lane that are non- barrier separated and
have multiple access points. As HOT lane facilities expand in length and
grow from a facility-based to network-based system, manual enforcement
will at some point experience diminishing effectiveness as a violation
deterrent strategy. The following section briefly identifies the Best
Practices Top 20 highlighting those areas HOT lane practitioners should
be cognizant of to avoid problems and challenges that may arise during
each phase of project development and implementation.

## Best Practices

The purpose of this section is to identify best practices in each of the
major stages of project development, per the discussion in Chapter 2.
The best practices identified here are informed by information gathered
as part of the focused interviews and research conducted on HOT
implementation projects completed over the past 15 years.

### Project Pre-Planning and System Planning

-   Engage local and state leadership early and often during planning
    and design phases.

-   Develop an extensive and effective Public Outreach Program that
    begins at the earliest stages and continues through operations.

-   Ensure that the HOT project is included in the MPO planning
    requirements as soon as possible.

-   Identify a strong Political Champions at the State and Local levels
    willing to advocate the HOT conversion project and participate in
    efforts to build support for the HOT conversion program.

-   Foster a revenue and sharing plan that includes transit when
    possible to do so.

### System Design

-   Design for efficiency, safety and ease of participation by the
    public.

-   Provide the public with a viable travel option.

-   Utilize electronic and video tolling concepts; no toll booths.

-   Consider using dynamic tolling strategies to control traffic
    volumes.

### Project Financing

-   Federal funds and grants are essential to implementing a project.

-   Investigate PPP options either as stand alone or as supplemental to
    Federal funding.

-   Use local Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) options as
    appropriate to address short falls.

### Implementation

-   Utilize electronic and video tolling concepts.

-   Consider outsourcing back office and/or Customer Services with an
    established Customer Service Center.

-   Ensure the establishment of maintenance services to provide 24/7
    operations to include an On-Line Maintenance System (MOMs).

### Operations and Management

-   Determine if 24/7 toll operations meets objectives and is generally
    supported by resources and the public.

-   Use dynamic pricing strategies to maintain free flow speeds.

-   Implement an enforcement system that is visible, effective and fair
    (from the public's perspective) to ensure the integrity of the
    facility.

-   Share information and research with agencies along the corridor to
    obtain their support and ensure the success of the facility.

-   Implement a continuing and comprehensive evaluation of the facility
    to maintain support, to encourage continued growth, to use in
    marketing campaigns and to inform the public.

## Lessons Learned

Although each of the case studies differed from one another and from a
number of the implementations reviewed in the literature, there were
several project development issues and challenges around which key
lessons learned with similar themes were articulated. The lesson learned
that resonated across several projects are presented here to alert and
to assist practitioners to challenges likely to be encountered
throughout the project development process.

1\) Every HOV to HOT conversion project needs a political champion with
strong credibility among state, regional and locally elected officials.
Based on the case studies, the presence of a political champion at both
the State and local levels was critical in building support within the
State Legislature and developing mitigation strategies for potential
deal-breakers.

2\) An extensive public outreach program with stakeholder outreach, a
multi-agency taskforce, public meetings are absolutely necessary for
success and acceptance. A successful program built around three or four
program objectives is critical for obtaining buy-in with the public and
with elected officials.

3\) HOT lanes should not be implemented as a revenue generator for added
capacity. They should be 'sold' to the public and implemented as a
congestion management tool first and a possible source of revenue
second.

4\) It is critical to fully understand the impact of creating added
capacity to HOV lanes and potentially creating unexpected, new
congestion hot spots.

5)  5\) Enforcement of occupancy requirements is the most difficult
    operational challenge facing toll agencies and enforcement officers
    because automatic technologies have not yet met reliability and
    field accuracy requirements required for operational deployment.

6)  6\) Signage among the various tolled facilities was not consistent
    especially when announcing enforcement provisions for lane
    violations. This lack of consistent enforcement signage was found to
    contribute to unauthorized users accessing the facilities and
    appeared to contribute to the practice of lane diving from the
    general purpose lanes into the managed lanes that were not barrier
    separated.

## Direction for Future Practice

Tolling and dynamic pricing are gaining greater recognition among the
State DOT's as a means of generating revenues for system improvements
and for managing increasing traffic levels. Each HOV transition to HOT
operations will, by necessity, be evaluated on the unique circumstances
for each area. While each implementation will be a unique application
dependent on road geometry, right of way availability, density and
alternative corridors, it is important that consideration be given to
the utilization of common, and to some degree, interoperable
technologies for a HOT facility.

Some trends and practices that are emerging throughout the nation as HOT
lane implementations grow include

### Legislative

Legislatures are becoming more proactive in providing enabling
legislation that will provide the states with the authority to collect
tolls, to toll HOV facilities, to implement an effective violation
enforcement policy, to provide authorization to collect administration
and processing fees, and to provide for a PPP policy.

### Electronic and Video Toll Payment

To minimize the impact to the traveling public, toll booths will not be
used for HOT lane operations. As congestion increases and the average
number of HOT lane facilities increases to beyond 2 lanes in each
direction, the HOT implementations will begin to resemble ORT)
implementations using a combination of electronic and video tolling.

### Enforcement

As was mentioned numerous times, enforcement is critical to the
successful operation of any HOV/managed lane facility. Visible and
effective enforcement promotes fairness and maintains the integrity of
the facility to help gain and maintain public acceptance of the project.
Continued technology improvements will provide effective video capture
and optical character recognition systems for license plate capture.
However, these improvements alone will not be sufficient for an
effective enforcement system. It will be necessary to implement a
reliable and accurate mobile enforcement system that complements the
improved video systems. Visible and effective enforcement promotes
fairness and maintains the integrity of the facility to help gain and
maintain public acceptance of the project.

### Occupancy Enforcement

Probably the most frequent type of violation infraction that enforcement
officers encounter is occupancy violations, which requires them to see
inside a vehicle and to be able to count the number of occupants.
Current technology does not exist to determine accurately the number of
occupants in a vehicle. However, perhaps within the next ten to fifteen
years an on board unit capable of determining vehicle occupancy will be
fully integrated in a vehicle and capable of communicating this
information to the enforcement officer at the roadside using DSRC
technology. Until this technology is available it is likely that DOT's
and toll agencies will require all HOT users to establish either a
transponder or a video toll account to assist in separating HOV
authorized users from SOV users.

This page intentionally left blank.

##### LIST OF ACRONYMS {#list-of-acronyms .unnumbered}

**ACRONYM DESCRIPTION**

AASHTO American Associate of State Highway and Transportation Officials

AVC Automatic Vehicle Classification

AVI Automatic Vehicle Identification

BRT Bus Rapid Transit

CCTV Closed Circuit Television

CDOT Colorado Department of Transportation

CHP California Highway Patrol

CSC Customer Service Center

CTOC California Toll Operators Committee

DOT Department of Transportation

DSRC Digital Short Range Communication

DVAs Digital Video Audit Systems

EB Eastbound

ETC Electronic Toll Collection

FHWA Federal Highway Administration

HCTRA Harris County Toll Road Authority

HOT High Occupancy Toll

HOV High Occupancy Vehicle

IBTTA International Bridge, Tunnel and Toll Authority

ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems

LOS Level of Service

LOV Low Occupancy Vehicle

MnDOT Minnesota Department of Transportation

MOM Maintenance Online Monitoring

MPO Metropolitan Planning Organization

MUTCD Manual on Uniform Traffic Control Devices

NTDEV Notic of Delinquent Toll Evasion

NTEV Notice of Toll Evasion

NTP Notice to Proceed

OCR Optical Character Recognition

OCTA Orange County Transportation Authority

ORT Open Road Tolling

PPPs Public Private Partnerships

RFID Radio Frequency Identification

RFP Request For Proposal

RPOs Regional Planning Organizations

RTMS Remote Traffic Microwave Sensor

SAFETEA-LU Safe, Accountable, Flexible and Efficient Transportation
Equity Act: A Legacy for Uers

SANDAG San Diego Association of Governments

SOV Single Occupant Vehicle

SPLOST Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax

TDM Transportation Demand Management

TSM Transportation System Management

TxDOT Texas Department of Transportation

VES Violation Enforcement System

VMS Variable Message Sign

VPC Video Processing Center

VTMS Variable Toll Message Sign

WB Westbound

#####  {#section .unnumbered}

##### REFERENCES {#references .unnumbered}

  -----------------------------------------------------------------------
  Altschuler, A. Womack and J. Pucher. *The Urban Transportation System:
  Politics and Policy Innovation*. MIT Press. Cambridge, MA. 1979.

  Collier, T.S. and V.D. Goodin. *Managed Lanes: A Cross-Cutting Study*.
  FHWA-HOP-05-037. Federal Highway Administration, McLean, VA. 2005.

  Bracewell, D.T., S. Sayed, and A. Shalaby. *High-occupancy Vehicle
  Monitoring and Evaluation Framework*. Transportation Research Record,
  No. 1682. Transportation Research Board, National Research Council.
  Washington, D.C. 1999.

  Dahlgren, J.W. *An Analysis of the Effectiveness of High Occupancy
  Vehicle Lanes*, Doctoral Dissertation, University of California,
  Berkeley, Institute of Transportation Studies, UCS-ITS-DS-94-2.

  Downs, A. *Stuck in Traffic: Coping with Peak-Hour Traffic Congestion*.
  Brooking Institute. Washington, D.C. 1992.

  Fuhs, C.A. *High Occupancy Vehicle Facilities: A Planning, Operation
  and Design Manual*. Parsons Brinckerhoff Quade and Douglas, Inc. New
  York, 1990.

  Gordon, J. and D.B. Klein. *High Occupancy Toll Lanes: Phasing in
  Congestion Pricing a Lane at a Time*, Policy Study No. 170. Los
  Angeles: Reason Public Policy Institute, November 1993.

  He. R.R., B. Ban, and K. Choi. *Decision Support system for
  Value-pricing Strategies on I-394 Corridor Network*. Compendium. 80^th^
  Annual Transportation Research Board Meeting. January 2001.

  Hickman, M., Q. Brown and A. Miranda. *Katy Freeway High-occupancy
  Vehicle Lane Value Pricing Project, Houston, Texas: Evaluation of
  Usage*. Transportation Research Record. No. 1732. Transportation
  Research Board, National Research Council. Washington, D.C. 2000.

  Homberger, W.S., J. Kell and D.D. Perkins. *Fundamentals of Traffic
  Engineering*. Institute of Transportation Studies, Berkeley, CA. 1992

  Kuhn, B. and G. Goodin et. al. *Managed Lanes Handbook.* Texas
  Transportation Institute. October 2005.

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program. *HOV Systems Manual*.
  Report 414. Transportation Research Board, National Research Council,
  Washington, D.C. 1998.

  Neudorff, L.G., J.E. Randall, R. Reiss, and R. Gordon. *Freeway
  Management and Operations Handbook*. FHWA-OP-04-003. Federal Highway
  Administration, Washington, D.C. 2003

  Kirchner, D. *Efficiency Gains from Value Pricing: Case Study of Sunol
  Grade*. Transportation Research Record. No. 1747. Transportation
  Research Board, National Research Council. Washington, D.C. 2001

  Kim, Eugene. *HOT Lanes: An Evaluation of Costs, Benefits and
  Performance*. Doctoral Dissertation, University of California, Los
  Angeles, Institute of Transportation Studies, UCS-ITS-DC-2000.

  Lam, T.C. and K.A. Small. *The Value of Time and Reliability:
  Measurements from a Value Pricing Experiment*. Transportation Research,
  Part E: Logistics and Transport Review. Vol. 37, No. 2. April 2001.

  Obenberger, J. *Managed Lanes*. Public Roads. Federal Highway
  Administration, U.S. Department of Transportation, Washington, D.C.
  2004.

  Parsons, Brinckerhoff, Quade and Douglas. *HOT and TOT Feasibility
  Studies for the Atlanta Region*. Georgia Department of Transportation,
  Atlanta, Georgia 2005.

  Perez, B., G.C. Sciarra. A *Guide for HOT Lane Development*. Federal
  Highway Administration, Washington , D.C., 2004.

  Poole, R. and C.K. Orski. *HOT Lanes: A Better Way to Attack Urban
  Highway Congestion*, Regulations 23(1). Cato Institute. Washington,
  D.C. 2000.

  Supernak, J., D. Steffey, and C. Kaschade. *Dynamic Value Pricing on
  I-15 in San Diego: Impact on Travel Time and Its Reliability*.
  Transportation Research Record. No. 1839. Transportation Research
  Board, National Research Council. Washington, D.C. 2003b.

  Supernak, J., D. Steffey, and C. Kaschade. *Dynamic Value Pricing as
  Instrument for Better Utilization of High-occupancy Toll Lanes: San
  Diego I-15 Case*. Transportation Research Record. No. 1839.
  Transportation Research Board, National Research Council. Washington,
  D.C. 2003a.

  Safirova, E., K. Gillingham, W. Harrington and P. Nelson. *Are HOT
  Lanes a Hot Deal? The Potential Consequences of Converting HOV to HOT
  Lanes in Northern Virginia*. Urban Complexities Issue Brief 03-03.
  Resources for the Future. Washington, D.C. May 2003.

  Sullivan, E.C. *Continuation Study to Evaluate the Impacts of the SR 91
  Value-Priced Express Lanes*. Final Report, California Department of
  Transportation, Sacramento, California.

  Transportation Research Board. *Highway Capacity Manual*. National
  Research Council. Washington, D.C. 2000.
  -----------------------------------------------------------------------

#####  {#section-1 .unnumbered}

#####  {#section-2 .unnumbered}

[^1]: Small, K., C. Winston, J. Yan, March 16, 2006, "Differentiated
    Road Pricing, Express Lanes, and carpools: Exploiting Heterogeneous
    Preferences in Policy Design"

[^2]: "A Guide for HOT Lane Development", U.S. Department of
    Transportation, Federal Highway Administration

[^3]: Ibid Chapter 6

[^4]: Ibid Chapter 6

[^5]: Low Occupancy Vehicles (LOVs) are defined here as vehicles that do
    not meet the HOV exemption and would be subject to the HOT lane toll

[^6]: FHWA, A Guide for HOT Lane Development, page 7.

[^7]: Perez, B.G., and G. Sciara. "A Guide for HOT LANE DEVELOPMENT",
    Federal Highway Administration Report FHWA-OP-03-009, Washington,
    DC, 2003

[^8]: Toycen, C., (2006), "Tough To Be Single," TM+E, July, Vol. 11, No.
    2

[^9]: Caltrans High-Occupancy Vehicle Guidelines, 2003 Edition

[^10]: "A Guide for HOT Lane Development", U.S. Department of
    Transportation, Federal Highway Administration

[^11]: Ibid, Chapter 6

[^12]: Ibid, Chapter 6

[^13]: Perez, B.G., and G. Sciara. "A Guide for HOT LANE DEVELOPMENT",
    Federal Highway Administration Report FHWA-OP-03-009, Washington,
    DC, 2003

[^14]: Excerpt from FHWA Memorandum, Subject: Traffic Control Signage
    for Toll Plazas, October 10, 2006,