CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Contemporary Approaches in 

Congestion Pricing: 

August 2015

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Federal Highway Administration

FHWA-JPO-2015-217

Lessons Learned from the National Evaluation of 

Congestion Pricing Strategies at Six Sites
This document is disseminated under the sponsorship of the Department of Transportation in the 

interest of information exchange. The United States Government assumes no liability for its contents 

or use thereof.

The U.S. Government is not endorsing any manufacturers, products, or services cited herein and any 

trade name that may appear in the work has been included only because it is essential to the contents 

of the work.

NOTICE

Cover photos provided by: 

Florida Department of Transportation

Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Minnesota Department of Transportation

San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

State Road and Tollway Authority (Georgia) 

Washington State Department of Transportation

Produced by Urban Partnership Agreement Demonstration Evaluation

U.S. Department of Transportation

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration

i
TECHNICAL REPORT DOCUMENTATION PAGE

1. Report No.

FHWA-JPO-2015-217

3. Recipient’s Catalog No.

4. Title and Subtitle

Contemporary Approaches to Congestion Pricing: Lessons Learned from the National Evaluation of Congestion Pricing Strategies at Six Sites

5. Report Date 

August, 2015

6. Performing Organization Code

7. Author(s) 

Zimmerman, Carol (Zimmerman Consulting), Rachel Klein and Jeremy Schroeder (Battelle), Brian Pessaro 

(Center for Urban Transportation Research, University of South Florida), Mark Burris and Katie Turnbull 

(Texas A&M Transportation Institute), Barbara Joy (Earth Matters, Inc.), and Eric Schreffler (ESTC).

8. Performing Organization Report No.

9. Performing Organization Name And Address

Battelle

505 King Avenue

Columbus, OH 43201

10. Work Unit No. (TRAIS)

11. Contract or Grant No.

DTFH61-06-D-00007/ORDER 07-T-08002/

WO BA07-041

12. Sponsoring Agency Name and Address

U.S. Department of Transportation

Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology

Federal Highway Administration

Federal Transit Administration

1200 New Jersey Avenue, S.E.

Washington, DC 20590

13. Type of Report and Period Covered

14. Sponsoring Agency Code

15. Supplementary Notes

16. Abstract

This document represents the final report of the national evaluation of congestion reduction strategies at six sites that received federal funding under the 

Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) and Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) programs. The six sites, or “urban partners,” were Atlanta, Georgia; Los 

Angeles, California; Miami, Florida; Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Francisco, California; and Seattle, Washington. Each site implemented a comprehensive policy 

response to urban congestion that included four essential components known as the “4 Ts”: 1) tolling (or congestion pricing), 2) enhanced transit services, 

3) telecommuting and other transportation demand management (TDM) strategies, and 4) advanced technology. The U.S. Department of Transportation 

sponsored an independent national evaluation of the multi-year, multi-site demonstration of congestion pricing and other supporting strategies. The contents of 

this “lessons learned” report are derived from the national evaluation and represent a cross-cutting review and assessment of the impacts of the six projects. 

The findings will be useful to state and regional agencies interested in advancing new congestion pricing programs or expanding programs already in place. 

The report notes the strategies that worked well across sites and those that did not. The findings are presented in the following sections: Growth and Change 

in Usage, Congestion Performance, Transit Performance, Telecommuting and TDM Performance, Environmental Impacts, Benefit-Cost Analysis, Equity and 

Congestion Pricing, Technology Performance, The Deployment Experience, Operational Impacts, and the Long-Term Effects of the UPA/CRD Projects at the Six 

Sites. 

17. Key Words

Urban Partnership Agreement, Congestion Reduction Demonstration, high-occupancy tolling (HOT), 

express lanes, demand-based parking pricing, congestion pricing, tolling, congestion reduction, transit, 

telecommuting, transportation demand management (TDM), evaluation

18. Distribution Statement

19. Security Classif. (of this report) 20. 

Security 

Classif. 

(of this 

page)

21. No. of Pages

64

22. Price

Form DOT F 1700.7 (8-72) Reproduction of completed page authorized

ii
The UPA/CRD national evaluation would not have been possible without the considerable involvement 

of the staff of partnering agencies associated with the projects in Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, 

Minneapolis, San Francisco and Seattle. Over the course of several years, from the planning and 

implementation of their projects, through the deployment and collection of data, and finally through the 

analysis and reporting on the evaluation findings, these agencies have been valuable partners in the 

evaluation, and their assistance is both recognized and appreciated.

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

iii
Table of Contents iv

Preface and List of Key Findings viii

Congestion Reduction Strategies at Six Sites 1

STRATEGIES USED AT EACH SITE 1

NATIONAL EVALUATION OF THE SITES’ STRATEGIES 5

Growth and Change in Usage 6

HOT LANES GROWTH IN USAGE 6

CHANGES IN TRAFFIC ON SEATTLE’S SR 520 BRIDGE 8

CHANGE IN OCCUPANCY WITH SFPARK AND LA EXPRESS PARKTM 8

Congestion Performance 10

EXPRESS LANES 10

SR 520 BRIDGE 14

SFPARK 16

Transit Performance 17

Telecommuting and TDM Performance 20

Environmental Impacts 23

Benefit-Cost Analysis 25

Equity and Congestion Pricing 26

USER GROUPS 26

ENVIRONMENTAL EQUITY 26

REINVESTING REVENUES 26

SURVEY FINDINGS 27

Technology Performance 28

ACTIVE TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT 28

ADVANCED PARKING TECHNOLOGY 29

AUTOMATED ENFORCEMENT TECHNOLOGY 31

TABLE OF CONTENTS

iv
The Deployment Experience 33

INSTITUTIONAL ISSUES 33

MARKETING AND OUTREACH 34

PUBLIC ACCEPTANCE OF INNOVATIVE PROJECTS 37

Operational Impacts 39

STAFFING 39

VIOLATIONS AND ENFORCEMENT 40

Long-Term Effects of the UPA/CRD Projects at the Six Sites 42

ATLANTA 42

LOS ANGELES 43

MIAMI 44

MINNEAPOLIS 45

SAN FRANCISCO 46

SEATTLE 47

For More Information 49

List of Acronyms 51

v
Table 1. Federal and State/Local Investments in UPA/CRD Projects at Six Sites 1

Table 2. 4-T Congestion Reduction Strategies Deployed at Six Sites and Start Date for 

 Congestion Pricing 2

Table 3. New Toll Accounts and Transponders Issued for HOT Lanes 6

Table 4. Growth in Monthly HOT Tolled Trips 7

Table 5. Growth in Total Monthly HOT Gross Revenue 7

Table 6. Congestion Measures Pre- and Post-Deployment 11

Table 7. Total Vehicle and Person Throughput Pre- and Post-Deployment 12

Table 8. SR 520 and I-90 Congestion Measures Pre- and Post-Deployment 15

Table 9. Observed Changes in Carpooling after Tolling 20

Table 10. Achievement of TDM Targets 21

Table 11. Percent Change in VMT and Emissions at Five UPA/CRD Sites on Weekdays 

 during Morning and Evening Peak Periods 23

Table 12. Benefit-Cost Analysis for the UPA/CRD Sites 25

Table 13. Mean Satisfaction Scores for Peak-Period Driving Trips across Lake Washington

 Before and After SR 520 Tolling 37

LIST OF TABLES

vi
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

 Figure 1. Atlanta CRD Location 3

Figure 2. Los Angeles CRD Location 3

Figure 3. Miami UPA Location 3

Figure 4. Minneapolis UPA Location 4

Figure 5. San Francisco UPA Location 4

Figure 6. Seattle UPA Location 4

Figure 7. Weekday Parking Occupancy in Four SFpark Pilot Areas with Declines in

 Parking Occupancy between 9 A.M. and 6 P.M. 9

Figure 8. Examples of Changes in Congestion at HOV-to-HOT Conversion Sites 13

Figure 9. MARQ2 Lanes in Downtown Minneapolis 17

Figure 10. Average Daily Ridership in the A.M. Peak: Percentage and Absolute Increase 18

Figure 11. Increase in Bus Ridership after Enhancements and after Tolls 18

Figure 12. Percent of New Riders Who Agreed That Tolling Influenced Them to Take Transit 19

Figure 13. Percent of Riders Who Agreed That Tolling Had Improved Their Travel 19

Figure 14. Minneapolis eWorkPlace Program 22

Figure 15. Low-Income Assistance Plan Advertisement 27

Figure 16. Advanced Traffic Management System Sign Options Used in Seattle 28

Figure 17. I-35W MnPASS Express Lane Diamond and General Purpose 

 Freeway Lane Advisory Speeds 28

Figure 18. Signs on SR 520 Bridge in Seattle 29

Figure 19. In-ground Parking Sensor in San Francisco 29

Figure 20. Examples of Advanced Parking Meters in LA ExpressParkTM and SFpark. 30

Figure 21. Example of SFMTA Real-time Parking Information Mobile App 30

Figure 22. Examples of Local Partners’ Marketing Materials 35

Figure 23. LA Metro’s Commitment to Outreach and Citizen Involvement 36

Figure 24. SFpark Branding 36

Figure 25. Managed Lane Corridors in Atlanta 42

Figure 26. Florida Express Lane Network Phases 44

Figure 27. Toll Facilities in the Seattle Area Including Existing, Under Construction and In-Study 48

LIST OF FIGURES

vii
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES viii

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. 

DOT) announced the designation of four metropolitan 

areas (Miami, Florida; Minneapolis, Minnesota; San 

Francisco, California; and Seattle, Washington) as 

“urban partners,” based on the results of a thorough 

review and competitive selection process. Each 

urban partner agreed to implement a comprehensive 

policy response to urban congestion that included 

four essential components known as the “4 Ts”: (1) 

demonstration of tolling (congestion pricing), (2) 

enhanced transit services, (3) increased emphasis 

on telecommuting and other transportation demand 

management (TDM) strategies that include flexible 

scheduling, alternate commute programs, vanpooling, 

or carpooling, and (4) deployment of advanced 

technology. Termed as the Urban Partnership 

Agreements (UPA), the approaches taken vary 

between partner jurisdictions (e.g., HOV-to-HOT lane 

conversion in Miami vs. full facility pricing in Seattle), 

but in each case the projects represented innovative 

solutions, involving variable pricing, that had the 

potential to lead to substantial reductions in urban 

congestion in the long-run. 

In 2008, the Department again solicited applications 

for a sister program identified as the Congestion 

Reduction Demonstration (CRD) Program. Under 

this similar initiative, the Department announced the 

designation of two additional metropolitan areas (Los 

Angeles, California and Atlanta, Georgia) as “urban 

partners,” again based on the results of a thorough 

review and competitive selection process. As with 

the earlier initiative, each urban partner agreed to 

implement a comprehensive policy response to urban 

congestion that included the “4 Ts”.

PREFACE AND LIST OF KEY FINDINGS 

Because they were innovative, had the ability to 

significantly influence travel behavior, and involved 

the application of a high degree of advanced 

technologies, the Department undertook a national 

evaluation of these six UPA/CRD projects. The national 

evaluation was funded by the Intelligent Transportation 

Systems Joint Program Office (ITS JPO) in the Office of 

the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology 

(formerly in the Research and Innovative Technology 

Administration (RITA)) and jointly managed with the 

Federal Highway Administration (FHWA). 

The contents of this “lessons learned” report are 

derived from the national evaluation and represent a 

cross-cutting review and assessment of the impacts 

of the UPA/CRD projects. This document summarizes 

the findings from the evaluation of the multi-year, 

multi-site demonstration of congestion pricing and 

other supporting strategies sponsored by U.S. DOT. It 

provides a high-level snapshot of a variety of impacts 

and lessons learned that will be useful to state and 

regional agencies interested in advancing new 

congestion pricing programs or expanding programs 

already in place. The report notes the strategies that 

worked well across sites and those that did not. At 

the end of the document, sources for more information 

about the evaluation and its findings are available 

to the reader. For example, in addition to this report, 

the national evaluation effort produced specific 

reports and analyses for each of the six sites, which 

are available online at http://www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/

congestionpricing/urb_partner_agree.htm and http://

www.ops.fhwa.dot.gov/congestionpricing/cong_reduc_

demo.htm. 

Below is a listing of some of the key findings and 

lessons learned from the national evaluation of the six 

sites. Details of each of the topics are presented in the 

report sections that follow.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

ix LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Growth and Change in Usage

• HOT lanes grew in terms of new accounts/transponders, tolled trips, and gross revenues at all four sites, 

indicative of a growing acceptance of tolling. 

• On the SR 520 Bridge tolling succeeded in reducing traffic volumes by 34% in the first year, while transit 

ridership grew by 38%. Monthly toll transactions remained steady.

• As part of the SFpark pilot, pricing was effective in gradually reducing the prevalence of blocks with high 

occupancy and increasing occupancies on under-utilized blocks. A similar trend in occupancy as a 

result of price changes was seen for LA Express ParkTM.

 

Congestion

• Congestion impacts were assessed with several measures – travel time, speed, and reliability. HOV-toHOT conversion, along with transit and other improvements, led to reductions in some congestion metrics 

and increased throughput in some, but not all, sites. Particular combinations of added capacity, HOV 

restrictions, and registration and toll tag requirements appear to affect the differences observed among 

the sites.

• Tolling on SR 520 resulted in improved congestion on the bridge but led to slightly more traffic on the 

alternate I-90 route. 

• SFpark variable pricing significantly reduced cruising for parking in the pilot areas, as compared to the 

control areas. Less cruising for parking would have reduced congestion, but congestion reduction was 

difficult to detect with available data. Higher traffic volumes associated with an improving economy may 

have obscured the congestion impact as well. 

 

Transit

• In five of the six sites, express buses using tolled lanes had faster speeds and shorter travel times. Bus 

ridership on the UPA/CRD corridors increased by a greater percentage than ridership on other parts of 

the respective local systems. 

Telecommuting/TDM

• Typically only a modest amount of funding, if any, was allocated for the telecommuting and TDM 

component of the 4T strategies at the six sites. This was most notably reflected in the results of 

ridesharing impacts where there was a noticeable decline in HOV 2+ and 3+ carpools. Minneapolis 

successfully demonstrated telecommuting as a congestion management tool, and Los Angeles and 

Seattle dramatically increased vanpool operations related to their projects. 

Environmental Impacts

• Emissions changed as a direct, but not exclusive, effect of VMT – declined at three of the five evaluated 

sites and increased at two sites. Lower emissions associated with congestion pricing could not offset 

higher emissions when VMT increased at the two sites where this occurred. 
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES x

Benefit-Cost Analysis

• The results were modest, or in some cases negative, perhaps reflecting the experimental nature of some 

of the investments. In addition, limitations in data available to measure some benefits at certain sites may 

have impacted the findings.

 

Equity

• The UPA/CRD projects did not generally have any negative equity impact and succeeded in expanding 

travel options through transit improvements and by expanding the range of parking price and 

convenience options available to drivers. Nevertheless, surveys at several sites indicate a persistent 

perception of unfairness in the tolling efforts.

Technology

• Intelligent transportation technology permeated the congestion pricing and many of the other 4 T 

strategies. Interviews with agency personnel indicated that, by and large, the technologies added 

operational value and provided benefits to travelers. At the same time, technology sometimes presented 

technical challenges that had to be surmounted by the local partners.

The Deployment Experience

• Stakeholders concluded that several key factors contributed to the success of the UPA/CRD projects, 

including staff competencies, working “outside” of their usual domains, building upon existing 

partnerships, working with new partners, and having shared goals and a common vision.

• Through purposeful and extensive marketing and outreach conducted by the UPA/CRD partners, they 

were generally quite successful in communicating plans about their projects over time and effectively 

managing customer relations.

 

Public Acceptance

• Based on surveys and media coverage, the projects were seen as doing something beneficial for the 

transportation system in the region and users of the new projects perceived direct benefits to themselves. 

One HOT lane site was the exception in sustaining considerable negative reactions for many months, 

perhaps an indication of the numerous simultaneous changes – more than at other sites – that the public 

was being asked to absorb. 

Operational Impacts

• New technologies imposed new responsibilities on agency staff that required additional training, staff 

members, and new ways of thinking about operations. 

• The fairness and sustainability of congestion pricing strategies requires successful enforcement, and the 

UPA/CRD sites used various combinations of technology and manual enforcement processes to detect 

and process violations. Owing to differences in metrics among the sites, no general conclusions about 

enforcement trends were drawn.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

xi LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Long-Term Effects of the UPA/CRD Projects

Since the demonstration period each of the six sites has continued to build on its UPA/CRD experience in 

various ways: 

• Regional expansion of tolling is underway or planned in Atlanta, Miami, Minnesota, and Seattle, and 

further expansion is being studied in Los Angeles and other sites. The public appears to have accepted 

tolling based on the growth in toll accounts, transponders, and tolled trips at the sites. 

• Transit continues to make significant gains in ridership on routes initiated with UPA/CRD funds. 

• San Francisco has deployed smart meters throughout the city, which will be the platform for expanding 

demand-responsive SFpark pricing citywide. LA Express ParkTM is expanding, as well. 

• These and many more developments at the six sites are directly attributable to the lessons learned from 

UPA/CRD projects.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 1

The U.S. DOT awarded approximately $800 million 

in grants from discretionary sources in 2007 and 

2008 to six metropolitan areas to reduce congestion 

under the Urban Partnership Agreement (UPA) and 

Congestion Reduction Demonstration (CRD) programs. 

The major infusion of federal funding enabled the 

sites to implement a suite of integrated multi-modal 

projects aimed at congestion reduction that would 

not otherwise have been possible. For example, large 

transit investments made by many of the sites would 

not have occurred without the significant discretionary 

resources made available through the UPA/CRD 

programs. By focusing substantial investments on 

congestion problems specific to their regions, UPA/

CRD partners at each site were able to demonstrate 

the effectiveness of the elements of the 4-T strategies 

they implemented. The investments in the UPA/CRD 

projects at each site, including the state and local 

funds contributed, are shown in Table 1.

4-T Category Site

Atlanta Los Angeles Miami Minnesota San Francisco Seattle

Tolling $52,786,428 $106,762,152 $43,400,000 $267,616,038 $ 40,653,000 $ 33,347,358 

Transit $14,818,829 $102,771,629 $19,500,000 $ 69,496,718 $ 54,532,026 

Telecommuting/ TDM $ 230,522 $ 400,000 $ 462,610 $ 113,000 

Technology $ 41,988,434 $ 1,079,316 $ 39,934,788 

Other** $ 2,625,000 

Total $70,460,779 $209,933,781 $62,900,000 $379,563,800 $ 41,732,316 $127,927,172

CONGESTION REDUCTION 

STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Table 1. Federal and State/Local Investments in UPA/CRD Projects at Six Sites*

*Costs are for planning, design and construction and do not include operations and maintenance. Federal UPA/CRD funds 

awarded to individual sites may have included some projects that were not included in the evaluation in this report. Funds for 

such projects are excluded from this table.

**E.g., performance monitoring, evaluation, etc.

Strategies Used at Each Site

The six UPA/CRD sites deployed innovative congestion 

management strategies that demonstrated the 

effectiveness of an integrated approach to addressing 

problems associated with congestion, such as slow 

travel times and reduced throughput. Table 2 shows 

the variety of strategies deployed by the six sites, and 

the accompanying maps (Figure 1 through Figure 6) 

illustrate the project locations within each metropolitan 

area. Four of the sites converted high-occupancyvehicle (HOV) lanes to high-occupancy-toll (HOT) 

lanes with demand-based pricing, one site deployed 

full-facility tolling with demand-based pricing, and two 

sites deployed demand-based parking pricing. Two 

of the HOT sites raised the occupancy requirement 

for carpools to ride for free from HOV 2+ to HOV 

3+. The six sites employed a variety of integrated 

strategies that included major transit enhancements, 

the promotion of ridesharing, an innovative telework 

project, and technology innovations. 
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

2 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Atlanta Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis San Francisco Seattle

Oct. 2011 I-110 in Nov. 2012; 

I-10 in Feb. 2013; 

Express Park in May 

2012.

Dec. 2008 northbound; 

Jan. 2010 southbound.

Phase 1 in Sept. 

2009; Phase 2 in Nov. 

2010.

Sept. 2011 Dec. 2011

Tolling

HOV to HOT lane 

conversion on I-85 

(Express Lanes).

HOV to HOT lane 

conversion on I-10 

and I-110 

(ExpressLanes). A 

second HOT lane 

was added on I-10. 

Also, demand-based 

parking pricing (LA 

Express ParkTM).

HOV to HOT lane 

conversion on I-95 (95 

Express). Also added 

a second HOT lane in 

each direction.

HOV to HOT lane 

conversion and addition of new HOT 

lanes on I-35 W (MnPass). Also added 

priced dynamic 

shoulder lane.

Demand-based 

pricing of cityowned on-street 

and off-street parking spaces in 7 pilot 

areas (SFpark).

Variable tolling on 

SR 520 Bridge.

Increased HOV 

requirement from 2+ 

to 3+. 

Maintained existing 

HOV requirements, 

2+ on I-110 and 3+ 

during peak periods 

on I-10. 

Increased vehicle 

occupancy requirement from 2+ to 3+. 

Maintained 2+ 

carpool occupancy 

requirement.

Registered vanpools and buses 

ride for free. 

Carpools required 

to register and use 

toll tag.

Carpools required 

to register and use 

switchable transpon- der.

3+ carpools required 

to register and display 

special decal but no 

transponder.

Carpools do not need 

to register or use 

transponder.

Registered van- pools and buses 

required to use 

transponder.

Transit

12 new commuter 

buses in the corridor.

59 new clean-fuel 

buses to 4 service 

providers.

23 new buses 27 new buses. 44 new buses. 

3 new Xpress bus 

routes in the corridor.

More frequent bus 

rapid transit service 

and municipal feeder 

service.

3 new transit routes. Addition of 90 oneway peak period 

bus trips.

4 new or expanded 

park-and-ride lots.

Expanded parking 

capacity at transit 

stations.

500 park-and-ride 

spaces added.

6 new or expanded 

park-and-ride lots.

Enhancements to 

two park-and-ride 

lots.

Transit signal prior- ity on two streets in 

downtown LA. 

Bus rapid transit in 

HOT lanes.

Bus bypass lane at 

Highway 77/Highway 

62 interchange.

Other enhancements, 

e.g., new transit 

operating and maintenance facility.

Double contraflow 

lanes in downtown Minneapolis 

(MARQ2).

Telecommuting /TDM

Outreach to encourage formation of 

3-person carpools.

Promotion to increase 

registered vanpools 

and employer-based 

ridesharing.

Outreach to encourage 3-person carpool 

formation as well as 

other existing employ- er-based programs for 

ridesharing, telecom- muting and flex-time. 

eWorkPlace telework 

program.

Use of existing 

alternate commute outreach to 

distribute brochures 

on SFpark and 511 

parking information. 

Continued programs already in 

use by agencies 

and other employ- ers that aim to 

reduce trips in the 

region.

Technology

Automated toll enforcement systems.Dissemination of 

parking information 

on-line and on variable message signs. 

Introduction of ramp 

metering at 22 locations.

Active traffic management.Real-time information on parking 

price and availability disseminated by 

websites, telephone, and mobile 

apps.

Active traffic management system 

on SR 520 and I-90 

corridors.

Transit signal priority 

on selected streets 

in downtown Los 

Angeles.

Transit signal priority 

on selected routes 

leading to I-95.

Real-time transit and 

traffic signs.

New travel time 

signs near key 

interchanges for SR 

520.

Driver assist system 

for shoulder running 

buses.

Table 2. 4-T Congestion Reduction Strategies Deployed at Six Sites and Start Date for Congestion Pricing
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 3

Source: Georgia Department of Transportation

Figure 1. Atlanta CRD Location

Source: LA Metro

Figure 2. Los Angeles CRD Location

Source: Florida Department of Transportation

Figure 3. Miami UPA Location
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

4 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Source: Minnesota Department of Transportation

Figure 4. Minneapolis UPA Location

Source: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency 

Figure 5. San Francisco UPA Location

Source: Washington Department of Transportation

Figure 6. Seattle UPA Location
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 5

National Evaluation of the Sites’ Strategies

The U.S. DOT commissioned an independent 

evaluation of the sites1 to measure the performance 

of the congestion reduction strategies and lessons 

learned during the course of their implementation. 

The objective was to obtain findings that would be 

useful to other agencies seeking solutions to their 

congestion problems. The evaluation addressed four 

basic questions (text box) and applied a consistent 

approach across the sites to facilitate comparison 

of the findings. Local agencies were responsible for 

collecting the data for the national evaluation, which 

employed a comparison of conditions prior to the 

start of each site’s congestion pricing project with 

conditions a year later. In general, a year of “before” 

data was compared against a year of “after” data at 

each site, although in some cases data for longer or 

shorter periods of time were used. 

 

The evaluation encountered a number of challenges in 

measuring before/after changes owing to the amount 

and quality of data available and comparison of data 

with different collection methodologies. For example, 

roadway sensors needed for measuring traffic volumes 

and speeds were sometimes absent or not working 

properly. Another challenge was separating the 

effect of the strategy from exogenous factors, such 

as local construction projects or economic conditions 

including the nationwide recession that began in 2008. 

Deployment schedules varied among the six sites 

between 2008 and 2013, and thus the impact of the 

recession could have been felt differently among the 

sites and be reflected in the data. 

Four U.S. DOT Evaluation Questions:

•	 How much was congestion reduced?

•	What are the associated impacts of the

congestion reduction strategies?

•	What are the non-technical success factors?

•	What are the overall costs and benefits of the

strategies?

1

Miami began deploying its projects prior to the start of the independent evaluation, and thus it performed a self-evaluation. The other five sites were evaluated by a 

multi-disciplinary team led by Battelle under contract to U.S. DOT. For this reason, some findings presented in this report were not available for Miami.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

6 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Site 

(Time Period Covered in the National Evaluation)

New Toll 

Accounts

Number of 

Transponders

Atlanta – I-85 Express Lanes* (June 2011 – September 2012) 69,143 197,044

Los Angeles – I-110 and I-10 ExpressLanes* (July 2012 – February 2014) 210,367 261,230

Miami – 95 Express Lanes** NA NA

Minneapolis – I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes ** (October 2009 – December 2011 7,397 8,425

GROWTH AND CHANGE IN USAGE

This section looks at overall growth and change in 

facility usage at the UPA/CRD sites before and after 

the advent of congestion pricing. The results are 

presented first for the four sites where HOV-to-HOT 

conversions took place – Atlanta, Los Angeles, Miami, 

and Minneapolis – followed by growth after tolling 

began on the SR 520 Bridge in Seattle. The section 

concludes with a look at change in parking occupancy 

in San Francisco and Los Angeles.

HOT Lanes Growth in Usage

Once HOV lanes were converted to HOT lanes, use of 

the HOT lanes in Miami, Minneapolis, Atlanta, and Los 

Angeles increased during the post-deployment period. 

The number of new toll accounts and transponders, 

tolled trips, and toll revenues all increased.

Table 3. New Toll Accounts and Transponders Issued for HOT Lanes

NA – Not available as the SunPass is used, which can be purchased and used on toll facilities throughout the state.

*All vehicles must have toll tags.

**Only tolled vehicles must have toll tags and HOVs and other exempt vehicles do not have to open a toll account or obtain a transponder. 

In Miami, non-tolled vehicles must register and display a special decal.

Table 3 presents the number of new toll accounts and 

transponders issued during the evaluation period at 

each site. As noted in the table, all vehicles using 

the HOT lanes in Atlanta and Los Angeles must have 

toll tags, while toll tags are not required for HOVs 

and other exempt vehicles in Miami and Minneapolis 

(although in Miami there is a registration requirement 

and special decal for non-tolled vehicles).
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 7

Table 4 presents the growth in monthly tolled trips for 

the HOT lane projects at the different sites (except for 

Miami which includes both tolled and non-tolled HOT 

Site 

(First Month/Last Month and Time 

of Day for Tolled Trips)

First Full Month of 

Deployment

Last Month of 

Evaluation Percentage Growth

Atlanta (October 2011/September 2012, peak and off-peak) 123,045 333,624 171%

Los Angeles I-110 (December 2012/February 2014, a.m. peak 

period) 251,130 296,370 18%

Los Angeles I-10 (March 2013/February 2014, a.m. peak period) 153,540 297,270 94%

Miami (January 2009/January 2011 NB peak tolled and non-tolled 

HOT users) 134,220 165,100 23%

Miami (February 2010/January 2011 SB peak tolled and non-tolled 

HOT users) 150,200 174,160 16%

Minneapolis (October 2009/December 2012, a.m. and p.m. peak 

periods) 25,024 55,177 120%

Table 4. Growth in Monthly HOT Tolled Trips

Site 

(Dates of First/Last Month)

First Full Month of 

Evaluation

Last Month of 

Evaluation

Percentage 

Growth

Atlanta – I-85 Express Lanes (October 2011/September 2012) $105,807 $400,760 278%

Los Angeles I-110 ExpressLanes (December 2012/February 2014) $885,316 $1,269,639 43%

Los Angeles I-10 ExpressLanes (March 2013/February 2014) $535,166 $841,594 57%

Miami – 95 Express Lanes (January 2009 NB and February 2010 

SB/January 2011 both) $999,217 $1,273,700 27%

Minneapolis – I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes (October 2009/

December 2011)* $19,609 $76,270 289%

Table 5. Growth in Total Monthly HOT Gross Revenue

Table 5 presents the growth in monthly gross revenue for 

the HOT lane projects. The growth in revenue follows the 

growth in toll use highlighted in Table 4, with the largest 

percentage of growth occurring in Atlanta, Minneapolis, 

users). The number of tolled trips increased at all sites, 

with the largest percentage of growth occurring in Atlanta, 

Minneapolis, and on the I-10 ExpressLanes in Los 

Angeles.

and Miami. The I-110 ExpressLanes in Los Angeles had 

the largest amount of total revenue collected by the end of 

the evaluation period.

*HOT lanes were deployed in two phases in Minneapolis and revenues are shown for the beginning of the first phase through the end of 

both phases.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

8 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Changes in Traffic on Seattle’s SR 520 Bridge

The SR 520 Bridge over Lake Washington was the 

first conversion of an existing free facility in the U.S. 

to a tolled facility with no infrastructure changes or 

improvements made. Moreover, because a new toll 

bridge was going to be built as a replacement, the 

local partners were able to advance the use of the 

toll application for a few years on the old bridge to 

manage congestion and begin the revenue stream 

for funding the new bridge. Tolling was successful in 

reducing congestion on the SR 520 Bridge, although 

some traffic shifted to alternate routes. Traffic volumes 

declined by about 34 percent in the year after tolling 

began, and monthly tolled trips remained steady 

averaging between 1 and 1.5 million during that 

period. However, transit ridership on the SR 520 

Bridge increased 38 percent during the same time, 

attributable in part to an increase in transit service 

made possible with UPA funding. King County Metro 

and Sound Transit added 90 more one-way peak 

period trips in preparation for SR 520 tolling, which 

increased service on 19 routes serving SR 520. By 

comparison, King County Metro saw an estimated 8 

percent increase in regionwide transit ridership during 

the same period. Moreover, during the evaluation 

period the number of people riding in vanpools on the 

SR 520 Bridge increased by 107 percent.

Change in Occupancy with SFpark and LA 

Express ParkTM

The prime objective of both SFpark and LA Express 

ParkTM was to raise parking rates to make parking 

spaces more available in high-demand areas and to 

lower rates to encourage more parking in low-demand 

areas, and the evaluation found such pricing to be an 

effective management tool. The national evaluation of 

SFpark was more extensive than for LA ExpressParkTM

owing to different levels of local resources to support 

the evaluation, resulting in less data available for 

analysis of the parking project in Los Angeles. Thus, 

more details are presented here for San Francisco than 

Los Angeles.

For SFpark parking availability was measured by 

trends in on-street parking occupancy, which was the 

percent of total time the parking sensors on a block 

indicated a car was in a space during a given hour 

between 9 a.m. and 6 p.m. when parking rates were in 

effect in the seven pilot areas. Analysis of occupancy 

by individual parking areas showed that pricing 

was effective in gradually reducing the prevalence 

of blocks with high occupancy. Figure 7 shows the 

trends in four pilot areas where average occupancy 

and/or the proportion of blocks exceeding 85 percent 

occupancy declined over time. The trends extended 

from April 2011, before price changes, to July 2013 

after a series of price adjustments that started in 

the summer of 2011. In other pilot areas with lower 

occupancies to start with (not shown), price reductions 

on under-utilized blocks led to gradually higher 

occupancies. 
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 9

50%

55%

60%

65%

70%

75%

80%

85%

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

Average Hourly On-Street Parking Occupancy - Weekday

Civic Center Downtown Fillmore Marina

(A)

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

April 2011

May 2011

June 2011

July 2011

August 2011

September 2011

October 2011

November 2011

December 2011

January 2012

February 2012

March 2012

April 2012

May 2012

June 2012

July 2012

August 2012

September 2012

October 2012

November 2012

December 2012

January 2013

February 2013

March 2013

April 2013

May 2013

June 2013

July 2013

Percentage of Blocks per Month 

Exceeding 85% On-Street Parking Occupancy - Weekday

Civic Center Downtown Fillmore Marina

(B)

In Los Angeles, analysis of changes in parking use 

over the first seven months of Express ParkTM indicated 

that occupancy moved in the desired direction 

according to price. Generally, rate reductions resulted 

in increases in use and rate increases resulted in 

Figure 7. Weekday Parking Occupancy Trends in Four SFpark Pilot Areas with Declines 

in Parking Occupancy between 9 A.M. and 6 P.M.

slightly lower use levels. More spaces were occupied 

between 70 and 90 percent of the time, fewer spaces 

were occupied over 90 percent of the time, and fewer 

were occupied less than 70 percent of the time. 

Source: Elliot Martin
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

10 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

CONGESTION PERFORMANCE

Reducing congestion was the primary focus of the UPA 

and CRD programs. This section presents measures 

of changes in congestion that illustrate the impact of 

each site’s combination of 4-T strategies. The four 

sites with HOV-to-HOT conversions (Atlanta, and Los 

Angeles, Miami, Minneapolis) are shown first, followed 

by Seattle which tolled all lanes of the SR 520 Bridge, 

and finally San Francisco, which deployed congestionbased parking pricing. (The parking pricing project in 

Los Angeles is not discussed in this section owing to 

the unavailability of data on congestion performance.) 

The summary is not intended to draw negative 

comparisons among the sites, as differences in the 

projects and strategies deployed and local conditions 

could influence possible outcomes. Rather, the 

summary highlights the experience with the different 

approaches at the various sites to provide insight on 

what worked, what didn’t, and why.

The congestion analysis used four main measures – 

mean travel time, mean travel speed, the travel-time 

index, and the buffer index.2 The national evaluation 

relied on data from the local partners to assess these 

measures. Data limitations were encountered at all 

sites, influencing the ability to analyze the measures 

and to identify changes in congestion. In some cases, 

traffic sensors were not working due to construction 

activities. In other cases, additional capacity was 

added via another lane, making it difficult to analyze 

with no “before” data available.

Other factors may have influenced possible changes 

in traffic congestion, including construction in the 

corridors or adjacent freeways not related to the UPA/

CRD projects, improved geometrics as part of the 

projects or other improvements, and growth in the local 

economy. In addition, differences were noted in data 

collected through the tolling system and the traditional 

loop detectors and visual occupancy counts at some 

sites. In regards to the LA project, clean fuel vehicles, 

which were required to pay a toll if they did not meet 

the occupancy requirement during the demonstration 

period, were allowed to use the ExpressLanes free in 2014. 

Express Lanes

Table 6 presents examples of pre- deployment and 

one-year post-deployment congestion measures at the 

four sites, and Table 7 presents examples of changes 

in vehicle and person throughput. The conversion 

of HOV lanes to HOT lanes in Los Angeles, Miami, 

and Minneapolis all resulted in increases in vehicle 

throughput. The HOT projects in these areas also 

resulted in increases in person throughput, with the 

exception of I-110 in Los Angeles, which experienced 

a slight decline of 328 people in the morning peak 

hour and 24 people in the afternoon peak hour (2.6 

percent and 0.2 percent respectively). In Atlanta, I-85 

experienced a decline in both vehicle and person 

throughput. However, this change is to be expected 

as the Atlanta project involved the most changes to 

any previous HOV lane operation, including not only 

the introduction of tolling without capacity expansion, 

but also increasing the carpool vehicle occupancy 

requirement from 2+ to 3+ and requiring carpools to 

register and obtain transponders.

Thus, most of the HOT projects opened up capacity 

in the HOT lanes enabling more vehicles and more 

people to access the already congested freeways. At 

the same time, as presented in Table 6, at least some 

congestion measures improved at every site as a 

result of the HOT lanes and other UPA/CRD projects. 

Miami, which re-striped to add a second lane, and 

Minneapolis, which included corridor capacity 

and geometric improvements not related to UPA 

projects, realized some of the largest improvements. 

Improvements were also seen in the I-10 HOT lanes 

in Los Angeles, in which restriping added a second 

HOT lane for 9 out of 15 total miles. While travel 

times increased slightly in the I-85 general purpose 

freeway lanes in Atlanta, trip-time reliability improved. 

Other examples of changes at the various sites are 

highlighted in Figure 8.

2

The travel time index and buffer index are measures of travel time reliability. The travel time index is a comparison between the travel conditions in the peak period to 

free-flow conditions. The buffer index represents the amount of extra time to allow for on-time arrival at a destination.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 11

Site, Time Period, Direction Pre-Deployment Post-Deployment Change

Atlanta – I-85, A.M. Peak Period, Southbound

General Purpose Freeway Lanes

Mean Travel Time 16.1 min 16.9 min +0.80 min

Mean Travel Speed 46.1 mph 43.9 mph -2.20 mph

Travel-Time Index 1.39 1.46 +0.07

Buffer Index 77% 66% -11%

HOV/HOT Lanes

Mean Travel Time 14.1 min 13.8 min -0.30 min

Mean Travel Speed 50.1 mph 51.5 mph +1.4 mph

Travel-Time Index 1.28 1.25 -0.30

Buffer Index 44% 57% +13%

Los Angeles – I-110, A.M. Peak Period, Northbound

General Purpose Freeway Lanes

Mean Travel Time 27.09 min 27.07 min -0.02 min

Buffer Index 51% 48% -3%

HOV/HOT Lanes

Mean Travel Time 12.40 min 14.29 min +1.90 min

Buffer Index 43% 85% +42%

Los Angeles – I-10, A.M. Peak Period, Westbound

General Purpose Freeway Lanes

Mean Travel Time 30.88 min 33.90 min +3.02 min

Buffer Index 57% 34% -23%

HOV/HOT Lanes

Mean Travel Time 15.96 min 15.08 min -0.85 min

Buffer Index 40% 26% -14%

Miami – I-95, A.M. Peak Period, Southbound

General Purpose Freeway Lanes

Mean Travel Speed 15 mph 51 mph +36 mph

HOV/HOT Lanes

Mean Travel Speed 20 mph 64 mph +44 mph

Minneapolis – I-35W, A.M. Peak Period, Northbound

General Purpose Freeway Lanes

Mean Travel Time 18.9 min 16.8 min -2.10 min

Mean Travel Speed 50.7 mph 55.3 mph +4.6 mph

Buffer Index 100% 70% -30%

HOV/HOT Lanes (Section south of I-494 only)

Mean Travel Time 6.4 min 6.0 min -0.4 min

Mean Travel Speed 67.2 mph 65.7 mph -1.5 mph

Buffer Index 40% 20% -20%

Table 6. Congestion Measures Pre- and Post-Deployment3

3

Not all measures were available at each site.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

12 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Site Pre-Deployment Post-Deployment Change

Atlanta – I-85

A.M. Peak Period, Southbound

Vehicle Throughput 38,289 37,024 -1,265

Person Throughput 45,780 43,091 -2,689

P. M. Peak Period, Northbound

Vehicle Throughput 42,673 40,381 -2,291

Person Throughput 52,370 48,209 -4,161

Los Angeles – I-110

A.M. Peak Hour, Northbound

Vehicle Throughput 8,522 9,209 +687

Person Throughput 12,410 12,082 -328

P. M. Peak Hour, Southbound

Vehicle Throughput 8,639 9,262 +623

Person Throughput 13,135 13,111 -24

Los Angeles – I-10

A.M. Peak Hour, Westbound

Vehicle Throughput 5,817 7,659 +1,842

Person Throughput 11,192 12,713 +1,521

P. M. Peak Hour, Eastbound

Vehicle Throughput 7,752 8,822 +1,070

Person Throughput 10,467 13,112 +2,645

Miami – I-95

A.M. Peak Period, Southbound

Vehicle Throughput 6,040 9,557 +3,517

Person Throughput 7,805 11,742 +3,937

P. M. Peak Period, Northbound

Vehicle Throughput 9,185 9,626 +441

Person Throughput 12,768 13,109 +341

Minneapolis – I-35W (Section South of I-494 Only)

A.M. Peak Period, Northbound

Vehicle Throughput 14,452 16,937 +2,484

P. M. Peak Period, Southbound

Vehicle Throughput 16,274 20,221 +3,947 

Table 7. Total Vehicle and Person Throughput Pre- and Post-Deployment
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 13

•	Atlanta: Morning peak period, peak direction travel time in the Atlanta I-85 general purpose freeway 

lanes remained the same or increased slightly in the post-deployment period, while travel times in the 

Express Lanes declined slightly. Trip-time reliability for the general purpose freeway lanes improved, but 

declined slightly for the Express Lanes. The relative travel-time advantage for using the Express Lanes 

increased.

•	Los Angeles: Implementation of the I-10 and I-110 ExpressLanes in Los Angeles resulted in increased 

vehicle throughput on both facilities. The increase in vehicles had mixed impacts on travel times and 

travel time reliability. Peak period, peak direction travel times on I-10 increased slightly in the general 

purpose freeway lanes in the morning and declined slightly in the afternoon. Travel times on the I-10 

ExpressLanes declined during both time periods. Travel times in the I-110 general purpose freeway lanes 

remained approximately the same in both time periods, while travel times in the ExpressLanes increased 

in the morning and remained the same in the afternoon. Travel time reliability improved on the I-10 

ExpressLanes and general purpose freeway lanes, improved on the I-110 general purpose freeway lanes, 

but declined on the I-110 ExpressLanes.

•	Miami: Travel speeds in the Miami I-95 Express Lanes during the morning peak period, peak 

direction increased from approximately 20 mph during the pre-deployment period to 64 mph in the 

post-deployment period, while travel speeds in the general purpose freeway lanes increased from 

approximately 15 mph to 51 mph. Travel time reliability also increased, with Express Lane travel speeds 

of over 45 mph 100 percent of the time in the morning peak period. Total person throughput for the 

Express Lanes and the general purpose freeway lanes increased by approximately 21 percent.

•	Minneapolis: Motorists traveling the length of the I-35W South corridor using the general purpose 

freeway lanes during the morning peak period in the northbound direction realized approximately three 

minutes in travel-time savings in the post-deployment period. Buses, carpools, and HOT vehicles in 

the MnPASS lane saved approximately three minutes compared to motorists in the general purpose 

freeway lanes. Travel time reliability also improved in the post-deployment period and vehicle throughput 

increased.

Figure 8. Examples of Changes in Congestion at HOV-to-HOT Conversion Sites

Travelers in the HOT lane corridors generally 

perceived a reduction in traffic congestion as a result 

of the HOT lanes and other UPA/CRD improvements. 

For example, in Minneapolis a majority of I-35W 

MnPASS customers responded to a survey that travel 

on I-35W South was easier and less congested than 

the previous year, while travelers using I-35W South 

responding to another survey indicated a general 

perception that traffic congestion had been reduced 

and traffic flow had improved compared to two years 

earlier. Agency operations personnel at the four sites 

– including incident response teams, bus operators, 

and state patrol officers – reported lower levels of 

congestion after implementation of the HOT lanes and 

other UPA/CRD projects in the corridors.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

14 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

SR 520 Bridge

Implementing tolling on the SR 520 Bridge reduced 

traffic congestion on the bridge, but slightly increased 

traffic on parallel and adjacent freeways, including 

I-90, I-405, and SR 522. Table 8 presents congestion 

measures for the SR 520 Bridge and parallel Route 

I-90. In general, the measures exhibited improvements 

in congestion on SR 520, but I-90 experienced slightly 

higher congestion levels. For example, speed in the 

a.m. eastbound peak period on I-90 dropped from 

60 to 57 mph, and speed in the p.m. westbound 

peak fell from 50 to 41 mph. I-405 and SR 522 also 

experienced no change or slight increases in travel 

times, decreases in travel speeds, and reduction in 

the travel time index and the buffer index in the peak 

hours, peak direction of travel.

Surveys and interviews conducted by local partners 

and the John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems 

Center (The Volpe Center) provided information on 

the perspectives of travelers on SR 520, I-90, and 

other freeways, as well as bus riders, Washington 

State Patrol (WSP) Troopers, King County Metro Transit 

bus operators, and Washington State Department of 

Transportation (WSDOT) Incident Response Team 

(ITR) operators. The survey and interview results 

indicated a general perception that tolling the SR 520 

Bridge reduced congestion on the bridge and the SR 

520 corridor between I-5 and I-405, but increased 

traffic on I-90, and to a lesser extent, on SR 522.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 15

Facility Pre-Deployment Post-Deployment Change

SR 520 Bridge

A.M. Peak Period

Mean Travel Time Eastbound 9.68 min 7.31 min -2.37 min

Mean Travel Time Westbound 9.28 min 7.00 min -2.28 min

Mean Travel Speed Eastbound 45.4 mph 56.1 mph +10.7 mph

Mean Travel Speed Westbound 47.4 mph 58.1 mph +10.7 mph

Travel Time Index, Eastbound 1.53 1.16 -0.37

Travel Time Index, Westbound 1.47 1.11 -0.36

Buffer Index, Eastbound 37% 41% +4%

Buffer Index, Westbound 68% 24% -44%

P.M. Peak Period

Mean Travel Time Eastbound 8.97 min 6.75 min -2.22 min

Mean Travel Time Westbound 18.08 min 10.71 min -7.37 min

Mean Travel Speed Eastbound 47.3 mph 61.0 mph +13.7 mph

Mean Travel Speed Westbound 27.1 mph 44.8 mph +17.7 mph

Travel-Time Index, Eastbound 1.42 1.07 -0.35

Travel-Time Index, Westbound 2.86 1.70 -1.16

Buffer Index, Eastbound 57% 18% -39%

Buffer Index, Westbound 101% 1.08% +7%

I-90

A.M. Peak Period

Mean Travel Time Eastbound 7.96 min 8.40 min +0.44 min

Mean Travel Time Westbound 7.81 min 8.89 min +1.08 min

Mean Travel Speed Eastbound 60.3 mph 57.3 mph -3.00 mph

Mean Travel Speed Westbound 57.1 mph 56.3 mph -0.80 mph

Travel-Time Index, Eastbound 1.11 1.17 +0.06

Travel-Time Index, Westbound 1.22 1.22 No Change

Buffer Index, Eastbound 69% 46% -23%

Buffer Index, Westbound 98% 100% +2%

P.M. Peak Period

Mean Travel Time Eastbound 8.78 min 8.73 min -0.05 min

Mean Travel Time Westbound 10.64 min 13.57 min +2.93 min

Mean Travel Speed Eastbound 57.1 mph 56.3 mph -0.80 mph

Mean Travel Speed Westbound 49.7 mph 40.7 mph -9.00 mph

Travel-Time Index, Eastbound 1.22 1.22 No Change

Travel-Time Index, Westbound 1.48 1.89 +0.41

Buffer Index, Eastbound 98% 100% +2%

Buffer Index, Westbound 145% 119% -26%

Table 8. SR 520 and I-90 Congestion Measures Pre- and Post-Deployment
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

16 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

SFpark

The traditional measures of linked travel speeds and 

travel times did not change substantially with the 

introduction of variable parking pricing in the pilot 

areas, despite the study clearly showing a reduction 

in cruising for parking. While limitations with the 

pavement sensor and transit travel-time data used 

in the analysis may have contributed to the inability 

to detect changes in congestion, the analysis 

also pointed out the need for localized congestion 

measures focusing on the impact of changes in 

parking maneuvers.

Surveyed visitors and shoppers reported finding 

parking spaces faster and closer to their destination 

after the implementation of variable pricing. The 

reduction in parking search time was greater in the 

pilot areas than in the control areas. These results 

suggest that SFpark was effective in making it faster 

to find a place to park. Visitors and shoppers in the 

pilot areas did not perceive a reduction in congestion, 

however.

In conclusion, the congestion-reducing impacts of 

the different UPA/CRD projects varied. The largest 

impacts on congestion resulted from the conversion 

of HOV lanes to HOT lanes and the implementation 

of tolling on the SR 520 Bridge in Seattle, along with 

transit and other transit improvements at those sites. 

Among the HOT sites, some congestion measures 

improved at every site and users of the HOT lanes 

realized travel-time savings over travelers in the 

general purpose freeway lanes. Tolling on the SR 520 

Bridge in Seattle resulted in decreased congestion 

on the bridge, but slightly increased congestion on 

I-90. In San Francisco, shoppers and visitors reported 

finding spaces faster and closer to their destinations 

after SFpark was implemented, although conclusions 

about the impact on traffic congestion in general could 

not be drawn due to limitations in available data.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 17

TRANSIT PERFORMANCE

U.S. DOT’s congestion initiative invested a 

considerable amount of funding into transit. As a 

result, five of the six UPA/CRD sites were able to 

implement significant transit enhancements that were 

designed to support the introduction of congestion 

pricing on roadways. Over $261 million in federal 

and local funds were spent on transit improvements 

for enhanced express bus services that provided 

new buses, park-and-ride lot improvements 

(redesigned stations, additional parking spaces, 

safety enhancements), variable message signs, transit 

signal priority (TSP)4, and more. The goal was to offer 

commuters an attractive alternative to driving alone 

with the benefit of riding toll-free in the priced lanes. 

The MARQ2 project in Minneapolis (Figure 9) is one of 

many examples of the innovative transit enhancements 

implemented by the local partners. 

The MARQ2 dual contraflow bus lanes in Minneapolis improved bus speeds up to 72 percent and 

increased bus throughput up to 52 percent.

The Minneapolis UPA included a unique transit 

improvement known as the MARQ2, a set of 

contraflow bus lanes in downtown Minneapolis 

on Marquette Avenue and 2nd Avenue. 

Originally there was one contraflow bus lane 

on Marquette and another on 2nd. These were 

expanded to two lanes so that buses could pass 

one another. A new bus operating strategy was 

also implemented with the MARQ2 lanes, shown 

in the photograph. Bus stops were designated 

for different express routes every two blocks, 

further enhancing the flow of buses through 

the downtown area. The target speed of buses 

on the MARQ2 lanes was 8 mph. The largest 

increase in bus operating speeds was realized 

on 2nd Avenue in the morning peak period, 

when speeds improved from 4.3 to 7.4 mph, a 72 percent increase. In the afternoon peak period speeds 

improved from 4.0 to 6.4 mph, a 60 percent increase. These faster speeds resulted in increased bus 

throughput in downtown. The number of buses operating on the MARQ2 lanes increased 23 percent, from 

475 buses to 586 buses in the morning peak period and increased 52 percent in the afternoon peak period 

from 387 to 587 buses.

Figure 9. MARQ2 Lanes in Downtown Minneapolis

4

In Los Angeles the term Transit Priority System, or TPS, is used.

Source: Metro Transit
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Los Angeles, Seattle, Atlanta, and Minneapolis were 

able to implement their transit enhancements several 

months prior to tolling. As shown in Figure 11 the 

enhancements alone attracted ridership even before 

tolling occurred. Once tolling began in the UPA/CRD 

corridors, transit experienced additional growth, most 

notably in Seattle with a 16 percent boost in ridership.

Commuter bus service benefited from faster travel 

times and speeds after tolling went into effect. 

•	On Miami’s 95 Express lanes bus travel times

improved by 17 minutes, and speeds improved from 

18 to 57 miles per hour. 

•	In Minneapolis in the congested section of the I-35W

corridor near Highway 62, travel time improved by 

4 1⁄2 minutes, and speeds increased from 28 to 57 

mph.

•	On Atlanta’s I-85 Express Lanes 5 minutes were cut

from the travel time. 

•	In Seattle, bus travel times across the SR 520 Bridge

improved between 1.0 and 1.5 minutes depending 

on the direction, and speeds increased by 14 and 18 

mph. (Average post-toll speed was 54 mph.) 

•	In Los Angeles, bus travel times on the I-110

ExpressLanes remained relatively flat, but on the 

I-10 ExpressLanes, there was almost a 5 minute 

improvement.

18

Figure 10. Average Daily Ridership in the A.M. Peak: Percentage 

and Absolute Increase

One of the most positive findings of the UPA/CRD 

evaluation has been the increase in transit ridership on 

commuter buses in the five cities that initiated major 

transit enhancements. (The San Francisco site did not 

include a transit element and, based on the beforeand-after evaluation, demand-based parking pricing 

had no discernable effect on existing transit service.) 

As shown in Figure 10, the ridership increases varied 

from a high of 57 percent in Miami to a low of 8 

percent in Minneapolis. The 33 percent increase in 

Seattle amounted to 1,555 additional daily riders in the 

morning peak period. In contrast, system-wide bus 

ridership did not experience the growth of the UPA/

CRD corridors, as it decreased in Miami (-15%) and 

Atlanta (-1%), stayed the same in Los Angeles, and 

increased slightly in Seattle (1%) and Minneapolis 

(5%).

Figure 11. Increase in Bus Ridership after Enhancements and 

after Tolls

Atlanta Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Seattle

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

21%

35%

57%

8%

33%

Percent Increase in Riders Absolute Increase in Riders

Percent Change in Riders

1,800

1,600

1,400

1,200

1,000

800

600

400

200

0

249

713

1,050

367

1,555

Atlanta Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Seattle

Atlanta Los Angeles Minneapolis Seattle

30%

25%

20%

15%

10%

5%

0%

After Enhancements After Tolls

13%

26%

7% 8% 6%

2%

14% 16%
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Surveys of bus passengers in the UPA/CRD corridors 

further substantiated the positive effect on transit. 

Tolling had influenced some passengers to switch to 

transit, ranging from a low of 23 percent in Minneapolis 

to a high of 55 percent in Seattle (Figure 12). About 

a third of “new” transit riders said they used to drive 

alone to work: 38 percent in Miami, 33 percent in Los 

Angeles, and 20 percent in Minneapolis. In Atlanta, 

65% of I-85 Xpress bus riders said they would drive 

alone were it not for the express bus.

When asked whether their travel had improved after 

tolling went into effect, bus riders generally responded 

positively (Figure 13). In Los Angeles, close to half of 

the riders agreed, and in Minneapolis and Seattle it 

was more than half. The exception was Atlanta where 

there was some public disgruntlement over the I-85 

Express Lanes in the first year. The question was not 

asked in the survey of Miami riders.

19

Figure 12. Percent of New Riders Who Agreed That Tolling 

Influenced Them to Take Transit

Figure 13. Percent of Riders Who Agreed That Tolling Had 

Improved Their Travel

Based on the evidence, several conclusions can 

be drawn from the national evaluation. The first is 

that the HOT lane conversions in four cities and the 

implementation of tolls on the bridge in Seattle had no 

negative impact on bus performance. On the contrary, 

express buses using the tolled lanes benefitted from 

the improved traffic flow with faster speeds and 

shorter travel times. A second conclusion is that tolled 

lanes did not negatively impact bus ridership. In fact, 

ridership on the UPA/CRD corridors increased by a 

greater percentage when compared to the rest of 

respective local systems. Finally, the inclusion of transit 

enhancements as a complementary strategy with tolling 

provides a benefit to bus riders.

Percent of riders who agreed

55%

23%

53%

36%

45%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Atlanta Los Angeles Miami Minneapolis Seattle

70%

60%

50%

40%

30%

20%

10%

0%

Atlanta Los Angeles Minneapolis Seattle

Percent of riders who agreed

18%

48%

57% 61%
20

CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

TELECOMMUTING AND TDM PERFORMANCE

Telecommuting and Transportation Demand 

Management (TDM) comprised one of the 4-T 

strategies and were to be supportive of and 

complementary to the primary pricing elements. With 

the exception of the telework project in Minneapolis, 

the TDM element used by the local partners to promote 

ridesharing generally involved leveraging existing 

and/or modest enhancements to ridesharing services 

on the tolled corridor and not the implementation of 

wholly new programs, technologies or services. For 

example, in Los Angeles the existing Metro Vanpool 

Program was used to conduct an intensive marketing 

and outreach campaign to form new vanpools in the 

two HOT lane corridors. When such existing programs 

were used during the demonstration period, separation 

of the unique effects of the TDM efforts on travel in the 

corridors was difficult. 

 

At the four sites that involved HOV-to-HOT lane 

conversion, before and after occupancy counts 

measured changes in carpooling and user surveys 

provided insights on reasons for observed changes. 

At the other two sites, Seattle promoted TDM via 

targeted information on commute alternatives for the 

SR 520 corridor while tolling was being implemented, 

whereas San Francisco did not attempt a strong 

linkage between TDM and parking pricing. 

Table 9 summarizes the main findings, with respect 

to changes in carpooling from before and after 

implementation of tolling, for five of the sites. In very 

general terms, it appears that TDM efforts had a very 

limited effect on preventing the break-up of ridesharing 

arrangements as an uninteded impact of tolling.5 In 

Seattle carpooling was virtually unchanged in the 

first year of tolling. Based on occupancy counts, 

carpooling was observed to decline in many of the 

Location Change in Carpooling Comments

Atlanta Total carpooling decreased by 34% in the a.m. 

peak and 16% in p.m. peak. Peak-period carpools 

declined by over 85% in the HOT lanes and 

doubled in the general purpose lanes.*

Overall levels of traffic declined in the I-85 corridor 

during the evaluation period.

Los Angeles Data sources related to carpooling show varied 

and even contradictory results, and, thus, no 

conclusion could be drawn about the impact of 

tolling.

Carpool occupancy counts revealed a drop in carpooling after the advent of tolling, whereas tolling 

system data revealed an increase in carpooling 

and a customer service survey showed little or no 

change in carpooling. 

Miami 2-person carpools (now tolled) declined in HOT 

lanes by 16% a.m. and 53% p.m. and increased 

in general purpose lanes by 16% a.m. and 96% 

p.m. 3-person carpools (free) declined by 35% 

a.m. and 83% p.m. in HOT lanes.

The decline in carpools was greater in the first 

year after tolling (2009) and rebounded some in 

the second year (2010) in the p.m.

Minneapolis Carpools in the HOV lane declined by 8% after 

opening of the 1st HOT /PDSL lane, remained 

stable after opening of 2nd HOT facility, and then 

increased by 34% one year later.

The initial decline in carpools was likely influenced 

by construction in 2009 - 2010; the later increase 

was in 2010 - 2011.

Seattle Carpooling experienced a very small decline 

(<1%).* (On the other hand, ridership on vanpools, which use SR 520 for free, doubled from 

2010 to 2012.) 

Carpool data were from a mandated survey for 

employers and thousands of commuters in the 

corridor. Vanpool data from King County Metro 

Transit. Overall traffic levels and person throughput declined on SR 520 after tolling. 

Table 9. Observed Changes in Carpooling after Tolling

*A survey of households in Atlanta and Seattle by the Volpe Center revealed a slight increase in carpooling for all trip purposes by all 

household members in both cities.

5

FHWA has a study underway to examine in more detail the potential impact of HOV-to-HOT lane conversion on carpooling. 
21

CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

sites, followed by increases after the first year or 

two of tolling at a couple of the sites as longer term 

behavior responses settled in. The greatest reduction 

in carpooling was reported at the two sites (Miami 

and Atlanta) where the occupancy requirement for 

free passage was raised to 3+ and these carpools 

were required to register and obtain a transponder. 

A before-and-after survey of 2-person carpoolers in 

Atlanta revealed that, while 25 percent started driving 

alone and 4 percent shifted to transit or telework, 30 

percent remained in the Express Lanes and paid the 

toll and 41 percent retained their carpool but shifted to 

the general purpose lanes. 

In many cases traveler surveys revealed that among 

those who changed carpooling (less or more) tended 

to do so for personal reasons (e.g., change of job or 

home location). In at least two cases (Minneapolis 

and Miami) short-term drops in carpooling (as some 

began driving alone and paying) were replaced with 

growth in carpooling in the longer-term. Thus, the 

evidence suggests that, if tolling led to an unintended 

drop in carpooling, it was short-lived, and the drop 

was perhaps due to circumstances unrelated to tolling 

itself. The evaluation confirmed that carpooling is a 

very dynamic mode and that future HOT lane projects 

would benefit from carefully nurturing carpoolers and 

vanpoolers in the form of outreach, information, and 

incentives to minimize any unintended impacts. LA 

Metro implemented a Carpool Loyalty Program that 

awarded $50 gift cards to 10 carpoolers in various 

categories. To enter a monthly drawing a transponder 

user indicated each day they had carpooled that 

month.

Two sites set specific, pre-determined targets for their 

Telecommuting/TDM efforts. Table 10 summarizes 

the assessment of achievement of program targets 

at these two sites. In Minneapolis, the eWorkPlace 

program (Figure 14) worked with 48 area employers to 

promote telecommuting. In Los Angeles, a specific 

push was made to form new vanpools in the two 

ExpressLane corridors of I-10 and I-110. 

Location TDM Target Actual Result Mode Impact

Minneapolis eWorkPlace 

Program in the I-35W 

Corridor

500 telecommuters. 570 new telecommuters; 

reduced 1% of peak period 

work trips. 

74% would have driven 

alone on telework day.

Minneapolis eWorkPlace 

Program Region-wide

2,700 telecommuters. 4,212 new telecommuters.

Los Angeles Metro Vanpool 

Program

100 new vanpools in two 

corridors.

119 new vanpools; 79 on I-10, 

34 on I-110 and 6 using both.

51% previously drove 

alone; 12% carpooled.

Table 10. Achievement of TDM Targets
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

22 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

An innovative component of the Minneapolis UPA 

project was the implementation of the eWorkPlace 

program, which combined telecommuting and 

alternative work schedules within a Results-Only 

Work Environment framework, as pioneered by Best 

Buy, headquartered in the Twin Cities. The goal of 

the program was to reduce peak period commuting 

by eliminating trips or shifting them to off-peak 

times. The program offered both on-line tools and 

in-person consulting for employers. The original 

target of 500 new telecommuters in the I-35W corridor 

was expanded to 2,700 region-wide. The program ran from March 2009 to June 2011, when almost 50 

employers were participating. Survey data from participating employees was used to estimate impacts: 

4,212 new telework participants, 570 of whom commuted in the I-35W corridor (with three-quarters of 

these formerly driving alone) resulting in 1,260 vehicle trips being removed from the corridor weekly. The 

program benefitted employers as well, with 75% reporting an increase in productivity and 93% planning to 

continue or expand their in-house programs after the state-supported effort ended.

Figure 14. Minneapolis eWorkPlace Program

In summary, while the telecommuting and TDM 

component was the most modest of the 4-T strategies 

at the UPA/CRD sites, it succeeded in demonstrating 

the potential for telecommuting as a congestionmanagement tool in the case of eWorkPlace. It also 

confirmed the belief that there is a need for vigorous 

efforts to retain if not increase carpooling when 

congestion pricing goes into effect. 

Source: H.H. Humphrey School of Public Affairs
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 23

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS

The effects of congestion pricing on air quality was 

assessed for five sites, excluding Miami which 

performed a self-evaluation that did not include 

environmental analysis. Comparison of vehicle miles 

traveled (VMT) and travel speeds before and after 

congestion pricing at each site was used to evaluate 

changes in nitrogen oxides, (NOx), volatile organic 

compounds (VOC), carbon monoxide, (CO), fine 

particulate matter less than 2.5 microns (PM2.5), and 

carbon dioxide (CO2). Table 11 shows VMT and air 

pollution changes for five sites.

Variable Atlanta 

I-85

Los Angeles

Minneapolis 

I-35W

Seattle

San 

I-110 I-10 SR 520 Francisco

SR 520 

Plus 

I-90 and 

Feeder 

Routes

VMT -5.2% 6.6% 26.8% 18.6% -28.9% -2.7% -26.7%

VOC -0.8% 7.8% 32.9% 17.8% -37.9% -4.1% -26.7%

NOx -4.6% 13.8% 54.4% 21.8% -30.0% -2.5% -26.7%

CO -6.0% 6.1% 26.1% 19.9% -30.6% -5.8% -26.7%

PM 2.5 +1.0% 21.4% 82.1% 18.8% 36.9% -3.4% -26.7%

CO2 -3.6% 7.5% 33.9% 18.6% 32.3% -3.0% -26.7%

For the sites where VMT increased (Los Angeles and 

Minneapolis), emissions also increased, although 

not necessarily in a linear fashion. Emissions vary 

with speed, and, for sites in which the locally used 

emissions model accommodated speed data, the 

emission changes represent the combined effects 

of speed and volume changes. For example, in 

Atlanta the 5.2 percent VMT decrease led to only a 

0.8 percent decrease in VOC and a small increase in 

PM2.5, because of the differing ways in which speeds 

affect different emission rates. Regarding the large 

VMT changes in Los Angeles, it should be noted that 

the local partners provided rather limited data for the 

analysis, and, thus, the emissions findings may be less 

reliable than at other sites. In addition, the California 

Department of Transportation’s measurement of similar 

VMT increases on other freeways in the region and 

state, suggests that some of the increase may have 

been due to economic factors.

The emission changes for Seattle are shown in two 

ways. Tolling was instituted on all lanes of the SR 

520 Bridge, resulting in a 28.9 percent decrease in 

travel on that facility. However, many of the vehicles 

that had used SR 520 may have switched to other 

routes. When all four interconnected freeway facilities 

connecting the two Lake Washington crossings (SR 

520 and I-90) were considered there was a net 2.7 

percent decrease in VMT. 

The reasons for the decrease or increase in emissions 

are based on the overall traffic impacts: increases 

in effective or actual capacity leading to increases 

in traffic volumes; decreases in volumes due to 

exogenous factors, such as economic conditions or 

construction; or the effects of tolling an entire facility. 

For example, in Los Angeles and Minneapolis new 

lanes due to restriping and other projects not part of 

the UPA/CRD contributed to additional capacity. 

Table 11. Percent Change in VMT and Emissions at Five UPA/CRD Sites on Weekdays during 

Morning and Evening Peak Periods
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

24 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

The effect of parking pricing on VMT was evaluated 

for San Francisco (but not Los Angeles due to the 

lack of data in the area of parking price changes). 

Cruising for parking spots can represent a lot of VMT, 

and there was a 26.7 percent decrease in VMT in 

the SFpark pilot areas after demand-based pricing 

was implemented. Speed changes, however, were 

very minor and related data were insufficient to use in 

the emissions calculations, resulting in estimates of 

percent change in emissions to be the same as VMT. 

In Los Angeles, the lack of VMT and speed data 

needed for estimating emissions changes attributable 

to parking pricing meant that the effects could not be 

included in the emissions changes for that site in 

Table 11.

Variation in the regional impact of the UPA/CRD 

projects on emissions among the sites is noteworthy, 

owing to the relative scope of the projects. For 

example, as a proportion of all VMT in the study areas, 

the UPA/CRD facilities in Los Angeles and Atlanta 

represented 0.3 and 0.5 percent of regional daily 

CO2 emissions respectively, whereas in Minneapolis 

and Seattle (the SR 520 Bridge only) the facilities 

represented 4.5 and 5.5 percent of the regional daily 

emissions totals respectively. 

In conclusion, in the period following the 

implementation of congestion pricing at the UPA/

CRD sites, emissions changed as a direct, but not 

necessarily exclusive, effect of VMT. VMT declined at 

three of the five evaluated sites and increased at two 

sites. The environmental effects were generally in the 

same direction as the VMT, showing that the effects of 

decreased congestion due to pricing were not enough 

to offset all of the VMT when it increased.

CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 25

BENEFIT-COST ANALYSIS

The national evaluation performed a benefit cost analysis 

(BCA) for each site. The purpose was to quantify and 

monetize the societal benefits and costs of implementing 

each site’s suite of projects. The net benefit from the 

projects, i.e., the difference between the total benefits and 

the total costs, indicates the net societal benefit of this 

public investment. 

Costs were based on federal UPA/CRD grants and 

local agency funding and included planning and 

implementation of the projects and 10 years of 

management and operation. The ten-year horizon was 

considered most appropriate for technology-oriented 

projects, such as the pricing components of the UPA/CRD 

projects. Some sites included investments that had a 

salvage value after ten years (buses for example), and the 

salvage amount was deducted from the initial investments 

to achieve a net cost for the BCA analysis.

Benefits were based on a 10-year projection of the 

benefits observed in the one-year post-deployment 

evaluation period. Use of regional metropolitan 

transportation models assisted in the projections at some 

sites. The monetized benefits included savings in travel 

time from auto, truck and transit usage, in emissions 

and fuel usage, and, where data were available, in other 

vehicle operating costs. Local values of time were used 

in the calculation of travel time savings. A negative 

benefit could result when the post-deployment impact 

caused increases in travel times, fuel use, or emissions. 

Moreover, in some cases shortcomings in data available 

for measuring benefits could have affected the results of 

the BCA.

Table 12 shows the BCA results for five sites (excluding 

Miami where a BCA was not performed). The BCA 

results vary widely among the sites owing to the scope 

of projects described in the introduction section of this 

report. One commonality with respect to benefits was 

that travel time savings projected over 10 years had the 

largest effect at four sites (i.e., Atlanta 54 percent, Seattle 

97 percent, Minnesota 98 percent, and San Francisco 

87 percent), but not in Los Angeles where changes in 

vehicle fuel consumption predominated resulting in a 

large negative net benefit. Those fuel impacts were the 

direct outcome of increased vehicle throughput in the 

I-10 and I-110 corridors in the post-deployment period. 

Although some individual site evaluation reports included 

findings about changes in crashes, safety benefits were 

not included in the BCA, as one year of post-deployment 

data was not sufficient to reliably project long-term safety 

benefits. 

Site Benefits ($) Costs ($) Net Benefits ($) Benefit to Cost 

Ratio

Atlanta 9,549,980 106,296,834 -96,746,854 0.09

Los Angeles -99,306,603 208,187,629 -307,494,232 -0.48

Minneapolis* 216,169,606 83,953,942 132,215,664 2.57

San Francisco 36,564,178 43,529,299 -6,965,121 0.84

Seattle 203,240,696 115,250,100 87,990,596 1.76

In summary, the BCA showed total benefits to be positive 

at all but one site, while net benefits were positive at 

only two sites. However, the analysis is not without its 

limitations, but it was the best that could be obtained 

with available information and assumptions made for the 

analysis. Moreover, the future benefits of the projects 

could be different than those that were projected. It 

should also be noted that these were demonstration 

projects that were intended to test new approaches to 

managing congestion and provide useful feedback on 

what works and doesn’t work well. Relatedly, in at least 

one site, San Francisco, the technology deployed was 

very new. With the anticipated expansion of SFpark

citywide, and deployment of similar systems in other 

cities, less expensive technologies are expected to be 

used, having learned from the SFpark pilot.

Table 12. Benefit-Cost Analysis for the UPA/CRD Sites

*Expansion of Crosstown Commons was not funded by the UPA, but its cost was included because its benefits could not be separated from 

those of the UPA.
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

26 LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

EQUITY AND CONGESTION PRICING

Equity impacts, or the perceptions of fairness, 

especially for low-income travelers, could be a key 

factor in the acceptance of transportation projects 

involving the introduction of pricing. Equity impacts 

of pricing were examined at all UPA/CRD sites except 

Miami and include specific impacts to user groups, 

environmental equity across geographic area and 

demographic groups, and the reinvestment of revenue. 

In addition, perceptions of fairness were available from 

surveys at some sites.

User Groups 

Most users benefited as a result of the pricing 

improvements. Increased costs to tolled users were 

offset by faster, more reliable travel, and transit users 

typically experienced a faster, higher quality trip on 

the tolled facility. In Atlanta, Seattle, and Los Angeles, 

travel conditions in the free facility (alternate route 

or general purpose lane) either did not change or 

speeds decreased slightly, while travel improved 

in Minneapolis’ general purpose lanes. In Seattle, 

where tolling was deployed for all lanes on the SR 

520 Bridge, lower income groups eliminated a greater 

proportion of trips across Lake Washington than other 

income groups. Parking pricing in San Francisco did 

not reveal any differences in impacts by income or age 

groups. 

Environmental Equity

No apparent adverse air quality impacts to minority or 

low-income households were found at most UPA/CRD 

sites. However, given the prevalence of minority and 

low-income households adjacent to the Los Angeles 

ExpressLanes corridors, these populations were, 

therefore, disproportionately affected by adverse air 

quality impacts. Based on limited data provided by 

local partners, the calculation of net emissions on the 

ExpressLanes corridors showed an increase of 6.1 – 

82.1 percent, depending on the pollutant. It is not 

known if increased traffic was utilizing alternate routes 

before, or if it was due to latent demand for use of the 

I-110 and I-10, or an improving economy that led to 

more traffic after tolling.

Reinvesting Revenues

One measure of equity is how revenues collected by 

the tolling and pricing systems are to be used. In San 

Francisco the city charter requires parking revenues to 

be used on city-owned transit services. Los Angeles 

expects to use parking revenue to expand LA Express 

Park into other neighborhoods. 

At sites with tolling deployments, revenues are 

generally applied first to paying for operations, 

maintenance, administration, and/or enforcement costs 

of the tolled facility. Some sites developed explicit 

plans for reinvesting potential net revenues from 

their tolling operations. In Seattle, net toll revenues 

from the SR 520 Bridge are being used to pay for a 

replacement bridge that will benefit all transportation 

users of SR 520, including drivers and transit users, as 

well as pedestrians and bicyclists who will be able to 

use the new bridge.

In Minneapolis net revenues from the I-35W South 

MnPASS HOT lanes are to be divided equally 

between public transit services and other roadway 

improvements on I-35W South. Similarly, in Los 

Angeles, net revenue from the ExpressLanes must 

be used in the respective corridor from which it was 

collected. This revenue will support transit service that 

was implemented to complement the ExpressLanes, 

with all remaining net revenue to be devoted to a 

combination of transit, system connectivity/active 

transportation, and highway improvements. In 

addition, Los Angeles implemented a Low-Income 

Assistance Plan (Figure 15) that addresses equity 

concerns. 

Overall, these policies for allocating pricing revenues 

for multimodal projects promotes a positive, equitable 

impact that benefits all users. Geographic equity 

is promoted when revenues are reinvested within 

the corridor from which the revenue was collected. 

Highway improvements support drivers that utilize the 

tolled facility. Environmental equity is promoted by 

investments that reduce adverse air quality impacts in 

the corridor, such as transit, bicycling, and pedestrian 

travel. 
CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES 27

Los Angeles ExpressLanes Low-Income 

Assistance Plan

The ExpressLanes were the first HOT lane 

operation in the U.S. to offer a plan to assist 

low-income commuters, originally called 

the Equity Plan. The plan was developed 

in response to concerns about low-income 

households’ ability to afford the toll and monthly 

transponder fee. To be eligible, the applicant 

must be a Los Angeles County resident with an 

annual household income at or below two times 

the Federal poverty level based on household size. Once enrolled they obtain access to toll credits and 

a waived monthly transponder fee, as illustrated above. As of the end of February 2014, a total of 4,415 

Los Angeles County households were enrolled in the plan, accounting for $110,375 in toll/transponder 

credits. This program helped lower-income single-occupant vehicle users to take advantage of the travel 

time savings offered by the ExpressLanes

Survey Findings 

The Volpe Center conducted a two-stage panel survey 

in Atlanta and Seattle to examine the impacts of tolling 

on corridor users. In Atlanta 74 percent of respondents 

in the survey before tolling started agreed that highway 

tolls were unfair to people with limited incomes, but 

after tolling was implemented that percent dropped to 

57. In Seattle, 56 percent of respondents in the aftertolling survey agreed that tolling on SR 520 was unfair 

to people with limited incomes, with the lowest income 

group the most concerned about equity. In Seattle, 

lower-income households reported paying less in tolls, 

but reduced their travel across Lake Washington more 

significantly than other groups. Although this may raise 

concerns, equity impacts are difficult to interpret since 

household income levels of SR 520 Bridge users were 

high even prior to tolling (averaging $132,000).

In on-board transit surveys that were conducted in 

Seattle, Atlanta, and Los Angeles, slightly more than 

half the riders agreed that tolls were unfair to people 

with limited incomes. In customer satisfaction surveys 

in Los Angeles, the percentage of HOV, ExpressLanes, 

and general purpose lane motorists who agreed that 

the ExpressLanes only benefit the rich increased from 

51 percent in the pre-deployment period to 60 percent 

in the post-deployment period. Moreover, the percent 

who agreed that the “ExpressLanes were accessible 

to everyone regardless of income because qualifying 

low-income households will receive a discount on their 

responder” fell from 47 percent in the pre-deployment 

period to 33 percent in the post-deployment period.

In summary, the evaluation findings indicate that the 

UPA/CRD projects did not generally have a negative 

equity impact and succeeded in expanding travel 

options through transit improvements. One site – Los 

Angeles – was notable for offering a program to assist 

low income travelers in using the ExpressLanes. 

Nevertheless, surveys at several sites indicate that 

perceptions of unfairness of tolling persist.

Source: LA Metro

Figure 15. Low-Income Assistance Plan Advertisement
28

CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

TECHNOLOGY PERFORMANCE

Intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies 

were incorporated into projects at all the sites. The 

national evaluation focused on a subset of technology 

projects, and highlighted in this section are findings 

about active traffic management (ATM) strategies, 

advanced parking technology, and automated 

enforcement technology. Technologies for ATM were 

deployed in Minneapolis and Seattle. Advanced 

parking meters and parking sensors were used in San 

Francisco and Los Angeles. Automated enforcement 

tools were used on the I-85 Express Lanes in Atlanta 

and for parking management in San Francisco and 

Los Angeles. 

Active Traffic Management

The ATM strategies in Minneapolis and Seattle 

used similar technologies, but slightly different sign 

options and approaches. Minneapolis displayed 

variable advisory speeds that were not enforceable, 

while Seattle displayed variable speed limits (VSLs) 

that were enforceable, but were typically used in 

an advisory capacity during periods of congestion. 

Figure 16 shows the lane control option used in 

Seattle. 

Blank – Default

Green – Lane Open

Yellow – Caution

Yellow X – Closed Ahead

Red X – Closed

Speed Limit

Merge 

with 

Diagonal 

Arrows

White Diamond 

(HOV 2+ Only)

White Diamond

(HOV Lane Open to All)

Source: Washington State Department of Transportation

Figure 16. Advanced Traffic Management System Sign 

Options Used in Seattle 

Minneapolis deployed intelligent lane control signals 

(ILCS) and real-time transit and traffic dynamic 

message signs (DMS). The 174 ILCS on gantries 

about 0.5 miles apart on I-35W South were used 

primarily for incident management and speed 

harmonization, as well as designating when the 

MnPASS Express Lanes were in operation. Loop 

detectors measured traffic speeds downstream of 

the ILCS signs. The advisory speeds were posted 

up to 1.5 miles upstream. The system automatically 

activated advisory speeds in advance of congested 

areas. As illustrated in Figure 17, the advisory 

speeds were always the same for all signs on a single 

gantry, with a white diamond over the MnPASS lanes. 

Comparative real-time traffic and transit information 

was displayed on DMS along I-35W.

The evaluation found that operational, enforcement, 

emergency and transit staff viewed the ILCS as 

effective in managing, slowing down, and moving 

traffic to other lanes in the case of a crash or other 

situation, and no major technical problems were 

reported. Approximately 90 percent of surveyed 

travelers had seen messages on the electronic signs 

and the vast majority agreed that the strategies and 

Source: Minnesota Department of Transportation 

Figure 17. I-35W MnPASS Express Lane Diamond and 

General Purpose Freeway Lane Advisory Speeds
29

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signing would keep them informed of upcoming traffic 

conditions, would increase safety on the highway, and 

would ease traffic congestion.

The Seattle ATM and DMS systems included 70 new 

signs at 19 locations along eight miles of SR 520 and 

129 new signs at 25 locations along nine miles of I-90. 

Figure 18 illustrates the signs on the SR 520 Bridge. 

The VSL signs were automated and activated by the 

system in advance of congested freeway segments. 

Three DMS displaying real-time comparative travel 

times to downtown Seattle via SR 520 and I-90 were 

deployed along SR 520, I-405, and SR 522.

Enforcement personnel, emergency responders, and 

bus operators who were interviewed generally reacted 

positively to the ATM and DMS components. The 

VSL signs helped in proactively managing traffic in 

congested freeway sections and informed drivers of 

incidents, although some staff questioned if drivers 

paid attention to the VSL signs.

Source: Washington State Department of Transportation

Figure 18. Signs on SR 520 Bridge in Seattle

As is noted in the last section of this report describing 

the long-term effects of the UPA/CRD projects at each 

site, Seattle and Minneapolis have had slightly different 

experiences with ATM since the evaluation. Citing the 

lack of measurable benefits along with substantial 

implementation costs and maintenance and operations 

costs, MnDOT will not be expanding the use of 

intelligent lane control signals and will gradually phase 

them out as replacement is needed. WSDOT, on the 

other hand, is looking at expanding its use of ATM, 

including lane control signage.

Advanced Parking Technology

Two projects, SFpark in San Francisco and LA Express 

Park in Los Angeles, used advanced parking meters, 

state-of-the-art parking occupancy sensors, real-time 

parking information systems, and other technologies 

to implement and operate demand-based parking 

management systems. Figure 19 through Figure 21 

illustrate these technologies. Although similar, the two 

cities differed slightly in approach, technologies, and 

issues encountered.

Source: San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

Figure 19. In-ground Parking Sensor in San Francisco
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Source: Los Angeles Department of Transportation and San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

Figure 20. Examples of Advanced Parking Meters in LA ExpressParkTM and SFpark

Technology used in SFpark enabled the San Francisco 

Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA) to use 

variable pricing to manage availability of parking 

spaces and, thereby, reduce the number of drivers 

circling to find parking or double parking. New 

parking meters and parking space occupancy sensors 

were installed at approximately 7,000 on-street 

parking spaces in the seven pilot areas where variable 

pricing was implemented. The new parking meters 

expanded payment options to include cash, credit 

card, debit card, SFMTA issued parking/debit cards, 

and cellphone. Real-time information on parking price 

and availability was disseminated by websites, smart 

phone apps, and the 511 phone system. Figure 20 

illustrates the SFpark smart phone app.

Source: San Francisco 

Municipal Transportation 

Agency

Figure 21. Example of 

SFMTA Real-time Parking 

Information Mobile App

According to SFMTA personnel who were interviewed, 

the new parking meters worked well, the advanced 

parking technology improved the agency’s ability to 

manage parking in the pilot areas, and the expanded 

payment options were well received by the public 

because they made paying easier and reduced 

the risk of receiving a citation. The state-of-the-art 

technology was not without problems, however. Initial 

parking sensors did not meet the SFMTA performance 

standard and had to be removed. Although the 

second sensor technology met the performance 

specifications and functioned well, the battery life was 

shorter than expected. 

Information on real-time parking price and availability 

on the SFpark webpage received an average of 

21,417 real-time parking availability requests per 

day. The webpage served as a datafeed for serving 

various data users, including viewers of the webpage, 

requests from mobile apps, and numerous app 

developers and third party providers including the 

MTC for the 511 system. The cumulative number of 

iPhone SFpark app downloads was 59,512 during 

the evaluation period and the total number of Android 

app downloads was 10,875. Requests for parking 

information from the regional 511 system averaged 

979 calls a month by phone and 3,045 visits to the 511 

website during the evaluation period. At the end of 

2013 SFMTA discontinued use of the in-ground parking 

sensors, which meant that real-time information on 

parking availability was no longer offered for on-street 

parking. 
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CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

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Despite the high number of requests to the datafeed 

and the variety of platforms that travelers could have 

used for real-time parking information, awareness and 

usage tended to be low among surveyed respondents. 

The roll-out of the 511 parking information late in the 

deployment period and limited marketing of parking 

information may have been factors. Only 15 percent of 

respondents were aware of the information – the most 

frequently cited sources of parking information were 

the 511.org website and the SFpark mobile app – and 

still fewer reported using any source.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation 

(LADOT) implemented the LA Express ParkTM demandbased parking project in a 4.5 square mile area in 

downtown Los Angeles. Technologies included 

approximately 6,000 parking space vehicle sensors, 

new parking meters, a real-time parking guidance 

system, a website, an integrated parking management 

system, and smart phone parking apps with real-time 

parking information. The advanced parking meters 

accommodated different parking rates for different 

times of the day and expanded payment options to 

include not only cash, but also debit and credit cards 

and payment by cell phones. The meters provide 

real-time communication, allowing motorists to receive 

a notification when the time on a meter was about to 

expire. Individuals could pay for additional time using 

their cell phones. 

LADOT personnel believed that the parking sensors, 

parking meters, and parking management system 

– along with the policy changes – facilitated the 

department’s ability to implement demand-based 

parking pricing and the parking guidance system, 

and the same technology components improved the 

department’s ability to enforce parking regulations. 

Expanded payment options were seen as making 

it easier for motorists to pay for parking, thereby 

increasing payment compliance. No major technology 

issues with the parking sensors were experienced in 

Los Angeles during the evaluation period, although 

they were the same sensors that had been installed 

in San Francisco initially but later replaced with those 

from a different vendor. 

In Los Angeles, real-time parking information was 

distributed by website, smart phone parking apps, 

and by dynamic message signs. Requests for 

parking information on the LA Express ParkTM website 

averaged 2,500 monthly hits initially, but increased to 

almost 4,000 hits a month by the end of the second 

year. Only 25 percent of respondents surveyed in the 

LA Express ParkTM area were aware of the smart phone 

parking apps.

Automated Enforcement Technology

Atlanta developed and operated an automated 

enforcement system on the I-85 Express Lanes. The 

system included two major components – the gantry 

controlled access (GCA) technology and the vehiclebased enforcement technology. Transponder readers 

located on overhead gantries spaced approximately 

every half mile detected vehicles moving into and out 

of the Express Lanes between toll collection stations. 

When a vehicle making an illegal movement was 

identified, the system recorded the identity of the 

vehicle for enforcement purposes via license plate 

readers and a video enforcement system. Toll violation 

notices were mailed to the vehicle owner, based on the 

number of toll gantries missed by the vehicle.

The vehicle-based enforcement technology included a 

mobile automated license plate reader, which allowed 

Department of Public Safety (DPS) officers to verify the 

declared occupancy status of vehicles in the Express 

Lanes. The devices were linked to the State Road 

and Tollway Authority (SRTA) back office via a wireless 

communication system. Officers could immediately 

determine “toll exempt” vehicles in the Express Lanes 

and check for the required three people. Enforcement 

personnel were also able to compare license plate 

images to the registration database to ensure that only 

authorized vehicles were using the lanes. Citations 

were issued to the owners of unregistered vehicles. 

SRTA personnel who were interviewed noted that the 

technologies operated as envisioned, were reliable, 

and enhanced enforcement.

The enforcement tools developed to manage 

advanced parking management systems in San 

Francisco and Los Angeles helped to make 

enforcement more efficient and provide effective 

use of enforcement personnel. SFMTA conducted a 
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small-scale test of a prototype handheld enforcement 

device during the demonstration period and found 

that it enhanced the efficiency of parking enforcement. 

In Los Angeles, occupancy data from the parking 

sensors and payment data from the parking meters 

were used to help identify potential violators as part 

of a guided parking enforcement effort. This effort 

built on activities initiated prior to the LA Express 

ParkTM project, including a smart phone enforcement 

app that helped identify potential violations (showing 

occupied parking spaces that were unpaid) and 

tracked enforcement activities in real-time. However, 

because California law allows drivers with a valid 

disabled parking permit to park for free at an on-street 

meter, the technology’s effectiveness for enforcement 

purposes is reduced.

In summary, the UPA/CRD program offered the 

opportunity to develop and test a diverse range of 

technologies in real-world settings that might not 

have been feasible otherwise. Evaluation of the 

performance of the technologies relied primarily 

on interviews with agency personnel and, where 

available, surveys of travelers. Agency personnel 

generally viewed the technologies as adding 

operational value and providing benefits to end-users. 

An exception was the problem with in-ground parking 

sensors in San Francisco, although they performed 

satisfactorily in Los Angeles. Nevertheless, the 

information gained from experience with performance 

standards and battery failures in San Francisco should 

help advance specifications for this type of product 

for other cities. The evaluation also demonstrated 

that development of a technology, e.g. a parking 

information app, is only the first step, and robust 

marketing is needed to encourage widespread usage. 
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THE DEPLOYMENT EXPERIENCE

This section highlights findings about the experience 

of the UPA/CRD deployers by examining non-technical 

factors that affected the success of the projects. First 

is a discussion of institutional issues, followed by 

marketing efforts undertaken by the sites, and finally 

the reaction of the public to the projects. 

Institutional Issues

An important 

aspect of the overall 

evaluation entailed 

an understanding of 

“non-technical success 

factors” that influenced 

the projects and may 

be a significant variable 

in explaining project 

results. Interviews with 

key stakeholders were 

held during the planning 

and implementation stages to identify success factors 

in areas such as staff, collaborative processes, and 

institutional structures. 

The interviews revealed that the complexity of 

innovation attempted by the UPA/CRD projects 

required levels of collaboration and communication 

that went beyond the norm. Project success (defined 

as both successful implementation and positive 

intended results) was linked to multi-department 

and multi-agency collaboration. For example, to 

plan, implement, and operate the new HOT lanes 

on I-85 in Atlanta, the state DOT built the physical 

infrastructure, worked closely with two other principal 

partners – the state toll authority which operates 

the tolling system and the regional transportation 

authority which implemented enhanced bus service 

– and many others. Regular communication among 

collaborating parties was vital as was a desire to strive 

toward common goals, such as offering more and 

better choices, increasing travel reliability, expanding 

effective capacity, and improving efficiency.

Each site undertook extensive marketing and outreach 

to inform potential users about the requirements and 

benefits of the systems (e.g., tolling/pricing) and 

services (e.g., bus service). Outreach served to 

address early concerns by policy-makers who might 

oppose tolling (Seattle), HOT lanes (Los Angeles), 

or parking pricing (San Francisco). In Los Angeles, 

this resulted in an alternative corridor being selected. 

However, in Seattle early tolling on the SR 520, and 

the link to bridge replacement, was accepted publicly 

and politically through the deliberate outreach and 

communications of top agency leadership. Existing 

marketing and outreach channels, such as those 

available from ridesharing programs, were utilized as 

well. More details on marketing and outreach appear 

in the next section. 

Technical, administrative, financial, and other staff 

competencies played a key role in assuring success. 

Since advanced technology was used extensively in 

all the projects, having appropriate expertise involved 

in the projects was vital. In several cities technology 

was a source of delay, but staff worked diligently 

to overcome these hurdles. San Francisco, for 

example, deployed a state-of-the-art parking pricing 

system which pushed the San Francisco Municipal 

Transportation Agency into uncharted territory with 

new equipment and back office information systems. 

In summary, project stakeholders concluded that 

several key factors contributed to the success 

of the UPA/CRD projects. They recognized that 

staff competencies were essential, but working 

“outside” of their usual domains to understand other 

viewpoints created a better overall end-product (in 

the form of a tolling option, parking program, express 

bus service, etc.). This also meant building upon 

existing partnership as in Minneapolis, or allowing 

somewhat new partners to join, such as Georgia DOT 

collaborating with the State Road and Tollway Authority 

on the HOV-to-HOT conversion. Finally, shared 

goals and a common vision were cited as necessary 

ingredients at all the sites, as for example the need to 

replace the 520 floating bridge in Seattle and the role 

of tolling in providing needed revenue.

Key Success Factors

•	Multi-agency

collaboration

•	Shared goals

•	Good communication

•	 Competent staff

•	Early, broad outreach
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Marketing and Outreach

By their very nature the UPA/CRD projects were 

meant to demonstrate significant changes to the 

transportation landscape in the communities where 

they were deployed and to do it in a short period 

of time, thereby presenting formidable marketing 

challenges for the local partners. Not only did they 

need to reach the public who would experience these 

changes, but often outreach was needed to elected 

officials and institutional stakeholders to garner their 

support for the projects. All six sites used a variety of 

methods to reach their targeted audiences (sidebar). 

Figure 22 presents a small sample of the material 

produced. Highlights and examples of the marketing 

efforts are presented in this section.

Among the greatest marketing challenges was 

communicating the unfamiliar concept of congestion 

pricing in transportation. Agency personnel spoke 

about needing to change the culture – how travelers 

think about their transportation system, be it highways 

or parking. Indeed, Florida DOT found that many 

Miami express lane users did not understand that a 

higher price meant that the lanes were congested, and 

education of the public would be a continuing need as 

there would always be new express lane customers to 

inform.

Delivering high quality customer experience was 

another challenge local deployers had to address 

now that transportation facility users were customers 

paying a premium for service. To differentiate the 

new from the old, the sites employed distinctive 

brand names and brand graphics, such as SFpark, 

Good-to-Go, 95 Express, Peach Pass, LA Express 

ParkTM, MnPass, and ExpressLanes. Agencies used 

combinations of outreach events with employers, retail 

outlets, online accounts, customer service centers, 

and call centers to promote tolling and to register and 

maintain relationships with tolling customers. In this 

transition in agency culture to regard the public as 

customers, customer satisfaction with the service they 

received became critically important. For example, in 

Atlanta, a region not previously familiar with HOT lanes, 

surveys showed that 70 percent of Peach Pass holders 

were satisfied with their experience of opening and 

setting up accounts and 72 percent were satisfied with 

managing their accounts.

Many Audiences, Many Methods

•	Public meetings

•	Booths at special events and shopping malls

•	Press briefings

•	Meetings with employers

•	Press releases

•	 Fact sheets

•	Websites

•	Social media

•	E-newsletters

•	E-mail updates

•	On-line videos to explain how the system

works

•	Brochures and posters

•	 Live web chats

•	Purchased advertising

•	One-on-one meetings with elected officials

and other stakeholders
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Source: Minnesota Department of Transportation

MnPASS Logo in Minneapolis

Figure 22. Examples of Local Partners’ Marketing Materials

Source: Washington State Department of Transportation

SR 520 Bridge Tolling Advertisement

Source: SFMTA

Advertising Bus Wrap in San Francisco

Source: State Road and Tollway Authority

Peach Pass Website

Source: LA Metro

Identification of Customer Benefits of Los Angeles 

ExpressLanes
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CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

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Despite the extensive marketing that was conducted 

by the UPA/CRD sites, more promotion of some parts 

of their projects might have made a difference. For 

example, more marketing and incentives for alternate 

mode choices may have mitigated carpool break-up 

or led to greater transit usage. A case in point was 

Atlanta, where marketing and media coverage of the 

transit alternative to the Express Lanes were minimal, 

despite the addition of new routes, new buses, new 

park-and-ride lots and the travel time advantage 

enjoyed by buses using the Express Lanes. Another 

example was in San Francisco, where on-street 

interviews conducted at the end of the evaluation 

period revealed that few people knew about real-time 

parking information sources. Low awareness was not 

surprising considering that SFMTA’s promotional event 

that highlighted their smart phone parking app had 

occurred two years before post-deployment surveying 

and MTC had not conducted any marketing of parking 

information on their 511 system prior to the end of the 

evaluation period. 

Typically, state and local governments are reluctant 

to invest in marketng and outreach. However, 

based on the results from efforts at the six sites, the 

importance of dedicating funding in this area was 

demonstrated. Through purposeful and extensive 

marketing and outreach conducted by the UPA/CRD 

partners (for example, Figure 23 and Figure 24), they 

were generally quite successful in communicating 

plans about their projects over time and in effectively 

managing customer relations. The local media served 

as an important partner in the outreach process by 

keeping the projects in the public eye and helping to 

disseminate operational details to make the transition 

to new transportation services easier. More about the 

media’s role is presented in the next section.

LA Metro is a good example of a local partner’s commitment to outreach. Their outreach campaign 

targeted specific stakeholders using a variety of methods and venues. By the end of the demonstration 

period, Metro had conducted a total of 640 briefings and events on the LA CRD, including 303 

stakeholder briefings and 95 legislative briefings. In addition, Metro developed Corridor Advisory Groups 

(CAG), which served as citizen advisors to the CRD and provided insight and recommendations on 

messaging and helped to shape some of the elements and features of the LA CRD projects. The CAG met 

20 times over the course of the LA CRD planning, implementation, and post-deployment periods. 

“If Apple were to design parking management, what would it look like?” Jay

Primus, SFpark Manager, Jan. 26, 2012.

SFMTA was striving for a uniform, simple, smart customer experience when it 

set out to change the way people thought about paying for parking. Education 

about demand-based prices and the benefits to the individual and the city, as 

well as where the pilot was in effect, needed to be efficiently communicated 

to a skeptical public bombarded with information from every direction. Thus, 

creating a strong SFpark brand was as essential to the success of the SFpark 

pilot as the technology behind it. To do this SFMTA brought in innovative 

design firms to develop a communications strategy and to design and execute 

a coordinated suite of products, including meter decals, garage signs, mobile 

apps, website, and more along with a tagline that captured the intended 

customer experience to “circle less, live more.” Source: San Francisco Municipal 

Transportation Agency

Figure 23. LA Metro’s Commitment to Outreach and Citizen Involvment

Figure 24. SFpark Branding
Pre-Tolling on SR 

520

Post-Tolling on SR 

520

Change

On SR 520 

(N=1,840 trips pre-tolling, N=1,032 trips post-tolling)

Travel Time 3.41 5.17 +1.76*

Travel Speed 3.35 5.16 +1.81*

Travel Predictability 3.47 5.13 +1.66*

On I-90

N=1,306 trips pre-tolling, N=1,199 trips post-tolling

Travel Time 3.98 3.87 -0.11*

Travel Speed 3.93 3.81 -0.12*

Travel Predictability 4.03 3.68 -0.35*

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CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

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Public Acceptance of Innovative Projects

In addition to observed patterns of usage of the UPA/

CRD projects described earlier, understanding public 

opinion about the projects and whether they were 

perceived as beneficial to those who used them was 

an important line of inquiry in the national evaluation. 

Moreover, since the media can influence public opinion 

based on its coverage of transportation, the evaluation 

also sought to understand the media’s potential role in 

shaping public opinion. 

Public acceptance of the UPA/CRD projects was 

assessed using customer satisfaction surveys. 

Although the survey questions and sampling 

methodologies varied among the sites, the results 

tended to show that the majority of users of facilities 

with demand-based pricing perceived benefits to their 

travel compared to the period before such pricing was 

in effect.

•	Miami 95 Express users had faster travel times (79

percent) and more reliable trips (80 percent) after 

tolling. 

•	Minneapolis MnPASS lane users said travel was

easier and less congested (56 percent) than before, 

and they saved time and traveled faster (69 percent).

•	San Francisco drivers who parked in pilot areas took

less time to find parking (4 minutes) after demandbased pricing and were able to park within a block 

or less to their destination (31 percent before vs. 46 

percent after). 

•	Seattle users of the tolled SR 520 Bridge reported

faster trips, were more satisfied with their travel 

speeds, and found their trips more predictable 

compared to before tolling. (Details are in Table 13.)

•	 Los Angeles motorists thought having the

ExpressLanes as an option was a good idea even 

if they didn’t use it on a regular basis (58 percent), 

and time savings was seen as the greatest benefit 

(71 percent) for FastTrack® transponder owners who 

used the ExpressLanes. 

•	Atlanta Express Lane users were the exception: 

dissatisfaction outweighed satisfaction for travel 

time (48 percent vs. 43 percent), speed (46 percent 

vs. 43 percent) and predictability (45 percent vs. 36 

percent) a full eight months after tolling began.

Not surprisingly, the surveys sometimes revealed that 

not all travelers perceived the same benefits from the 

UPA/CRD projects. A case in point are the drivers 

who took alternative bridges across Lake Washington 

in Seattle. The Volpe Center conducted a pre- and 

post-tolling panel survey of households in the SR 520 

corridor. Table 13 presents the change in satisfaction 

scores for trips by those who used the SR 520 Bridge 

and those who used the I-90 Bridge. Satisfaction on 

SR 520 increased after tolling in terms of time, speed, 

and predictability of travel. In contrast, satisfaction 

with trips on I-90 declined slightly. These patterns are 

consistent with the change in average a.m. and p.m. 

peak-hour speeds measured by WSDOT: a 10-26 

mph improvement on SR 520 and 2–7 mph decrease 

on I-90. 

Table 13. Mean Satisfaction Scores for Peak-Period Driving Trips across Lake 

Washington Before and After SR 520 Tolling

 (Based on 7-point scale, with 1 = highly dissatisfied, 4=neutral, 7=highly satisfied)

* Statistically significant change. Source: The Volpe Center.
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Media coverage of the UPA/CRD projects was 

collected at each site and included items from 

mainstream sources such as local and national 

newspapers, blogs, targeted educational pieces from 

organizations not part of the UPA/CRD projects, op-ed 

pieces, and industry publications. The total items 

varied considerably among the UPA/CRD sites: 257 

for Atlanta, 709 for Los Angeles, 42 for Minneapolis, 

596 for San Francisco, and 832 for Seattle. (The total 

amount of coverage was not available for Miami.) The 

low number for Minneapolis was most likely a reflection 

of the lack of controversy about its projects. 

Results of an analysis of the content of the coverage 

(based on a sample at most sites) ranged from 

dispassionate reporter to helpful partner to sharp 

critic. The focus was overwhelmingly on tolling or 

pricing projects with little attention to transit or other 

supporting strategies at most sites. For example:

•	Atlanta: In the wake of limited media coverage prior 

to the HOT lane opening, extensive coverage in the 

immediate post-launch period was predominantly 

negative and emphasized the public’s dissatisfaction 

with paying a toll and loss of free use of the lane by 

two-person carpools. 

•	Los Angeles: Balanced coverage of all points of 

view were observed. The media played a helpful 

informational role by explaining how the new system 

would work and what to expect. 

•	Miami: Florida DOT found the media to be key 

partners in informing the public about how pricing 

worked and in correcting misperceptions in the 

immediate post-launch period. Miami was one of the 

few sites with news coverage about the advantages 

of express bus service, which in turn helped to 

promote the transit option.

•	Minnesota: The media informed the public about 

the projects but did not try to influence public 

opinion, since the projects were not viewed as 

controversial. 

•	San Francisco: Coverage was extensive and 

primarily positive, emphasizing the benefits that 

the deploying agency expected to achieve and 

the national attention focused on the innovative 

technology project. 

•	Seattle: The media helped the partners frame tolling 

as an unavoidable means for paying for needed 

infrastructure, that is the SR 520 Bridge, but delays 

in the start of tolling and other technical problems 

turned coverage negative at times. 

In conclusion, surveys and media coverage of 

the UPA/CRD projects showed public opinion to 

be generally positive at most sites. The projects 

were seen as doing something beneficial for the 

transportation system in the region, and the users 

of the new projects perceived direct benefits to 

themselves. Atlanta was the exception in sustaining 

considerable negative reactions for many months 

after the opening of its express lanes, perhaps an 

indication of the considerable change the public was 

being asked to absorb. No other site instituted tolling 

without added capacity and simultaneously changed 

occupancy to HOV3+ requiring registration and a 

transponder. However, the LA ExpressLanes were 

required to allow clean fuel vehicles to use the lanes at 

the end of the one year pilot which contributed to the 

lanes once again reaching capacity. 
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OPERATIONAL IMPACTS

Agency operations were impacted by the UPA/CRD 

projects that they became responsible for managing. 

This section discusses findings on two aspects of 

operations, the impact on agency staffing and the 

changes in how agencies performed enforcement for 

violations related to pricing. 

Staffing

The UPA/CRD projects, in offering new technologies 

imposed new responsibilities on agency staff that 

required additional training, staff members, and new 

ways of thinking about operations. A few examples are 

discussed below.

The ATM lane control signage deployed in Minneapolis 

and Seattle required a more involved approach to 

operations than had previously been necessary. In 

both locations, the ATM signage is actively managed 

24 hours every day, placing an increased responsibility 

on operators to ensure accuracy and retain motorist 

confidence in the signage. For example, during 

an incident as conditions change with the arrival 

and departure of emergency responders, it is very 

apparent to motorists when ATM signs (spaced every 

1⁄2 mile) are wrong (for example, if the wrong lane is 

listed as closed, marked closed at the wrong place, or 

still marked closed after an incident is cleared). As a 

result, additional staff were hired at the transportation 

management center (TMC) in Seattle, whereas the 

TMC in Minneapolis cross-trained additional staff to 

ensure 24/7 coverage. Even though the systems 

automatically posted variable speeds, TMC operator 

oversight was still valuable for ensuring the messages 

were appropriate.

Deploying agencies in Los Angeles noted that 

implementing innovative traffic management 

solutions disrupted typical processes and challenged 

established practices. Traditionally the regional transit 

operator, Metro was in charge of implementing and 

operating the tolling system on the ExpressLanes, 

including procuring a first-ever Design-Build-OperateMaintain (DBOM) contract for tolling, but it had 

to do this on a Caltrans-owned facility. Once the 

ExpressLanes were deployed, Metro staff recognized 

that they were running a business and that control over 

the customer experience must remain in-house. 

HOT lanes necessitated new levels of interagency 

cooperation. In Atlanta, coordination between 

emergency response personnel and tolling operations 

staff was noted to be critical during incident events. 

The tolling and enforcement agencies needed to know 

when incident responders were forcing traffic into or 

out of the Express Lane so that Express Lane users 

were not issued citations when they were directed to 

leave or enter the Express Lane.

The UPA/CRD projects also impacted enforcement with 

new or more targeted enforcement efforts as a result 

of the new approaches to pricing. The State Road 

and Tollway Authority in Atlanta funded additional 

personnel from the Department of Public Safety for 

enforcement in the Express Lanes, and technology 

(see technology discussion below) enhanced their 

ability to spot occupancy violations. In Los Angeles, 

the California Highway Patrol (CHP) dedicated a 

specific ExpressLanes patrol after the deployment of 

the ExpressLanes where previously only officers on 

routine patrol in the corridors had issued citations. In 

Miami, off-duty Florida Highway Patrol officers were 

contracted by FDOT to provide extra enforcement on 

95 Express. In Minneapolis, MnDOT funded extra 

State Patrol coverage on the I-35W MnPASS lanes 

during the morning and afternoon operating periods. 

For SFMTA in San Francisco the staffing challenge was 

one brought on by the technical nature of SFpark. On 

the surface, SFpark was seen primarily as a parking 

policy project that transformed how parking rates were 

set, moving away from elected policymakers (after 

they set overarching policies) and instead toward 

market demand principles. However, once the project 

began, it became evident to all involved that it was a 

deeply technical project, which in turn required types 

of technical expertise not normally associated with 

municipal parking operations. 
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CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

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Violations and Enforcement

Assessing trends in violations before and after the 

deployment of the UPA/CRD projects proved difficult 

due to a number of confounding factors at the sites, 

such as how violations are measured. The following is 

a summary of the findings from the data available for 

each site. 

In Atlanta, 49,229 violation notices based on the 

gantry-controlled access system were issued from 

February through September 2012. During the first 

three months of operation (November 2011 through 

January 2012), violators were offered a grace period, 

and during that time 1,207 warning letters were issued. 

Insufficient data prevented a comparison of the rate 

of occupancy violations in the previous HOV lane 

with the rate after tolling began. Also, analysis of the 

data was complicated by the fact that the violations 

did not differentiate between I-85 Express Lanes and 

the Georgia 400 Toll Road, which was also managed 

by SRTA. SRTA contracted with the DPS for spot 

enforcement of the Express Lanes. DPS reported an 

average of 47 citations per month for failing to correctly 

self-report the number of occupants in the vehicle 

and 21 citations per month for unlawfully entering the 

Express Lanes by crossing the double white lines. In 

the post-deployment period, occupancy violations 

comprised about 19 percent of the total number of 

citations issued by DPS while unauthorized entry into 

the Express Lanes represented about 8 percent. Data 

were not sufficient to determine actual number of 

violations, but only those that were detected manually 

or with the enforcement technology. The analysis 

indicated that recorded violations and manual citations 

remained fairly constant throughout the evaluation 

period.

In Los Angeles, a grace period for violators was in 

effect for the first 60 days of operation, after which 

both electronic and manual visual enforcement were 

used on the I-110 and I-10 ExpressLanes. Both 

types of enforcement were used to address violations 

of the self-declared occupancy requirements. The 

electronic toll collection system only addressed 

vehicles without a transponder or a non-active 

account, and from March through December 2013, 

the number of violation toll trips recorded during the 

morning peak hour, peak direction on the I-110 and 

I-10 ExpressLanes represented approximately 6 to 7 

percent of the total toll trips during that time period. A 

dedicated California Highway Patrol was added after 

the ExpressLanes were deployed. The total number 

of manual vehicle code violations issued by CHP 

increased in both corridors from the pre-deployment 

period to the post-deployment period. Although 

the number of occupancy violations decreased 

significantly in the post-deployment period, the overall 

number of toll and transponder violations issued in 

the post-deployment period more than made up for 

this decrease. Toll and transponder violations can 

include citations issued for refusal to pay the toll and 

failure to possess or display a transponder at the toll 

gantry, for example. The type of citation issued is at 

the discretion of the CHP officer, and more than one 

violation may apply to a given scenario even though 

only one citation is typically issued.

In Miami FDOT contracts with Florida Highway Patrol 

(FHP) to provide visual enforcement within the express 

lanes. Toll/HOV violations are the most frequent type of 

violations and occur when a registered HOV3+ vehicle 

is observed by FHP to have less than three people 

and using the express lanes. Toll/HOV violations 

decreased in FY2012 from 35% to 29% of the citations 

issued. 

In Minnesota the majority of citations and warnings 

were issued to individuals driving alone in the 

MnPASS HOT lanes without a MnPASS account and 

active transponder. A total of 1,515 citations and 

231 warnings were issued to drivers in this category 

over an eight-month period in 2011. Discounting 

July, when the MnPASS lanes were not in operation 

for 21 days due to the Minnesota state government 

shutdown, there were an average of 249 citations and 

warnings per month to non-MnPASS drivers. MnPASS 

customers with an inactive, malfunctioning, or not 

engaged transponder represent the second largest 

number of citations and warnings. Finally, individuals 

illegally crossing the double white lines separating 

the MnPASS lanes from the adjacent general-purpose 

freeway lanes accounted for 32 citations and 134 

warnings during the eight-month period. While it 

appears the number of occupancy violators has 

decreased to 5 percent from the previous HOV 

operations, when violation rates were approximately 15 

percent, the number of citations and warnings issued 

to drivers without an active MnPASS account remained 

relatively constant over the eight-month period. This 
41

CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

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suggests that some drivers may feel they can violate 

both the MnPASS toll and the carpool requirements 

and not get caught. 

In Seattle, when a vehicle does not have a transponder 

or the transponder account does not have sufficient 

funds a toll bill is mailed. If a toll remains unpaid after 

80 days, a $40 notice of civil penalty is issued for 

each unpaid toll transaction, plus all accumulated tolls 

and fees, as required by state law. From December 

29, 2011 through April 30, 2013, approximately 1.5 

percent of all tolls went unpaid long enough to trigger 

the $40 notice of civil penalty.

In San Francisco, many pilot parking areas 

experienced declines in the number of citations, but 

no specific trends were evident and there were no 

statistically significant differences from the control 

parking areas for changes in average monthly 

citations. Although Los Angeles officials asserted that 

enforcement for LA Express ParkTM areas provided 

for a more efficient and effective use of parking 

enforcement personnel, citation data were unavailable.

There are a number of reasons that violations occur, 

and steps that an agency can take to reduce those 

violations. In Atlanta the media was a valuable 

resource in terms of disseminating operational 

changes to the public. SRTA found that when the 

media were involved in announced changes in 

operations or tolling policies, violation rates dropped 

after the change. Additionally, SRTA noted the 

importance of treating violators as potential customers, 

as many violators were unclear or misinformed about 

the way the tolling operations in the Express Lanes 

worked. SRTA encouraged their customer service 

representatives to work with violators to help them 

establish new accounts or clarify rules so as to turn 

them into customers of the system. Similarly in Los 

Angeles, Metro quickly realized that they must meet 

the needs of the public with a customer service 

orientation, which became particularly evident when 

managing the tolling call center. Additionally, both 

Atlanta and Los Angeles included a grace period 

to violators following the deployment of tolling on 

the HOT lanes based on the assumption that some 

drivers would be unaware of the operational changes. 

Finally, the relatively constant number of citations and 

warnings issued to drivers without an active MnPASS 

account in the post-deployment evaluation period 

suggests that some drivers felt free to violate both the 

MnPASS toll and the carpool requirements and not get 

caught, implying that additional outreach and public 

education on use of the MnPASS lanes was needed.
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CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

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LONG-TERM EFFECTS OF THE UPA/CRD 

PROJECTS AT THE SIX SITES

This final section looks at the impact that participation 

in the UPA/CRD program has had on the six cities. 

Local partners at each site provided information on 

how their projects have fared since the end of the 

demonstration period and the long-term effects that the 

projects may have had. 

Atlanta

The Atlanta I-85 Express Lanes were intended as the 

first segment of a regional HOT lane network, and 

additional Express Lanes are in the works, as shown 

in Figure 25. As the state gathered feedback on 

the I-85 Express Lanes, they shifted their policy to 

focus on prioritizing new priced managed lanes that 

were new capacity rather than conversion projects. 

The goal is to address congestion by providing an 

additional choice for motorists, without reducing or 

converting any of the existing options. Unlike the 

HOV-to-HOT conversion on I-85, new tolled lanes 

will be added in the expanded system. The first to 

open will be twelve miles of two dynamically priced 

reversible tolled lanes in the median along I-75 

south of Atlanta at McDonough Road and ending at 

Stockbridge Highway. Construction started in 2014 

and the reversible lanes will open to traffic in 2017. 

Construction also began in 2014 on another Express 

Lane project known as the Northwest Corridor that 

will consist of 29.7 miles of new dynamically-priced 

reversible tolled lanes added along I-75 from Akers 

Mill Road to Hickory Grove Road and along I-575 

from I-75 to Sixes Road. It is set to open in 2018. In 

the fall of 2015 construction is set to begin on yet 

another Express Lanes project which will be a 10-

mile extension of the existing I-85 Express Lanes. 

Scheduled to open in 2018 the extension will stretch 

north from Old Peachtree Road to Hamilton Mill 

Road and will add new toll HOT3+ lanes and new 

auxiliary lanes between on- and off-ramps intended 

to improve merging and prevent bottlenecks. With 

the exception of the I-85 Express Lanes extension, 

all of the other contemplated projects are designed 

as express toll lanes, where all vehicles will be tolled 

with the exception of public transit vehicles, registered 

vanpools, and emergency vehicles.

Usage of the I-85 Express Lanes has continued to 

increase.7 Average weekday trips in January 2015 

reached 21,998, 28 percent higher than at the end 

of the demonstration period in September 2012. 

The average peak toll in January 2015 was $2.45 

compared to $1.47 in September 2012. At 301,554 

the total number of assigned Peach Pass transponders 

has increased by over one-third during that time. Nontolled trips have remained steady around 14 percent.

Source: Georgia Department of Transportation

Figure 25. Managed Lane Corridors in Atlanta

5

Georgia Department of Transportation,http://www.dot.ga.gov/DS/GEL.

6

State Road and Tollway Authority,http://www.peachpass.com/peach-pass-toll-facilities/i-85-travel-data. 
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The upward growth in GRTA’s Xpress bus ridership 

on routes operating from the three CRD-funded lots 

(Mall of Georgia, Hamilton Mill, and Hebron Baptist) 

has continued, collectively increasing by 24 percent 

between 2012 and 2014. During that same time 

the Xpress bus route operated by Gwinnett County 

Transit (GCT) from the CRD-expanded I-985 lot 

declined by 25 percent. Fares on GRTA’s routes are 

lower than those of GCT, which might explain the 

difference in growth. Ridership on buses that use 

the Express Lanes from other lots in the corridor has 

declined, resulting in an overall drop of 6 percent when 

combined with the CRD-funded routes.

Signaling the potential for more integration of tolling 

and ridesharing to address congestion, Georgia’s 

governor appointed one person to lead both SRTA and 

GRTA in 2014.8 Since then, three new pilot programs 

have been developed for launch in 2015. The Shift 

Commute Pilot seeks to reduce morning congestion 

by awarding toll credits to selected Peach Pass 

drivers, who are invited to participate, to make fewer 

southbound trips between 7 to 8 a.m. The Carpool 

Pilot aims to attract 2+ person carpools by awarding 

toll credits in addition to the standard commute options 

cash payment. The Ride Transit Pilot plans to entice 

Peach Pass drivers who drive alone by awarding toll 

credits based on the number of trips they take on 

Xpress and GCT buses using I-85 Express Lanes. The 

pilots will be assessed in December 2015 and January 

2016.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles implemented two distinct pricing projects: 

ExpressLanes and LA Express ParkTM. Since the end 

of the evaluation in February 2014, both projects have 

continued to garner support of decision-makers that 

has, in turn, led to plans for further improvements and 

expansion.

The I-110 and I-10 ExpressLanes were initially 

approved for deployment as a pilot, but are now 

being used as a model for deploying HOT lanes in 

other parts of the region. In a show of support for the 

program, the Metro Board voted in April 2014 to make 

the I-110 and I-10 ExpressLanes permanent, and in 

September 2014 the state legislature passed and the 

governor signed a bill (Senate Bill 1298 (Hernandez)) 

approving their permanent status. Currently, LA Metro 

is working with California Department of Transportation 

(Caltrans) to study the possibility of deploying 

ExpressLanes on the entire 16-mile I-105 corridor from 

Los Angeles International Airport to the I-605, as well 

as an extension of the I-110 ExpressLanes south to 

the I-405. Metro is also developing a strategic plan for 

expanding the ExpressLanes network regionally.

Usage of the I-110 and I-10 ExpressLanes continues 

to increase, with 357,583 transponders in distribution 

by March 2015 (up from 261,230 at the end of the 

evaluation period in February 2014). There was also 

an 18 percent increase in the number of ExpressLanes 

trips taken during FY15-Q1 (July to September 2014) 

compared to FY14-Q1. Since the evaluation period 

ended, the number of self-declared carpool trips has 

continued to outnumber self-declared SOV trips on 

both the I-10 and the I-110. Transit ridership on the 

ExpressLanes has also increased by 2.8 percent 

since September 2013, with over 34,000 riders as of 

September 2014. 

Average travel speeds during the peak morning 

commute have remained above the 45 mph 

threshold on both ExpressLanes corridors. However, 

the continued increase in vehicle trips on the 

ExpressLanes has caused speed to occasionally 

drop below the threshold during the 7–9 a.m. peak 

period. When that happens, the ExpressLanes have 

been restricted to HOV only to help alleviate some 

congestion thereby not allowing SOV drivers into the 

lanes. The restriction has occurred more frequently 

on I-110 than I-10 due to the higher concentration of 

vehicle trips on I-110.

The I-110 and I-10 ExpressLanes generated sufficient 

revenue in the first year of operations to pay for 

continued funding of the incremental, additional transit 

services that support the ExpressLanes, and Metro 

is currently releasing $20 million of Net Toll Revenue 

Reinvestment Grants for adjacent communities. Local 

jurisdictions applied to fund projects that increase 

mobility and person throughput in the ExpressLanes 

8

Atlanta Regional Council news release, Dec. 10, 2014, 

http://arcnewsmanager.atlantaregional.com/templates/?a=53865. 
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CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

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corridors through transit improvements, highway 

improvements, and projects that promote active 

transportation and system connectivity. The local 

jurisdictions were very welcoming of this opportunity. 

In addition, Metro’s transit rewards program had 

provided over $26,000 in toll credits to 6,896 accounts 

as of September 2014. Finally, the program to assist 

low-income household (formerly known as the Equity 

Plan) had enrolled 5,740 households by December 

2014, which is up from 4,400 at the end of the 

evaluation period. 

LA Express ParkTM is expanding to include Westwood 

Village and Hollywood with planned go-live dates 

in 2015. LA Express ParkTM may also expand to 

Exposition Park near the University of Southern 

California and Venice Beach, but this would be 

dependent upon receiving grants and would not take 

place before 2020. The new Metro 511 system that 

was introduced in May 2014 includes interactive voice 

response with an option for parking availability in LA 

Express ParkTM areas. 

LA Express ParkTM has seen a small increase in 

revenue of 2.5 percent, but that may be the result 

of an improving economy. Average occupancy in 

LA Express ParkTM areas has increased from 57 

percent to 62 percent. After the evaluation period, 

parking sensors began to fail due to battery life, 

but maintenance or replacement of sensors has 

succeeded in keeping them on-line over 96 percent of 

the time. On the other hand, LA Express ParkTM has 

not been as effective as possible at increasing parking 

availability in areas with high demand, because 

increased prices cause paying customers to leave and 

those vacant spaces are often filled by vehicles with 

disabled placards, which are not subject to payment 

requirements or time restrictions. Disabled placards 

comprise 25 percent of parking occupancy, i.e., 

unpaid hours, in LA Express ParkTM areas. However, 

LA Express ParkTM technology has provided a wealth 

of quantifiable data that has enabled a state-level 

dialogue to begin with the Department of Disability 

and legislators who now recognize that parking 

congestion results mostly from a policy choice instead 

of inadequate enforcement.

Miami

Florida DOT has continued to expand its regional 

network of express lanes throughout South Florida, 

including the original 95 Express project, as illustrated 

in Figure 26. The UPA demonstration focused on 

Phases 1A and 1B of the 95 Express and provided 

valuable lessons that have been applied to the next 

phases. Lessons learned from Phase 1 included 

the need to develop a concept of operations prior to 

design phases and to maximize shoulder width for 

emergency response vehicles. FDOT also decided 

to remove the electronic message sign above the 

tolling gantry that caused confusion for some drivers in 

Phase 1 who saw one toll amount before entering the 

facility and, at times, a different toll amount at the point 

where their transponder was read. 

Phase 2, under construction since November 2011, will 

begin operation in 2015, extending northward 13 miles 

from the Golden Glades Interchange in Miami-Dade 

County to Broward Boulevard in Broward

Source: Florida Department of Transportation

Figure 26. Florida Express Lane Network Phases
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CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

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County. Existing HOV lanes will be converted into two 

express lanes in each direction. Phase 3 will add 29 

more miles of express lanes north from Stirling Road 

in Broward County to Linton Boulevard in Palm Beach 

County. Phase 3 will be implemented in phases due 

to funding limitations, with construction on Phase 3A-1 

and 3A-2 scheduled to begin in 2016. 

Usage of the Phase 1 express lanes has continued to 

increase although at a slower rate, reaching 1.8 million 

trips in February 2015 compared to 1.6 million in 

February 2011. The speed advantage of the express 

lanes over the general purpose lanes, especially 

during the peak period, has been maintained. To 

maintain express lane performance, tolls have 

increased reaching an average $4.50 in the afternoon 

peak and a maximum of $10.50.

Ridership of express buses using 95 Express has 

continued to grow. On the routes operated by Broward 

County Transit and Miami-Dade Transit that were part 

of the UPA, 95 Express buses carried an average 

of 3,430 riders per day in fiscal year 2013-2014 

(July through June) compared to 2,430 in FY2012-

2013 and 1,860 in FY 2010-2011, the last year of the 

demonstration period. In addition, the Golden Glades 

route operated by Miami-Dade Transit that was not part 

of the UPA carried another 2200 persons daily on 95 

Express, bringing the total daily ridership to 5600 in 

FY 2013-2014. The growth in buses has a significant 

impact on person throughput in the express lanes, with 

express bus service estimated to account for 20 and 

25 percent of total person throughput during a.m. and 

p.m. peak periods respectively.9

In FY2011-2012 FDOT began tracking trips made 

by registered vehicles exempt from paying tolls, 

which accounted for about 2 percent of all trips on 95 

Express and 6 percent in the peak periods in FY2013-

2014. Trips by exempt vehicles in all categories grew 

by 42 percent during the last three fiscal years, with 

the greatest peak period percentage growth among 

van pools (>100) and hybrids (60) followed by buses 

(30), HOV3+ (10) and motorcycles (4).

 

Minneapolis

The robust suite of tolling, transit, technology and 

telecommuting projects enabled by the Minneapolis 

UPA has continued to benefit travelers since the 

completion of the demonstration period in December 

2011. Moreover, the UPA expanded the dialog for 

considering similar applications in other parts of the 

metropolitan area and provided synergy for ongoing 

collaboration and cooperation among agencies. 

Highlights of the progress are presented here.

The I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes were extended 

two miles to the south from Burnsville Parkway to the 

I-35W/I-35E split in 2012, bringing the total length of 

the I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes to 18 miles in the 

northbound direction, including the priced dynamic 

shoulder lane, and 16 miles in the southbound 

direction. In addition, MnDOT plans to rebuild the 

I-35W/Lake Street interchange in 2017-2020. The 

project will include replacing the priced dynamic 

shoulder lane with a MnPASS lane in the northbound 

direction and adding a new MnPASS lane in the 

southbound direction. The intelligent lane control 

signals in the section will also be replaced with two 

dynamic message signs in each direction to reduce 

replacement and ongoing maintenance costs. 

Use of the I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes continues 

to increase. The number of active I-35W MnPASS 

accounts increased from 7,397 in November 2011 to 

11,346 in January 2015. The number of transponders 

associated with these accounts increased from 8,425 

to 13,480 over the same time period. Almost 61,000 

trips were made by I-35W MnPASS customers in 

November 2011, accounting for $94,619 in revenue. 

In January 2015, 74,542 trips were made in the I-35W 

MnPASS Express Lanes, accounting for $151,244 in 

revenue.

The UPA facilitated consideration of MnPASS 

Express Lanes in other corridors by MnDOT and the 

Metropolitan Council, with a managed lanes system 

included in MnDOT’s Regional 2030 Transportation 

Policy Plan. The next addition to the MnPASS Express 

Lanes system is already under construction on I-35E 

between St. Paul and Little Canada, with completion 

anticipated by 2016. The I-35E MnPASS Express 

Lanes represent the first MnPASS investment in the 

eastern metropolitan area, enhancing travel between 

downtown St. Paul and the northern suburbs. 

9

For buses operating between the Golden Glades Interchange and Downtown Miami. Cambridge Systematics (March 31, 2015), “2014 I-95 Managed Lanes 

Monitoring Report” at http://www.dot.state.fl.us/transit/Pages/2014I-95MLsMonitoringReport-Final.pdf. 
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The MARQ2 lanes in downtown Minneapolis continue 

to provide faster bus travel speeds, reduced 

travel times, and improved trip-time reliability for 

transit riders on express routes from throughout 

the metropolitan area, including the I-35W corridor. 

Five separate express buses operators all use the 

MARQ2 lanes, which accommodate 80 percent of the 

downtown express buses from 75 park-and-ride lots 

throughout the metropolitan area. Ridership on routes 

using the MARQ2 Lanes continues to increase. 

The eWorkPlace telework program has continued 

operation as a project at the Hubert H. Humphrey 

School of Public Affairs at the University of Minnesota. 

The Minnesota state legislature provided $75,000 

during the 2013 session to maintain the website. The 

Humphrey School was successful in leveraging the 

state funding into a $300,000 Congestion Mitigation 

and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program grant 

from the Metropolitan Council for eWorkPlace2. 

Activities being undertaken with this funding include 

updating the website, developing new tools to assist 

employers in developing and implementing telework 

programs, reconnecting to eWorkPlace employers, 

and recruiting new employers to participate in 

eWorkPlace2. The funding represents the first use 

of the CMAQ program by the Metropolitan Council 

to support telecommuting projects. In addition to 

the Humphrey School, funding was provided to the 

Transportation Management Organizations (TMOs) 

in the metropolitan area, all of which now include 

telework in their service portfolios.

Bus rapid transit (BRT) in the Twin Cities area received 

a major boost from the UPA, serving as a key catalyst 

in the implementation of the METRO Red Line, the first 

BRT line in the metropolitan area. Opened in June 

2013, the METRO Red Line operates along Highway 

77 and Cedar Avenue between the Mall of America 

and the Apple Valley Transit Station. The Cedar Grove 

park-and-ride lot, the Apple Valley Transit Station, 

and the Lakeville Cedar park-and-ride lot, all funded 

by the UPA, are key elements of the METRO Red 

Line. Additional BRT lines in the metropolitan area 

are in various stages of planning and implementation, 

including the METRO Orange Line, which will operate 

on I-35W South between downtown Minneapolis and 

Burnsville and use the UPA-funded MARQ2 lanes and 

the I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes. 

The Driver Assist System (DAS) for shoulder-running 

buses continues to be used on the 10 Minnesota 

Valley Transit Authority (MVTA) buses equipped with 

the technology, which provides feedback to bus 

operators through a “heads up” windshield display, 

a vibrating seat, and an active steering wheel. The 

MVTA is seeking to expand the number of DASequipped buses. In addition, the DAS driver simulator 

developed by the MVTA as part of the UPA continues 

to be used to train bus operators on how to use the 

system. 

San Francisco

SFpark gained national and international attention for 

its use of cutting-edge technology and demand-based 

pricing to manage parking spaces in the congested 

heart of a major urban area. The UPA enabled 

the SFMTA to demonstrate the effectiveness of the 

approach in seven pilot areas and provided valuable 

experience for decisions about what form SFpark

would take in the future. Likewise, the MTC, which 

used SFpark data to develop a parking information 

component for the regional 511 traveler information 

system, has built on its UPA experience in continued 

enhancements to 511. This section highlights some of 

the developments by the two agencies. 

Several months before the end of the demonstration 

period SFMTA discontinued use of in-ground parking 

sensors due to battery failures and limitations of 

parking sensor technologies. The SFMTA now employs 

sensor-independent rate adjustments (SIRA) which 

utilize meter payment data to estimate parking 

occupancy. The first SIRA rate adjustment occurred 

in SFpark pilot areas in 2014, utilizing the rigorously 

developed SIRA model.10 The SFMTA plans to 

continue use of SIRA for quarterly rate adjustments in 

SFpark pilot areas and, eventually, citywide. 

As SIRA rate adjustments depend on meter payment 

data alone (after having been calibrated using 

historical sensor data), SFMTA can continue to 

implement rate adjustments on any block that once 

had sensors so long as they now have smart meters. 

10Documentation for the SIRA model can be found at http://sfpark.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/SIRA-methodology-and-implementation-plan_2014_05-14.pdf 
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From October 2014 through April 2015, SFMTA 

replaced all legacy meters in the City of San Francisco 

with smart meters. This sets the stage for demandresponsive rate adjustments citywide after the city 

develops a methodology to calibrate payment data 

to estimate occupancy on blocks where sensors had 

never been deployed. 

With the discontinuation of the parking sensors, SFMTA 

modified its data feed and associated smartphone 

app and web app. Currently, the data feed provides 

real-time parking availability for SFpark garages and 

pricing information for both on and off- street parking. 

However, it may be possible to bring back some form 

of real-time parking availability for on-street parking. 

According to SFMTA “meter payment data from smart 

meters may provide limited options to model real-time 

occupancy, and we have historic sensor data that can 

help us or others create occupancy models.”11 Low 

payment compliance continues to be a significant 

obstacle for deriving parking availability from meter 

payment data. 

The parking information component of MTC’s 511 

system (phone, website, and mobile website) offers 

parking information by city throughout the nine-county 

region. Currently, the SFpark data feed is the only 

source for real-time (vs. static) information on parking 

price and availability, and that is only for SFMTA 

garages, but MTC is working to obtain some realtime parking data from a private vendor as well as 

other municipalities. Nevertheless, usage of parking 

information on 511 has remained relatively flat, which 

MTC attributes to the absence of any significant 

expansion of the data (real-time or static) since the 

demonstration period. MTC is working on the 511 

NextGen system, one element of which will be a new 

responsive 511 website that will detect a user’s device 

and automatically resize and reorganize information 

based on the device (e.g. desktop, laptop, tablet, or 

smart phone). MTC expects to continue disseminating 

parking information on 511 NextGen. 

11Personal communication with SFMTA representative, March 2015.

SFpark has had significant impact on the pricing 

of parking in urban areas. Through numerous 

publications and outreach events, including 

participation in parking pricing workshops with FHWA, 

SFMTA has shared its experience and helped to 

change how cities view management of their parking 

assets. Seattle and New York City, for example, have 

implemented demand-based parking pricing in some 

areas, and other cities are seriously contemplating 

some form of demand-based pricing.

Seattle

Tolling on the SR 520 Bridge continues to meet its two 

central goals: to reduce congestion on SR 520 and 

generate revenue to help finance the replacement 

bridge. Tolling is projected to generate $1.2 billion 

towards the funded portion of the SR 520 Bridge 

Replacement and HOV Program. A new SR 520 

bridge across Lake Washington, expected to open 

in 2016, will include an additional HOV/transit lane 

in each direction and a pedestrian and bike path. 

Although an average of 72,000 vehicles crossing the 

SR 520 on weekdays during FY 2014 was 2,000 more 

than during FY 2013, traffic volumes on the bridge 

were still down almost one-third from pre-tolling levels 

of 103,000 in 2011. SR 520 corridor weekday transit 

ridership was more than 22,000 in spring 2014, an 

increase of 4 percent since 2012. Additionally, 200 

vanpools now cross the lake on SR 520, an increase of 

20 percent since December 2012.

Travel time advantages on SR 520, relative to two 

alternate routes, realized with the start of tolling have 

persisted. Travel times for drivers using the SR 520 

Bridge continue to remain faster than pre-tolling travel 

times. All three cross-lake routes experienced a small 

increase in peak hour travel time between 2013 and 

2014, which suggests that adaptation to tolling has 

stabilized in terms of traffic volumes and their effect on 

travel times.
48

CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Given the success of the tolling on the SR 520 Bridge, 

other toll facilities are being constructed or planned in 

the state as shown in Figure 27. According to WSDOT 

“Washington State is integrating tolling as a strategic 

tool to help manage congestion, enhance mobility and 

generate revenue for future improvements.” However, 

a tolling study for a full-tolling application on the I-90 

Bridge similar to tolling on the SR 520 Bridge was put 

on hold, and in November 2014 the state Legislature 

directed WSDOT to delay any further expenditures on 

the I-90 Tolling Project environmental review document.

Source: Washington State Department of Transportation

Figure 27. Toll Facilities in the Seattle Area, Including 

Existing, Under Construction and In-Study

As part of the UPA program, ATM signage was 

deployed on SR 520 and I-90, in a consistent 

manner with the ATM signage already in place on I-5 

northbound. Operating full ATM signage on a total 

of three corridors allowed WSDOT to see what works 

well, as they consider deploying similar systems in 

additional areas. For example, ATM signage may be 

deployed through Seattle on I-5 to allow the addition 

of a third lane despite geometric constraints that limit 

expansion. A second project north of Seattle on I-5 

would use a simplified ATM approach that includes 

lane control signage only for a dynamic shoulder lane, 

in addition to variable speed limits and DMS along the 

corridor.
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CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

FOR MORE INFORMATION

Information on the UPA/CRD programs is available at 

FHWA’s Congestion Pricing website. For the four UPA 

sites the link is

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/congestionpricing/urb_

partner_agree.htm. For the two CRP sites the link is 

http://ops.fhwa.dot.gov/congestionpricing/cong_

reduc_demo.htm. 

The National Evaluation produced numerous 

documents detailing the planning of the evaluation, 

including the following:

•	An overarching evaluation framework that

provided consistent methodology for collection 

and analysis of data at six sites. Titled “Urban 

Partnership Agreement and Congestion 

Reduction Demonstration: National Evaluation 

Framework,” it is available at http://ntl.bts.gov/

lib/30000/30700/30764/14446.pdf. 

•	Individual national evaluation plans and data

collection plans for each site (except Miami which 

performed a self-evaluation). These are available 

on the FHWA Congestion Pricing website at the links 

above. 

•	Individual national evaluation reports that document

the findings and lessons learned for each site 

(except Miami). These are available on the FHWA 

Congestion Pricing website at the links above. 

The Volpe National Transportation Systems Center 

conducted household surveys in Atlanta and Seattle 

to support the national evaluation. The report 

titled “Lessons Learned on Congestion Pricing 

from the Seattle and Atlanta Household Travel 

Behavior Surveys” can be found at http://ntl.bts.gov/

lib/54000/54000/54065/UPA-CRD_Panel_Survey_

Lessons_Learned_Final_Report_Volpe.pdf. 

The six urban partners have produced information 

about their projects as shown below.

Atlanta

The State Road and Tollway Authority’s website 

includes information about the I-85 Express Lanes 

along with monthly reports on usage and on-line 

registration and management of Peach Pass accounts 

for toll customers. Their site is http://www.georgiatolls.

com/. 

Georgia Department of Transportation maintains a 

website on all Express Lanes in operation, under 

construction, or being planned. Information can be 

found at http://www.dot.ga.gov/DriveSmart/GEL.

Los Angeles

Los Angeles Metro maintains a website that provides 

a variety of information about the ExpressLanes, 

ranging from information about the CRD project 

to how to register for a toll account: https://www.

metroexpresslanes.net/en/about/about.shtml.

The City of Los Angeles Department of Transportation 

has a website for LA Express ParkTM: http://www.

laexpresspark.org/. 

Miami

Miami 95 Express monthly, mid-year, annual and 

special evaluation reports are available from FDOT’s 

website: http://sunguide.info/sunguide/index.php/

tmc_reports. 

Additional information is contained in a special 

study titled “2014 I-95 Managed Lanes Monitoring 

Report” available at http://www.dot.state.fl.us/transit/

Pages/2014I-95MLsMonitoringReport-Final.pdf. 
50

CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

Minneapolis

Minnesota DOT maintains a website for I-35W and 

I-394 MnPASS toll customers: http://www.mnpass.

org/index.html. While they no longer have a website 

exclusively for the I-35W UPA project, MnDOT provides 

information about the expansion of MnPASS lanes to 

I-35E on the following website: http://www.dot.state.

mn.us/metro/projects/35estpaul/index.html. 

San Francisco

SFMTA continues to maintain a comprehensive website 

on SFpark at http://sfpark.org/. The site includes 

their own evaluation of the pilot along with extensive 

archives of data that can be downloaded by others 

wishing to perform their own analyses. 

Seattle

Washington State DOT maintains a website on SR 520 

Bridge tolling at http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Tolling/520/. 

The site contains information for the toll customer as 

well as project background, including the UPA, and a 

library of reports and other resources. 
51

CONTEMPORARY APPROACHES IN CONGESTION PRICING:

LESSONS LEARNED FROM THE NATIONAL EVALUATION OF CONGESTION PRICING STRATEGIES AT SIX SITES

LIST OF ACRONYMS

4 T Tolling, Transit, Telecommuning and Technology Strategies

ATM Active Traffic Management

BCA Benefit-Cost Analysis

BRT Bus Rapid Transit

CAG Corridor Advisory Group

Caltrans California Department of Transportation

CHP California Highway Patrol

CMAQ Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality

CO Carbon Monoxide

CO2 Carbon Dioxide

CRD Congestion Reduction Demonstration

DAS Driver Assist System

DBOM Design-Build-Operate-Maintain

DMS Dynamic Message Sign

DPS Department of Public Safety

FHP Florida Highway Patrol

GCA Gantry-Controlled Access

GCT Gwinnett County Transit

GRTA Georgia Regional Transportation Authority

HOT High-Occupancy Tolling

HOV High-Occupancy Vehicle

ILCS Intelligent Lane Control Signals

ITR Incident Response Team

ITS Intelligent Transportation Systems

LADOT Los Angeles Department of Transportation

MARQ2 Marquette Avenue and 2nd Avenue Contraflow Lanes

MnDOT Minnesota Department of Transportation

MPH Miles Per Hour

MVTA Minnesota Valley Transit Authority

NOx Nitrous Oxide

PM2.5 Particulate Matter Less Than 2.5 Microns

SFMTA San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency

SIRA Sensor-Independent Rate Adustment

SR State Route

SRTA State Road and Tollway Authority

TDM Travel Demand Management

TSP Transit Signal Priority

U.S. DOT United States Department of Transportation

VMT Vehicle Miles Traveled

VOC Volatile Organic Compounds

VSL Variable Speed Limit

WSDOT Washington State Department of Transportation 

WSP Washington State Police
Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology Federal Highway Administration

U.S. Department of Transportation

ITS Joint Program Office-HOIT

1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE

Washington, DC 20590

Toll-Free “Help Line” 866-367-7487

www.its.dot.gov

FHWA-JPO-15-217