When Freeways Take Their Toll

Congestion on local freeways is a serious bottleneck for the San Fernando Valley economy. So far, transportation officials have tried to solve the problem by building costly mass transit or underutilized carpool lanes. Little progress has been made.

Charging low prices for something many people want results in shortages. Space on a freeway is no different. Congestion represents a shortage of freeway space that is the result of charging drivers a zero price for its use. The solution to freeway congestion is to charge drivers for using the road.

Is some form of a toll a possible solution to our freeway ills? A survey of Southern California residents indicates drivers may be ready for tolls on freeways; a majority of those surveyed viewed tolls on newly constructed lanes as a viable transportation policy option.

Researchers at Resources for the Future, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, conducted a survey of Southern California residents. The survey collected information about respondents’ driving habits and demographic characteristics. A series of questions about alternative freeway toll policies was asked. Using the driving habit information, researchers calculated how much an individual would pay in tolls and how much driving time would be saved under alternative policies. The toll system choices presented in the survey would use electronic systems to keep track of freeway tolls (drivers would receive a monthly bill). This type of system is already being used on California 91, a private toll road in Orange County, and on I-15 in San Diego.

The basic toll policy option presented to those surveyed amounted to charging a 5-cent to 10-cent toll per freeway mile, depending on the level of congestion. Only 38% of those polled supported such a plan. The greatest opposition came from respondents who viewed the toll as just another tax. Others thought the time savings was not worth the cost.

Opponents of toll roads often allude to how unfair it is to poor drivers. But only 4.5% of those who opposed the program did so because they felt it would be unfair to lower-income individuals. In fact, there appeared to be no relationship between a person’s income and level of support. Support for toll roads was not concentrated among the rich and middle class.

Three alternative toll policies were presented to survey respondents. The first would augment the basic toll policy by including an offsetting reduction in some other tax, such as the sales or state gasoline tax. Adding the tax rebate increased overall support for tolls by about 7 percentage points over the basic toll policy. A second alternative would provide toll payers with coupons that could be used for public transit or vehicle repair. This option did not significantly improve support for tolls.

The third alternative was to convert existing carpool lanes into a combination carpool and toll lane. These lanes are currently underutilized in the Valley. This option would allow cars with only one passenger to use the lane if a toll were paid, in addition to the usual carpool riders. The toll could be adjusted to ensure that the lane did not become congested. This option increased support for freeway tolls by 9 percentage points over the basic toll policy.

An explicit policy of building new toll lanes increased support by 17 percentage points over the base case. This last option was the only toll alternative that achieved majority support. Evidently motorists resent the imposition of tolls on existing freeway lanes because many feel they have few alternative routes. However, the choice between toll lanes and traditional freeway lanes was more acceptable.

This study indicates that there is more support for toll roads in Southern California than previously thought. It suggests that shifting federal funds toward building toll lanes and away from mass-transit systems might gain sufficient support.

Since the 1960s, the federal government has focused on encouraging the construction of urban rail and subway systems by funding up to 75% of the construction costs. It has invested $350 billion in mass transit systems over this period, ignoring the merits of toll lanes for resolving urban congestion problems.

The good news is that the most recent federal transportation bill includes $51 million to implement pilot toll lanes on freeways. The bad news is that funding is limited to three years. Transportation funding in this area must be increased and made permanent. There is more than enough money for these projects, money that could be shifted away from building costly mass transit systems.

The survey results indicate drivers are becoming more open to the idea of using tolls to solve our freeway congestion problems. Increasing public awareness of how toll lanes have worked in other locations will help to increase acceptance. The time has come to convert our carpool lanes into toll lanes. Transportation funds should be directed at building new carpool-toll lanes to solve congestion problems in the Valley.