Drivers Jam OCTA With Tollway Woes

A stunning increase in customer complaints about traffic congestion on the 91 Express Lanes prompted Orange County transportation officials Monday to postpone a decision on whether to cut tolls for carpools of three or more people.

The board of the Orange County Transportation Authority delayed action for two weeks, stating that it needed more information to determine if the promised toll relief would increase traffic and overcrowd the four-lane turnpike that runs the median of the Riverside Freeway.

The delay underscores the balancing act faced by OCTA, which must keep the tollway solvent while making sure the lanes are free-flowing and motorists are not overburdened with toll increases. It costs $4.75 to travel the 91 Express Lanes one way during rush hour.

“We are taking baby steps with this,” said Cypress City Councilman Tim Keenan, chairman of the OCTA board of directors, which has overseen the lanes for only 3 1/2 months.

“We are weighing debt service as well as moving people and not raising tolls right away.... There is a fine line to making all this work.”

OCTA estimates that from January to March, it received about 800 customer complaints related to congestion and slow traffic in the Express Lanes, which offer motorists the opportunity to travel at highway speeds when the rest of the Riverside Freeway is congested.

During the same months last year, OCTA officials say there were only 50 complaints made to the previous owner, California Private Transportation Co.

OCTA officials say the swelling number of complaints is an indication that the Express Lanes are approaching capacity, especially the eastbound lanes during the evening rush hour.

Some board members said they were unsure how the proposed toll reduction would affect traffic volume.

“I am chagrined about the 800 complaints,” said Gregory Winterbottom, a citizen member of the board. “We might now be at capacity and we could be adding several hundred cars. I would like to hold back [on toll reductions] for more information.”

Carpools with three or more people receive a 50% toll reduction any time of day. Under the proposed change, tolls for these carpools would be eliminated, except for eastbound travel between 4 and 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, when they would be half price.

The reductions for carpools of three or more people were promised to the public and the Legislature before OCTA purchased the lanes from California Private Transportation for $207 million in January.

Since the sale, OCTA’s traffic consultants have recommended that tolls be increased soon because the lanes are reaching capacity, about 3,500 vehicles per hour during peak travel times.

Studies show that toll reductions for three-or-more carpools could add 60 to 100 cars an hour per lane during rush hour, pushing the tollway closer to its limit.

Exceeding optimum capacity would slow traffic below freeway speeds, consultants say, eliminating a major incentive to use the lanes.

One way to prevent congestion is to raise tolls, which would discourage some motorists from using the tollway.

Despite the recommendations, Riverside County advisors would like to hold off on toll increases as a sign of goodwill to tollway customers, who are mostly from the Inland Empire.