Congestion Pricing Proposed for Los Angeles County

Congestion pricing is a concept designed to charge drivers a fee for using a specific section of a highway. The fee is higher in places or at times that have the most traffic (say, during rush hour) and proportionately lower at off-peak periods.

Congestion pricing sets fees to persuade people who can do so to travel at different times or in different ways (for example, via public transit). The idea: If enough people change their travel plans, there will be less congestion at certain times of the day, although some motorists will have to pay more. The fees could be used to improve roads or transit services.

The idea of using market forces to influence driving habits is not new to Southern California. State Route 91 between Orange County and the Inland Empire has had express High Occupancy Toll lanes alongside regular lanes since 1995. The HOT lane is a type of congestion pricing in which motorists pay variable tolls, with discounts possible for carpoolers. Tolls on SR 91 financed the construction of the new express lanes; no tolls were added to existing freeway lanes.

Los Angeles County recently proposed converting existing carpool lanes into HOT lanes on parts of Interstates 10, 110, and 210. Although details are sketchy, if this happens, some motorists will be able pay to drive in less traffic on the HOT lanes, while most others may be stuck in slower traffic on the other lanes. Congestion could actually worsen if too few people change their drive times or if carpoolers are forced into regular lanes to maintain speeds in the HOT lane.

The Auto Club supports ideas and programs that effectively ease traffic congestion and improve mobility for the greatest number of people and opposes those that would make congestion worse. When it comes to congestion pricing, we believe that transportation agencies should heed the physician's oath-first, do no harm.

Make your thoughts on HOT lanes and other transportation issues known. Go to the Los Angeles County page and let local officials know your thoughts.