Editorial: Is Making the I-10 and I-110 Express Lanes Permanent a Good Idea?

Image courtesy of Wikimedia Commons

A while back, I had written an article about the introduction of new Express Lanes to the I-110 freeway in Los Angeles County. At first, converting the carpool lanes on the I-105/I-110 connector I-110, and I-10 seemed to be a good idea. The express lanes were created to supposedly help increase the flow of traffic across the general purpose lanes by allowing solo drivers access to the high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes for a price, or carpools for free. In order to gain access to the express lanes as a solo driver or carpool, you would need to purchase a FastTrak transponder. Upon entering the lanes, a solo driver would also be assessed a toll based about distance traveled and the amount of traffic at the time you are using the lanes. Carpool and vanpools just have to flip the switch on their transponder to "carpool" to access the lane for free. The express lanes were also designed to encourage more people to use public transit as all public transit vehicles are exempt from needing the transponder or paying tolls.

Image courtesy of The Source

After personally experiencing what the general purpose lanes have turned into after the express lanes made their debut, I am no longer sure the idea was so good. Sure, carpool, vanpool, and public transportation usage has increased. The biggest advantage to the addition of the express lanes though was the supposed relief the lanes would create for the general purpose lanes. While LA Metro claims average speed in the express lanes have stayed above the proposed 45 mph, the average speed in the general purpose lanes has actually decreased. The reasoning behind this slow down is actually quite simple: people do not want to pay to access the express lanes and are being forced into the general purpose lanes. If you look at page seven of LA Metro's February 2013 I-110 performance update, you will see that even their own study indicates that speeds have decreased since the introduction of the express lanes. While the speed decrease is not significant, the addition of the express lanes is having the opposite effect from what was desired.

Editorial: Is the I-110 Express Lane really serving its purpose?

On November 10, 2012, parts of the I-110 freeway HOV/Carpool lanes in Los Angeles were fully converted to Express Lane toll lanes, with a fee now charged for utilizing the lanes. To use the Express Lane, a driver must obtain a "FasTrak" transponder, the very same transponder used for the other toll roads throughout CA, and register it with the Metro Express Lane website. Tolls vary based on occupancy of the vehicle and volume of traffic at the time of travel. To distinguish between a solo driver or a carpool, the driver merely has to flip a switch on the transponder. In order to prevent solo drivers from abusing the lower cost of the carpool switch, Metro has installed cameras at various points along the I-110 as well as at Metrolink station bridges that cross over the I-110. Qualifying carpools and vanpools will be allowed to use the Express Lane free of charge. Metro has also guaranteed that the Express Lane will maintain a minimum speed of 45 mph. But is this really the best way to manage traffic flow and encourage carpooling behavior among metro LA drivers?