VPP Projects Involving Tolls
Category: Priced Lanes
Sub-Category: Express Toll Lanes

Project - CALIFORNIA: Express Lanes on State Route 91 in Orange County

The 91 Express Lanes opened in December 1995 as a four-lane toll facility in the median of a 10-mile section of one of the most heavily congested highways in the U.S., the Riverside / State 91 freeway. Toll revenues have been adequate to pay for construction and operating costs. The toll lanes are separated from the general purpose lanes by a painted buffer and plastic channelizers. In the toll schedule effective July 2007, tolls on the express lanes vary between $1.20 and $9.50, with the tolls set by time of day to reflect the level of congestion delay avoided in the adjacent free lanes, and to maintain free-flowing traffic conditions on the toll lanes. All vehicles must have a "FasTrak^TM" transponder to travel on the express lanes. Beginning in May 2003, vehicles with three or more occupants travel free except when traveling Eastbound, Monday through Friday between the hours of 4:00 p.m. and 6:00 p.m., when they pay 50 percent of the regular toll. This policy also applies to individuals on a motorcycle. Other toll discount offers are extended to zero-emission vehicles and vehicles with disabled person's license plates.

There were over 176,000 transponders in circulation at the end of fiscal year '07. During the fiscal year ending June 30, 2007, the facility served over 14.6 million vehicles, averaging almost 40,000 vehicles per day, with approximately $40.6 million in gross potential revenue. The Express Lanes carry over 40 percent of the total SR-91 traffic during heavily congested periods, even though they comprise only one-third of the total freeway capacity. This amounts to a 33 percent higher throughout per Express Lane, relative to the general-purpose lanes. The higher throughput occurs because freeway vehicle throughput under free flow conditions is significantly higher than when it is congested.

Study Completed

The project was completed in 2000. Study results can be accessed at http://ceenve.calpoly.edu/sullivan/sr91/sr91.htm.

For More Information Contact

Kirk Avila
Toll Road & Motorist Services
Phone (714) 560-5988
E-mail: kavila@octa.net

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