Meeting_Body
AD HOC CONGESTION REDUCTION COMMITTEE
NOVEMBER 18, 2015
Subject/Action
SUBJECT: IMPACT OF ALLOWING HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLES (HOVS) TO USE I-10 EXPRESSLANES ON THE WEEKENDS WITHOUT A FASTRAK(r) TRANSPONDER
ACTION: RECEIVE AND FILE
Heading
RECOMMENDATION
Title
RECEIVE AND FILE status report on the assessment of the impact of allowing HOVs to use the I-10 ExpressLanes on the weekends without a FasTrak transponder.
Issue
ISSUE
At the February 2015 Board of Directors meeting, Director Solis requested staff to assess the impacts of removing the ExpressLanes transponder requirement during weekends on the I-10 to allow access to the ExpressLanes for all HOV users. The assessment includes two possible weekend scenarios - one that allows Single Occupant Vehicles (SOVs) to continue to use the ExpressLanes with a transponder while allowing all HOVs users with and without transponders to use the facility. The other scenario would exclude SOV use of the ExpressLanes and the facility would effectively revert to HOV lanes.
Discussion
DISCUSSION
The current policy, adopted by the Board in July 2009, requires all vehicles to have a transponder 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, when using the Metro ExpressLanes. The transponder requirement allows Metro to manage the ExpressLanes by identifying those who are eligible to use the lanes and sends a notice of violation to those who are in the lanes illegally. When the I-10 HOV lanes were converted to High Occupancy Toll (HOT) also known as ExpressLanes in 2013, the HOV operating hours of the I-10 were preserved to provide an easy transition for existing commuters and to maintain consistency with HOV and HOT lanes operations throughout Southern California. To facilitate traffic management, revenue collection, and enforcement of the ExpressLanes, a requirement that all vehicles have a properly mounted FasTrak transponder was included in the Toll Policy and was approved by the Board i...
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