Commuter toll lane system gets STA vote

Commuter toll lane system gets STA vote
By Danny Bernardini/DBernardini@TheReporter.com
Posted: 02/13/2009 01:01:24 AM PST

It likely would be years before drivers get to use them, but Solano County leaders are backing a plan to bring High Occupancy Toll lanes to interstates 80 and 680.

Known as HOT lanes, they provide drivers the option of paying to drive in the "carpool" lane no matter the time of day or how many people are in the vehicle.

Such lanes exist in Southern California and other states -- and two trial lanes are being built in the Bay Area -- but the Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) dream of creating a uniform, regional system.

And after Wednesday night, those groups have the vote of the Solano Transportation Authority (STA). The STA voted unanimously to support the creation of a HOT system that would run from Solano County throughout the Bay Area and all the way to Santa Clara County.

"We saw I-80 as a good candidate. It's a good way to contribute to its improvements," said Daryll Halls, STA executive director. "This is the starting point, but it shows we want to be part of the process."

Halls said revenue from those using HOT lanes would go a long way toward improving and maintaining HOV lanes as well as help getting more HOV lanes in Solano County.

Similar to FasTrak, a device would sit in the dash of a vehicle and respond to signals along the road. Drivers would essentially be charged per mile. That charge would fluctuate given the time of day and how many other vehicles are on the road at the time.

Andrew Fremier, BATA deputy executive director, said the regional plan for unifying HOT lanes is a cornerstone of the 2009 Regional Transportation Plan. A new plan is created every four years.

There are currently two experimental lanes being built in the Bay Area. One is near the Sunol Grade on I-680. The other is near Livermore, on I-580. They should be open by the end of 2010, said Fremier.

While those projects and many in Southern California only let drivers use a portion of a road, the regional plan will allow someone to use the lane for an entire trip.

"It's been a concept for quite a while and really has got its legs in the last six months," Fremier said. "Our concept is taking that idea and multiplying through the whole HOV system."

One major obstacle is that California law prevents this from happening. Exceptions have been made for the current HOT lanes, and it would take similar actions to allow the regional project. Fremier said getting support like the STA is important for that process.

"Although you need to get the law changed, there is a lot of support for it," he said. "We can walk in as a region and say we have support."