Summary.

One of Transportation Choices Coalition's top regional priorities is to make sure the "price is right" for High Occupancy Toll or HOT lanes.

The HOT lanes proposed for State Route 167 in South King County would be Washington's first experiment with tolling in many years, and it must be done RIGHT. Done right, High Occupancy Toll lanes can reduce delay, raise funds for transportation improvements and provide traffic relief. But care must be taken to ensure they are safe and equitable, and continue to provide an advantage for transit and carpool users.


Background.

During the 2004 session, the Washington State Dept. of Transportation (WSDOT) introduced a proposal to convert the carpool lanes on SR-167 in south King County to High Occupancy Toll lanes. House Bill 2808 would have permitted solo-drivers to buy their way into the existing High Occupancy Vehicle lanes on SR-167 with payment of an automatic toll.

As proposed in HB 2808, solo-drivers would be able to buy their way in for a fee ranging from $0.60 to $1.20-notably less than bus fare. This would encourage people to drive rather than bus or carpool. And with no limit on the use of HOT lanes by solo-drivers, the HOT lanes promised to eventually become overcrowded, reducing speed and reliability for bus riders and carpoolers.

Transportation Choices Coalition worked with Representatives Geoff Simpson (D-47) and Ed Murray (D-43) on important changes to the proposed legislation to get the price right on HOT lanes. Thanks to the leadership of these Legislators and phone calls, emails and visits by Transportation Choices members, HB 2808, the WSDOT HOT Lanes bill, was successfully amended on the House floor to improve safety and protect the interests of bus and carpool riders.

The Bill included changes to make HOT lanes work better:

• Require the WSDOT to change the price to enter the HOT lane "dynamically," to ensure that single occupant vehicles don't cause congestion in the HOT lane. If toll rates are raised significantly as traffic worsens, it ensures that buses and carpools can keep moving at a good speed.
• Dedicate a share of dollars collected from HOT lanes to improve transit, vanpool, ride-share and trip reduction services in the corridor. This is key to spreading the benefit of HOT lanes to all types of travelers!

On February 27th 2004 the House passed a bill with these changes. Although Senator Jim Horn (R-41 Mercer Island) chose not to bring the issue before his Highways and Transportation Committee in the Senate, passage of these important HOV protections in the House was a major victory for Transportation Choices. It also set the stage for debate next year on making future HOT lanes equitable and effective.


Our Ongoing Proposal.

Our work is not done! With transportation funding limited and traffic worsening, legislation authorizing HOT lanes is sure to come up for debate again during the 2005 session.

Transportation Choices Coalition will continue to work for the three keys to make HOT lanes work: (1) keep HOT lanes free flowing for buses, carpool and solo-drivers by requiring toll rates be adjusted throughout the day, (2) dedicate net toll revenues to add more bus and vanpool service to the HOT lane corridor, and (3) HOT lane corridors that are two lanes wide are safer than single-lane systems.

You can count on the Transportation Choices Coalition with our members and partners to continue to support the interests of carpoolers and bus riders as debate over HOT lanes continues.

Click for the full scoop on Transportation Choices' successes in the 2004 Legislative session!


Take Action!

Contact your State Senator and Representatives over the summer or before January 1st 2005 at their home-district office, and urge them to get the price RIGHT for HOT lanes!

Enter your address into this link to find home-district office contact info for your Legislators. Thank you for taking action!