TECHNICAL MEMORANDUM
DATE: August 17, 2023
TO: Boston Region MPO Congestion Management Process Committee
FROM: Seth Asante and Ryan Hicks, MPO Staff
RE: Summary of Roadway Pricing Interviews
This memorandum summarizes Task 2 (Interview Key Personnel of Candidate Roadway-Pricing Projects) of the Learning from Roadway-Pricing Experiences study, which is funded by the Unified Planning Work Program in Federal Fiscal Year 2023. Previously, the Congestion Management Process (CMP) Committee met on March 23, 2023, to discuss roadway-pricing programs that would be suitable for staff to research by interviewing stakeholders. A total of 13 projects were discussed and evaluated at the meeting. As a result of the discussion at the CMP Committee meeting, the following programs were selected:
In June and July of 2023, Boston MPO staff interviewed managers and creators of the five roadway-pricing programs listed above. The objective of these meetings was to learn more about how the programs were created and implemented, and the lessons we can learn from them. To obtain this information, questions were asked about program initiation, stakeholder engagement, planning goals and process, transportation equity, program implementation, and revenue allocation. MPO staff were able to get a general background on the characteristics of a successful roadway-pricing program from these interviews.
In the past 10 years, TNP location data has showed an increase of TNP trips in Chicago, particularly in the Chicago Loop.1 Between March 2018 and February 2019, half of all TNP trips began and/or ended in the downtown area and nearly a third of those trips began and ended in the downtown area. In 2018, there were more than 100 million TNP trips in Chicago, and their rapid expansion was increasing congestion and emissions and contributing to a decrease in transit ridership in the downtown area.
Lori Lightfoot, the Chicago mayor from 2019 to 2023, proposed that a surcharge of $1.75 ($5.00 for special zones) be imposed on TNP trips that either drop-off or pick up in designated neighborhoods in Chicago.2 This cordon-style roadway-pricing program was passed by the Chicago City Council in 2019. That year, this program produced $200 million in revenue, $16 million of which went towards the Chicago Transit Authority (CTA). The remaining revenue was allocated towards the general funds for the City of Chicago. Although TNP companies lobbied to drop the surcharge after the COVID-19 pandemic, they were not successful. TNP location data still shows rapid expansion of TNP trips, and the program has not reduced congestion significantly.
In the early 2000s, the I-394 Express Lane Community Task Force was formed and tasked with communicating the benefits and understanding of how pricing programs work to the public. This task force displayed a grasstops advocacy approach by assembling high-level legislators, city officials, MPO staff, public county officials, Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) officials, MnDOT staff, and other stakeholders. Detailed technical work and communications by the task force convinced the state legislature to introduce legislation authorizing MnDOT and the Metropolitan Council to study and implement congestion pricing and the conversion of an underutilized HOV lane on I-394 into a high-occupancy toll (HOT) lane.
Built in 2005, the cost of the first phase of the I-394 HOT lane was $10 million. Subsequent phases of the program consisted of both conversions of HOV lanes to HOT lanes and the addition of new lanes as HOT lanes to manage congestion; this work cost $130 million and was financed through an Urban Partnership Agreement grant.
By statute, excess revenues (after capital, operations, and maintenance costs) must be used in the corridor (50 percent of excess revenue) and for transit enhancements (remaining 50 percent). After implementation, 60 percent of the public supported this program. An after-study by the University of Minnesota showed that income levels and racial backgrounds are diverse among commuters on all the corridors.
In 2017, the idea of congestion pricing in Manhattan was revived due to budget shortfalls and revenue needed for transportation improvements. In 2019, the congestion-pricing program was approved by the State of New York through the state budget and has since been approved by the FHWA in 2023. The current target year for implementation of this program is 2024.
The three sponsors for the program are the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA, the lead agency), New York State Department of Transportation, and New York City Department of Transportation. Additionally, there was ample collaboration with the FHWA. The Environmental Assessment mentioned several equity concessions, including discounts and scenarios for various toll rates, since the toll rates have not yet been determined.
In the current version of this congestion-pricing program, motor vehicles that travel south of 60th Street in Manhattan will be charged a toll. The toll rate has not been finalized but is expected to be between $9 and $23. A Traffic Mobility Review Board (TRMB) will recommend toll rates and discounts to the MTA Board, which will have the final say on the tolling policy. State tax credits will be available for households making less than $60,000, no tolls will be required from vehicles with qualifying disabled plates and qualifying transit and emergency vehicles, and passenger vehicles will be tolled once each day. The TRMB will also recommend credits, discounts, and/or exemptions for tolls paid the same day on bridges and tunnels and some types of for-hire vehicles. The program is estimated to raise $1 billion annually and the revenue will be allocated towards transit infrastructure.
The Bay Area Express Lanes concept was driven by environmental concerns in the 1990s. The concerns led to state legislation that allowed regional transportation agencies (RTAs), in cooperation with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), to apply to the California Transportation Commission (CTC) to develop and operate high-occupancy toll lanes, including the administration and operation of a value-pricing program and exclusive or preferential lane facilities for public transit. The Bay Area Express Lanes were completed under this bill.
Years later, the Bay Area Express Lanes program was included in the regional transportation plan that was published in 2009. In the following years, the Metropolitan Transportation Council (MTC) converted existing HOV lanes to express toll lanes. Caltrans owns the freeways, but the MTC is responsible for collecting tolls, rehabilitation, and maintenance on the express lanes. Toll revenue can be used for transportation improvement projects, but generating revenue to fund public transportation improvements was not an explicit goal of the program.
The Chinatown/Penn Quarter Parking program is a pilot program in the Chinatown/Penn Quarter Neighborhood of Washington, DC, that converted fixed-rate, on-street parking to variable-rate parking, depending on demand. The pilot program began in 2014 and concluded in 2019 when the pricing adjustments became permanent.
The District Council approved the legislation that permitted the demand-parking pricing in 2012. The legislation allowed flexible parking-pricing policies to consider smart technologies, growing availability of travel and parking data, and socioeconomic factors to effectively transform curbside spaces and control demand. In addition, the FHWA Value Pricing Pilot Program provided funding for the program that allowed District officials to kick off the project in 2014.
This program was very successful at reducing the time needed to find a parking space and reducing congestion, as congestion in this neighborhood decreased at a faster rate than the rest of Washington, DC. The program reduced double parking, provided more efficient curbside uses, and improved safety. Revenue from this program is allocated to the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, which operates the DC Metro. Some of the revenue is also allocated towards program operations.
Several opportunities were identified from the five interviews. The program creators are using roadway pricing for the following purposes:
Roadway-pricing programs are scalable and therefore smaller programs, such as a parking pricing, TNC surcharge, or HOV-to-HOT lane conversion programs, can help raise revenue for transit projects. These types of programs will give commuters a day-one travel alternative if a cordon-pricing program is planned in the future. Also, early equity studies can be conducted that will provide new data that can be used to make decisions about roadway pricing.
The lessons learned from the five interviews have provided vital information on the elements required to implement a successful roadway-pricing project. The next step is to determine the Boston Region MPO’s goals in relation to roadway pricing. A discussion at a CMP Committee meeting will provide a good forum for this conversation. MPO staff will need to assess how roadway pricing will fit into the MPO’s planning process. From there, staff can draft roadway-pricing goals that will be presented to the full MPO board.
The Boston Region Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) operates its programs, services, and activities in compliance with federal nondiscrimination laws including Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the Civil Rights Restoration Act of 1987, and related statutes and regulations. Title VI prohibits discrimination in federally assisted programs and requires that no person in the United States of America shall, on the grounds of race, color, or national origin (including limited English proficiency), be excluded from participation in, denied the benefits of, or be otherwise subjected to discrimination under any program or activity that receives federal assistance. Related federal nondiscrimination laws administered by the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, or both, prohibit discrimination on the basis of age, sex, and disability. The Boston Region MPO considers these protected populations in its Title VI Programs, consistent with federal interpretation and administration. In addition, the Boston Region MPO provides meaningful access to its programs, services, and activities to individuals with limited English proficiency, in compliance with U.S. Department of Transportation policy and guidance on federal Executive Order 13166. The Boston Region MPO also complies with the Massachusetts Public Accommodation Law, M.G.L. c 272 sections 92a, 98, 98a, which prohibits making any distinction, discrimination, or restriction in admission to, or treatment in a place of public accommodation based on race, color, religious creed, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, disability, or ancestry. Likewise, the Boston Region MPO complies with the Governor's Executive Order 526, section 4, which requires that all programs, activities, and services provided, performed, licensed, chartered, funded, regulated, or contracted for by the state shall be conducted without unlawful discrimination based on race, color, age, gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, religion, creed, ancestry, national origin, disability, veteran's status (including Vietnam-era veterans), or background. A complaint form and additional information can be obtained by contacting the MPO or at http://www.bostonmpo.org/mpo_non_discrimination. To request this information in a different language or in an accessible format, please contact Title VI Specialist By Telephone: For people with hearing or speaking difficulties, connect through the state MassRelay service:
For more information, including numbers for Spanish speakers, visit https://www.mass.gov/massrelay.
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1 By law, TNP companies operating in the City of Chicago are required to register with the City and share trip location data.
2 The TNP surcharges applies to two zones: the downtown zone and special zones (airports, Navy Pier, and McCormick Place).
3 The surcharge is dependent on the number riders (single or shared) and the origin and destination of the rider on the trip. Shared trips can have discounts of between 25 and 50 percent depending on the trip origin or destination.