Toll Lanes on 110 and 10 Seem to Be Working Pretty Well

If the ExpressLanes toll lanes on the 10 and 110 freeways don't deliver on their traffic-reducing promises, the federal government could take back the $210 million in funding they provided, so Metro and Caltrans are keeping a close eye on the pilot program. They've just released their second preliminary report on the lanes, this one studying average speeds, transit ridership, and the like for April 2013--and if things keep up, the transit agencies won't be writing any giant checks next year. On the 110, average speeds during the morning rush (5 to 9 am) were 65 miles per hour in the ExpressLanes and 48.3 miles per hour in the general lanes--one-tenth of a mile slower than before the new lanes opened--and more cars are using the high-occupancy lanes than before the tolls kicked in in December. On the 10, usage in the HOV lanes is down (but rising), and speeds are comparable to the 110. These numbers are actually significantly higher than those reported in April, and makes us wonder if "peak hours" is being defined differently now. For instance, when Metro breaks down the numbers to look only at speeds between 7 and 8 am on the 110, the average drops 10 miles per hour or more--though speeds were slightly faster in the general purpose lanes this April than they were last. The report also found that transit ridership was up along both freeway corridors, and that use of the lanes is fairly evenly distributed across income brackets.
· Metro releases latest report with preliminary data on ExpressLanes' performance on 10 and 110 freeways [The Source]
· 110's New Toll Lanes Speedier But Regular Lanes Are Slower [Curbed LA]