Viktor MusilFreeway tolling is being considered in the congested San Francisco Bay Area to alleviate traffic congestion and fund transportation improvements. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC) is exploring various strategies, including tolling up to 30 cents per mile during peak times, as one of 35 proposed measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Bay Area Considers Freeway Tolling for Congestion Pricing and Transportation Improvements
Freeway tolling is being considered by officials in the congested San Francisco Bay Area as a means of both deterring driving and funding transit and various transportation improvements.
Anup Tapase, project manager for the Metropolitan Transportation Commission ( MTC ), advised attendees of a virtual public meeting on November 7 to share ideas and solicit feedback from locals.” I encourage you to think about your commute, sitting in sometimes bumper-to-bump traffic, and how much you might value having this traffic be eerily more free flow, getting 20 minutes back, each way, you commute.”
Nearly 200 people took part in the exercise, which involved MTC officials comparing different commute scenarios with the transportation realities of 2035, a future with longer drive times if steps are n’t taken to remove some vehicles from the Bay Area’s freeways.
San Francisco Bay Area Considers Freeway Tolling as Part of Greenhouse Gas Reduction Strategies and Transit Funding
However, traffic congestion is not the only factor in the decision to charge up to 30 cents per mile during busy times. According to Dave Vautin, associate director for big plans at the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the action is just one of the 35 strategies the MTC has proposed to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
Another tool in the toolbox for removing cars from freeways is isolated work and telecommuting.
When it comes to addressing some of our climate challenges, we see telecommuting as a component of the solution. However, Vautin warned the meeting attendees that it was insufficient on its own to address all of these problems.
But, freeway tolling has the greatest potential for impact on the more than 7.7 million residents of the Bay Area, raising a projected$ 1 billion annually.
Officials emphasize that freeway tolling would enhance transit. The latest proposal would divert about 50 % of the collected funds to transit improvement projects, which would include more express buses traveling more frequently, and it appeared that the community members taking part in the workshop supported it.
One example provided by the exercise is the 65-minute drive from Oakland to Palo Alto, which, when gas, vehicle wear, and bridge tolls are taken into account, costs about$ 19 each way.
Bay Area’s Freeway Tolling Plan: Impact on Drive Time, Transit Enhancements, and Land Use Challenges
According to MTC officials, the driving cost increases to$ 23 with freeway pricing in 2035, but there is no appreciable improvement in drive time.
According to Tapase,” This is an example of one of those corridors that is not well served by BART (Bay Area Rapid Transit) and Caltrain and have great demand.”
He added that if a commuter could drive to the express bus stop, the trip would be reduced from 90 minutes to 65 minutes with the same total fare as today, which is about$ 10.” And so the revenues from tolling could be redirected into another convey Bus route, operating at 10 millisecond frequencies,” he said.
Attendees were told by Tapase,” I hope you’re starting to get a feel for what these improvements might be.”
Land use is one of the obstacles to better transportation in the Bay Area, and it’s a problem faced by several metros.
In some areas of the area, our land use is pretty, very dispersed, according to Tapase. If you’re not tight to the transit stops, you can see an improvement in traffic travel times.
But, in order to give travelers options, officials say that any freeway tolling project will need to include improvements to transit. The idea even includes removing automobiles from the highways, which is a key element.
Participants in the meeting tended to favor a plan that would focus the majority of funding on transit improvements as well as one that included subsidies and another factors for low-income residents or drivers with disabilities.
