ABSTRACT
In Southern California, important experiments in demand-based tolls have been providing new information about travelers’ responses to innovative road pricing. Southern California, famous as the birthplace of freeways and for its alleged love affair with automobiles, has been the setting for two groundbreaking developments in the provision and pricing of road capacity: the State Route 91 Express Lanes and the San Diego Interstate 15 HOT lanes. Of the two, the State Route 91 project is especially noteworthy as California’s first modern example of private investment to create new urban highway capacity. Of further interest is the fact that both projects rely exclusively on electronic toll collection technology, using equipment compatible with other conventional toll facilities throughout the state.
