Santa Clara County High Occupancy Toll Lane Demonstration Project

VTA is one three agencies in California, which received state legislative authority in 2004 to undertake value pricing programs involving High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes. This legislation allows VTA to implement HOT lane operations in up to two corridors countywide.

What is a HOT lane?

A High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lane is a carpool lane where single occupant vehicles are allowed by paying a toll.  Use of the extra carpool lane capacity makes for more effective use of the overall freeway capacity and provides a reliable travel option for those in need of such service to make an appointment. The revenue generated from HOT lane tolls could be used to make additional transportation improvements in the corridor.

Basis and Purpose

The recently completed countywide transportation plan for Santa Clara County, Valley Transportation Plan 2030 (VTP 2030), documents that between 2005 and 2030 Santa Clara County’s population is expected to grow by over 25 percent to 2.27 million and that jobs are expected to grow by 36 percent to 1.48 million jobs, while the planned freeway improvements will increase freeway capacity by only 5.6 percent. These figures bear out the increasing need to provide mobility through improved management of existing resources, to find ways to shift trips away from drive-alone and to implement innovative approaches to management of roadways that affect how existing roadways are used. 

VTA’s proposal to implement roadway pricing via a HOT lane demonstration allows Santa Clara County to explore an alternative approach for improving mobility, while at the same time exploring an alternative approach for generating revenue to pay for transportation improvements and transit services in the HOT lane corridors.  Additionally, the proposed project will investigate issues related to implementation of HOT lanes in a more urban environment requiring intermediate access points and having limited right of way conditions that may have relevance in other communities across the country; investigate design features for possible migration from a one-lane facility to a future two-lane facility and for transitioning HOT lane operations midway along an existing carpool lane; conduct workshops to foster thoughtful, well-informed community dialogue on equity issues related to the implementation of HOT lanes in Santa Clara County; and continue evaluation of the potential to expand an initial demonstration HOT lane implementation into a countywide system of connected, managed lanes.

Completion of Feasibility Study

The initial effort culminated in the completion of a feasibility study that explored the physical and financial feasibility at a high-level of implementing a HOT lane demonstration project in Santa Clara County.  At its September 2005 Board meeting, the Board of Directors authorized VTA staff to proceed to the next phase in the development of a demonstration project of a HOT lane based on the findings of the Santa Clara County HOT Lane Feasibility Study. This authorization was based on the feasibility study results indicating that HOT lane operations could be feasible for the State Route 85 (SR 85) and US 101 corridors for demonstration purposes. The feasibility study recommended that these two corridors be carried forward for further preliminary engineering as potential HOT lane demonstration corridors.

As a subset of this effort, a study was commissioned to investigate the equity implications of HOT lanes in Santa Clara County.  A key recommendation of this study was the need to keep equity considerations at the forefront at all stages of the project.

Santa Clara County HOT Lane Feasibility Study– Final Report 
(pdf; 5.76 MB)

Equity Implications of HOT Lanes in Santa Clara County 
(pdf; 104 KB)

For More Information

For more information or to request a paper copy of the report and/or equity study please call 408-321-5725.