Congestion on local freeways is a serious bottleneck for the San Fernando Valley economy. So far, transportation officials have tried to solve the problem by building costly mass transit or underutilized carpool lanes. Little progress has been made.
Charging low prices for something many people want results in shortages. Space on a freeway is no different. Congestion represents a shortage of freeway space that is the result of charging drivers a zero price for its use. The solution to freeway congestion is to charge drivers for using the road.
Is some form of a toll a possible solution to our freeway ills? A survey of Southern California residents indicates drivers may be ready for tolls on freeways; a majority of those surveyed viewed tolls on newly constructed lanes as a viable transportation policy option.
Researchers at Resources for the Future, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank, conducted a survey of Southern California residents. The survey collected information about respondents' driving habits and demographic characteristics. A series of questions about alternative freeway toll policies was asked. Using the driving habit information, researchers calculated how much an individual would pay in tolls and how much driving time would be saved under alternative policies. The toll system choices presented in the survey would use electronic systems to keep track of freeway tolls (drivers would receive a monthly bill). This type of system is already being used on California 91, a private toll road in Orange County, and on I-15 in San Diego.
The basic toll policy option presented to those surveyed amounted to charging a 5-cent to 10-cent toll per freeway mile, depending on the level of congestion. Only 38% of those polled supported such a plan. The greatest opposition came from respondents who viewed the toll as just another tax. Others thought the time savings was not worth the cost.
Opponents of toll roads often allude to how unfair it is to poor drivers. But only 4.5% of those who opposed the program did so because they felt it would be unfair to lower-income individuals. In fact, there appeared to be no relationship between a person's income and level of support. Support for toll roads was not concentrated among the rich and middle class.
