Title: Value Pricing Projects: Public Involvement
1Value Pricing ProjectsPublic Involvement
Equity Issues
- K. Lynn Berry
- Resource Center
- Environment TST
21994
- The reasons for rejection of congestion pricing
in the past have not changed. Any shift from the
current system of financing and using the
transportation system toward more marketlike
mechanisms can be expected to engender public and
political resistance - Committee for Study on Urban Transportation
Congestion Pricing
32006 DOT initiatives
- 59 pricing projects reported in 1st Q 2006
- Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) Office
- Value Pricing Pilot Program
- funded at 59 million through 2009
- Tolling and Pricing Team
- Special Experimental Project No. 15 (known
colloquially as SEP-15) - "Open Roads" pilot program
42006 Secretary Mineta Says
- It is time to take advantage of the private
sectors flexibility, innovation, creativity,
expertise and access to capital." - May 24, 2006 letter to Thomas E. Petri, Chairman
of the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee
5Urban Partnership Agreements
- Candidate cities may
- demonstrate congestion pricing and variable toll
programs, - implement expanded commuter express bus services
- expedite projects to expand highway capacity that
hold the greatest potential for reducing
congestion and bottlenecks.
6SEP-15
- innovative contracting
- compliance with environmental requirements
- right-of-way acquisition and
- project finance.
7SAFETEA-LU provisions
- Private Activity Bonds
- Expanded tolling authority
- Lowered eligibility threshold for TIFIA loans
8Private Activity Bonds
- Highway facilities and surface freight transfer
facilities added to a list of other activities
eligible for exempt facility bonds.
9Tolling
- Interstate System Construction Toll Pilot Program
- Interstate System Reconstruction and
Rehabilitation Toll Pilot Program - Value Pricing Pilot Program
- Express Lanes Demonstration Program
10TIFIA
- SAFETEA-LU authorizes a total of 610 million
through 2009 to pay the subsidy cost of
supporting Federal credit under TIFIA - Threshold required for total project cost is
lowered to 50 million (15 million for ITS
projects), - Eligibility is expanded to include
- public freight rail facilities
- private facilities providing public benefit for
highway users, - intermodal freight transfer facilities,
- access to such freight facilities
- service improvements to such facilities including
capital investment for Intelligent Transportation
Systems (ITS).
11What is a Public Private Partnership ?
- contractual agreements formed between a public
agency and private sector entity
12What are some types of PPPs?
- Build-Operate-Transfer (BOT) / Design Build
Operate Maintain (DBOM) - Design-Build-Finance-Operate-Transfer (DBFO)
- Maintenance and Operation Fee Service Contracts
- Program Management Fee Service Contracts
- Build-Own-Operate (BOO)
13Concession Agreements
- Indiana, Virginia, Texas and the City of Chicago
- long term lease of an existing transportation
asset - Texas and California
- construction of a new asset by a private company
and the lease of that asset to the private sector
for a period of
14Environmental Defense Agrees
15What Role For Road Pricing?
- Managing traffic congestion, traffic growth, and
pollution - Financing road system expansion, operations,
mitigation of adverse impacts - Financing transit, para-transit, walking, biking
- Supporting and financing growth management
16Getting Better Transportation Projects Faster?
- Incorporate pricing with smart growth, better
transit in plans and projects - Avoid or mitigate secondary induced, cumulative
impacts - Involve the public
17- Do Value Pricing projects differ from traditional
projects in terms of public involvement and/or
equity analysis?
18Pricing Projects
- Less about direct impacts
- More about access, public uncertainty, equity
19Equity Concerns
- "If you are well-off financially and want to pay
4 or 5 a day to avoid congestion, then you get
to use the lanes. But if you're a working person
out there making 35,000 a year, an extra 25 per
week is a lot of money. - Former Maryland Governor Parris Glendening (2001)
- Controversy halted HOT lanes on Rte. 50
20Equity Concerns
- Not fair to provide better mobility to the
wealthy? - Data show low-income motorists consider it fair
and do use priced lanes - Ways to increase benefits to low-income travelers
- Use tolls to provide new transit services
- Provide life-line toll credits
- Provide credits to all motorists in regular lanes
From Mainstreaming Pricing Alternatives in
Project Development. By Patrick DeCorla-Souza
Frederick Skaer. Presentation at the Annual
Meeting of the TRB January 2003.
21Equity Analysis Findings
- Horizontal equity1 increased
- User pays those who benefit the most pay the
most - Vertical equity2 achieved by off-setting benefits
to low-income drivers - transit options, revenue rebates, etc.
- Tolls no more regressive than gas tax
1fairness among individuals or groups with
similar resources and needs 2fairness among
individuals or groups with different resources
and needs
22Equity Analysis Findings
- Financial burden will depend on
- the frequency and duration of roadway usage
- whether there are travel alternatives to the
tolled facility - Burden may be expected to decline over time if
- program is predictably and gradually implemented
- users have time to adjust to the new prices
- users make different choices about locations in
which to live and work.
Victoria Transport Policy Institute (2005) TDM
Encyclopedia
23Equity Analysis FindingsI-15, San Diego
- There is a greater proportion of higher income
drivers (e.g. households with annual incomes over
80,000) in the HOT lanes than in the un-tolled
lanes. - Low income drivers use the HOT lanes, but not as
much as the un-tolled lanes. Drivers with
household incomes of 20,000 to 40,000 a year
made up 3 of FasTrak users, and 10 of drivers
in the free lanes. - There is broad public support of the HOT lane
program
Supernak, Janusz C. (2004) http//www.hhh.umn.edu/
centers/slp/projects/conpric/index.htm
24Equity Analysis FindingsSR-91, Orange County
- Drivers with higher incomes use the lanes for a
greater proportion of their trips - some low income persons are certainly among the
frequent users - No income group seems to consider it worthwhile
to use the tolled lanes for every trip - most users use them infrequently, when they
perceive the greatest benefit
Sullivan, Edward. 2004 http//www.hhh.umn.edu/cent
ers/slp/projects/conpric/index.htm
25Equity Analysis Findings Katy (I-10) Freeway in
Houston, TX
- Enrollees of the QuickRide have higher incomes,
and were younger, than drivers who did not
enroll. - The price/means of enrollment may prohibit some
individuals with lower incomes from participating.
Burris, Mark and Robert L. Hannay. 2003. Equity
Analysis Of The Houston Quickride Project. Paper
Submitted for TRB
26Equity Analysis Findings
- Project operational details can be designed to
improve equity - Transponder distribution
- Credit card only vs. cash deposits
- Availability of lower up-front costs
- 27 of US households do not have a credit card at
all - 1 in 10 adults in the US does not have a bank
account on which to draw a check or establish
automatic transponder replenishment.
Emily Parknay, Environmental Justice Issues
Related to Transponder Ownership and Road
Pricing. TRB 2005 CD-ROM
27Addressing Equity
- Commonly utilized strategies for pricing projects
- revenue expenditures
- equity analysis
- public involvement and
- pilot projects
Ranked by direct action
28Addressing Equity
- Jurisdictions Grouped
- The Actors
- The Deliberators
29The Actors
- Minnesotas I-394 (Hinnepin County)
- San Diego, Californias I-15
- Seattle, King County, Washington SR 167
- Port Authority of New York and New Jersey bridge
and tunnel crossings
30The Deliberators
- Lee County, Florida Toll bridges
- The New Jersey Turnpike Authority (Hudson
County) - Orange County Californias SR-91
- I-10 (1998) and U.S. 290 (Houston, Harris County,
TX) - Orange County, California, San Joaquin Hills Toll
Road (SR 73)
31Characteristics Analyzed
32Key Findings
- The Actors
- have fewer minorities or foreign-born persons
- are more educated at both the high school and
college levels - median income is higher, though the percent below
poverty reports slightly higher. - greater percentage of people vote
- more of them vote Democrat than Republican
33State Level Variables
34I-394 HOV/HOT Lanes
- I-394 HOV Lane built in 1992
- In 2003, Legislature authorized HOV conversion to
high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes - Revenue Use
- After project infrastructure, etc., 50 for
transit improvements and 50 for corridor
improvements (state law).
35I-394 Express LanesCommunity Task Force
- 22-person group of leaders and citizens appointed
by the Governor and Lt. Governor and communities - Bi-partisan and diverse make-up, local
representatives - Reviewed express lane issues
- Prices, access, enforcement, hours of operation,
etc. - Provided input to Mn/DOT
- Also sought input from interested people and
groups - Open Houses, Focus Groups, Community Council
presentations
36But that was only after . . .
- a tumultuous history with other road pricing
project proposals. - a decade of public discussion and political
debate - a Citizens Jury1 process revealed that the
public overwhelmingly rejected the notion - the University of Minnesotas Humphrey Institute
of Public Affairs - carried out a research, education, and
communications strategy for value pricing during
2002 and 2003 to help generate interest and
support
A Value Pricing Education and Outreach Model The
I-394 MnPASS Community Task Force TRB Paper No.
06-2250 By Kenneth R. Buckeye and Lee W. Munnich,
Jr.
37Task Force Model Was Key
- Traditional public involvement models fall short
- limited interaction
- too little opportunity to respond and integrate
public input - The process Mn/DOT pursued required sharing
control of project details and decisions
A Value Pricing Education and Outreach Model The
I-394 MnPASS Community Task Force TRB Paper No.
06-2250 By Kenneth R. Buckeye and Lee W. Munnich,
Jr.
38Other Lessons Learned
- Top-Level Champions are Helpful
- Governor used highly visible platform to
thoroughly explain the issue to skeptical
stakeholders and citizens. - Grasstops Coalition Is a Prerequisite
- Leaders built a peer-to-peer coalition
- Coalition Requires Constant Maintenance
- Required tending by individuals with experience
in managing diverse public policyoriented
coalitions.
Value Pricing and Public Outreach Minnesotas
Lessons Learned by Lee W. Munnich, Jr., and
Joseph D. Loveland Transportation Research
Record Journal of the Transportation Research
Board, No. 1932, Transportation Research Board of
the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2005,
pp. 164168.
39Other Lessons Learned
- Preparation Must Precede Promotion
- Every time they answered a question we dont
know yet, public skepticism about the
feasibility of the proposal grew. - No Question Goes Unanswered
- An accusation unanswered can quickly become an
accusation believed. - Customize Messages
- A one-size-fits-all message didnt work
Value Pricing and Public Outreach Minnesotas
Lessons Learned by Lee W. Munnich, Jr., and
Joseph D. Loveland Transportation Research
Record Journal of the Transportation Research
Board, No. 1932, Transportation Research Board of
the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2005,
pp. 164168.
40Other Lessons Learned
- Show, Dont Just Tell
- even people who are well briefed on the concept
of value pricing have a difficult time fully
understanding it - videotape of underutilized local HOV lanes and
successful HOT lanes in other parts of the
country - In meetings, actual transponders were often
passed out to help people see and feel how
electronic tolling would work.
Value Pricing and Public Outreach Minnesotas
Lessons Learned by Lee W. Munnich, Jr., and
Joseph D. Loveland Transportation Research
Record Journal of the Transportation Research
Board, No. 1932, Transportation Research Board of
the National Academies, Washington, D.C., 2005,
pp. 164168.
41Some More TRB resources
- Presenting Congestion Charging to the Public
Exampes from Edinburgh and London (P03-6556) - Alasdair Cain, University of Westminster, United
Kingdom - Lessons Learned from California's Successes and
Failures in Value Pricing (P03-6557) - Ed Regan, Wilbur Smith Associates
- Public's Response to Florida's Value Pricing
Projects (P03-6558) - Kris Cella, Cella Associates, Inc.
- Involving the Public in a New Concept Managed
Lanes (P03-6559) - Tina Collier, Texas AM University