by Dave Castle, John Gahbauer, David Lewry, Kristin Perry, and Henry

For full report click here.

The Los Angeles Metropolitan Transportation Authority (Metro) will soon embark on a yearlong pilot program, dubbed ExpressLanes, converting current high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes on segments of the I-10 and I-110 freeways to high occupancy toll (HOT) lanes.  This report provides analyses and recommendations to ensure carpooler support for the ExpressLanes program.  The analyses and recommendations include an implementation analysis that compares the project with other HOT lane conversions, a strategy for engagement and communications, and a plan for distribution of transponders to carpoolers.

Our implementation analysis considers issues that other agencies faced in implementing their own systems, and highlights potential risk factors for Metro.  Key findings include the following:

• Even when political opposition has been minimized, one grandstanding politician can disrupt the project by using the media to generate confusion and opposition.
• Concerns about low-income access to the lanes are likely to evaporate once the system goes into effect and people see that a wide variety of vehicle types are using the lanes.
• Requiring carpoolers to obtain and use transponders represents a risk factor for Metro, which creates the perception that carpoolers are losing easy access to the lanes.

In order to mitigate the implementation risks posed above, Metro must:

• Mitigate public skepticism by educating carpoolers about the benefits of the program, perhaps by including testimonials from users of the San Diego and Orange County HOT lanes.
• Recognize the importance of equity issues around low-income users of the system by touting investments in transit and revenue sharing,
• Reconsider requiring transponders for carpoolers, as this requirement is one of the biggest risk factors with respect to winning carpooler support for the program. 

Assuming that Metro continues with its plan to require carpoolers to use transponders to access the lanes, Metro will need a strong engagement plan, including a carpooler incentive program, and a targeted communications strategy to convince carpoolers that they will benefit from the system.  Key findings include:

• Carpoolers prefer an ongoing points-based rewards program to an upfront subsidy.
• Carpoolers vary widely in their perception of the program’s value.
• Many carpoolers are comfortable receiving information about carpooling from Employer Transportation Coordinators (ETCs).  For others, the experience of other cities shows that freeway signage is especially critical. 
• A mass media advertising strategy is most effective when it differentiates between carpoolers and single drivers. 
• Many carpoolers were unaware that the ExpressLanes system would still be free for them, and did not understand how the lanes would improve efficiency overall.
• Adoption of transponders among carpoolers may take up to a year to achieve.

Our recommendations from the findings above indicate that Metro should:

• Implement an improved, points-based rewards system for carpoolers to incentivize continued carpooling, leveraging transponder technology to automate calculation and generate excitement about the program. 
• Utilize ETCs and freeway signage to target communications to carpoolers.  Metro should be cautious of using mass media advertising, since carpoolers should be the focus of the initial program rollout; however, distinguish between mass media advertising and management of earned media to manage expectations about the program among the general public.
• Create customized education/promotion messages for each carpooler segment.

Distributing transponders to as many carpoolers as possible is vital to ensure a smooth opening for the ExpressLanes.  Metro should plan to:

• Ensure manufacturing and distribution capacity for approximately 261,000 transponders.
• Plan to provide most transponders to carpoolers via web ordering and through the workplace.

In addition to providing these recommendations to Metro, we have outlined a proposed plan to guide Metro through the year and a half prior to the opening of the system, summarized in the following table:

Remembering that many carpoolers and vanpoolers are passionate about their ridesharing “cause,” Metro must, in all its engagement, and distribution efforts, try to treat carpoolers less as customers and more as partners in the effort to promote ridesharing.   Vocal carpoolers are ExpressLanes’ biggest potential political threat to the program but, if they can be won over through effective messaging and an appeal to their passion, they are also potentially its best advocates.