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Providing New Transportation Choices through Transit Prioritization Strategies

BRT ON MANAGED LANES

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PARK & RIDE on HOV LANES

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Intro to Houston METRO

Discuss History – since 1979– Priority buses = Park & Ride program – Priority Highways = HOV

Discuss Future – since Jan. 2009– Priority buses = Satellite Buses– Priority Highways = HOT Lanes / Managed lanes

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The City – Houston, Texas

2 million residents– 2 million more

expected by 2020

1,700 Square miles

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Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County, Texas

(Houston METRO)

Service area = 1,700 Sq. Miles

100 million boardings in 2008

250,000 daily boardings

The Transit Provider

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HOUSTON METRO

1,200 buses in service; – 126 Routes - 95 Local, 31 Park & Ride

8 mile METRO Rail LRV line

6.7 million Boardings per month– 4.8 million bus, 1.2 million rail per month– 4.2 million Local Bus; 600,000 Park & Ride per month

87 Miles of HOV Lanes – 6 Corridors– 36,000 vehicles per day ~ 7% total highway traffic

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METRO PRIORITY BUSES HISTORIC = Park & Ride Program – since 1979

– 31 Routes = 12 to 40 mile trip lengths– Move patrons from 29 Parking Lots, 27 Other Sites in 5 counties

• into Downtown Houston and Texas Medical Center• Using HOV Lanes

– 25,000 parking spaces – Approx. 30,000 Daily Boardings (15-20% of daily boardings)– Early form of Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) service

• Special Stations• No Stops en-route

FUTURE = Satellite Buses – since June 1, 2009– 3 Routes to be established– 1st route = Bellaire route = parallel to largest local route– From Suburbs to Texas Medical Center

• Using city streets rather than HOV Lanes

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29 Park & Ride parking facilities

park rides .gif.p2p

METRO Park & Ride Sites

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METRO Park & Ride Sites

27 other Park & Ride sites in 4 neighboring counties

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METRO Park & Ride Facility

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METRO Park & Ride Service Commenced Operations – 1979

Early form of Bus Rapid Transit

No stops between Park & Ride lots and destination zone – Downtown or Texas Medical Center

Variety of Buses Employed in Service– MCI hybrids & diesel– New Flyer Viking– Neoplan Articulated

Weekday service only

Zoned Fares based on distance from destination– 3 zones – one fare per route

All trips use HOV Lanes

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METRO Future = “QuickLine” Satellite Bus Service

Commenced Operations – June 2009 = Bellaire Route 402– Eases demand on the 2 Bellaire route (10,000 riders daily)

Limited stops to popular business centers all along the line

Eight state-of-the-art bus stations complete with digital “next bus” signage

A bright blue road stripe has been painted along the entire route for easy identification.

Reliable weekday rush-hour service, every 15 minutes

Same Fare as Local Service Routes $1.25 each way

Overall trip times reduced from 52 to 38 minutes over the 9-mile route

Custom-wrapped bus exterior for easy identification

Additional routes planned

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PRIORITY HIGHWAYS

HISTORIC = High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Lanes– 87 Miles of HOV Lanes

– Designed and Built for Bus Usage Only

• From 1979 to 1985 – Bus and Vanpool only

• 1985 – Carpools permitted 2+ / 3+ usage allowed

– 6 Corridors

• North, West, Northwest, Northeast, Southeast + Southwest

• I-10 West, I-45 North + South, US 59 North & South, US 290

FUTURE = High Occupancy Toll (HOT) Lanes– Permit use by Single Occupant Vehicles for toll

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HOV Corridors

IH 45 North

IH 45 South US 59 North

US 59 North

US 59 South

US 290

IH 10 West

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History of METRO HOV Lanes Lane Openings

– 1979 First Corridor – pylons, bus and vanpool only– 1984 Second Corridor – barrier separated, bus and vanpool only– 1985 Carpool added to two corridors– 1988 Two Corridors Added - Bus, Vanpool and Carpool – 1993 One Corridor Added - Bus, Vanpool and Carpool– 1999 One Corridor Added - Bus, Vanpool and Carpool

Operation Condition– One lane per Corridor – barrier separated– Initially Pylons only on first corridor from 1979 to 1984– Bus + VanPool Operation only from 1979 to 1984– Carpools permitted in 1985, 4+ then 3+ then 2+ (3+ on 290 AM remains)

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Current METRO HOV Lane Operations No changes to core design

– primary access / egress through Park & Ride lots– Manual direction reversals at all access points twice a day = gate movements

Operate in Peak Hours only– Mon. – Fri. 5 am – 11 am; 2 pm – 8 pm

One lane per Corridor – Barrier Separated

Most mid-route entries through Park & Ride lots, rather than from general purpose lanes

Daily Vehicle Volumes ~ 36,000 per day 7 – 8% total Traffic Volumes in Corridors

• 1,000 Buses per day• 500 Vanpools• 35,000 Carpools

2+ Carpools allowed; 3+ only for US 290 AM Peak

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METRO HOV Lane Operations

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PLANNED HOV LANE IMPROVEMENTS

Strategy– Improve use of existing HOV resources

• Currently used by 36,000 vehicles per day – expect 50 - 75% increase

– Mitigate Congestion on General Purpose Lanes

– Improve monitoring of traffic flows through cameras, meters

– Reduce Operating Cost through gate automation

– Provide some improvement to air quality

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Houston Area Managed Lane Projects I-10 = Katy Managed Lanes (Opened March 2009)

– Managed by Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA)– Constructed with TxDOT I-10 Expansion project

– 2 Managed Lanes in each direction• HOV Hours (Mon. – Fri. 5 am – 11 am; 2 pm – 8 pm)

– 1 lane = free HOV 2+; 1 lane = tolled SOV === $2 - $4• Non-HOV Hours and Weekends - both lanes tolled HOV & SOV == $ 1

– Carries approximately 12,000 per day (8% total traffic)• 7,000 HOV, 5,000 Tolled

5 Corridors = METRO HOT Lanes (Likely Start = mid 2010)

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METRO HOT Lanes 5 Corridors

– Eastex, North, Northwest, Southwest, Gulf Expressways

One lane per Corridor – barrier separated

SOVs tolled at all times, HOVs free at all times

Dynamic Pricing – price rises with congestion in lane– Toll Rates to Be Determined by METRO Board

SOVs prohibited when lane speed below 50 mph

Automated Gates will permit night and weekend operation

Probable Start Date = mid 2010

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HOT Lane Conversion

BENEFITS Expands use of HOV Lanes by 50%+ Expeditious implementation – 1.5 years for implementation Enhances maximum HOV lanes utilization rates in nation

– (currently 7% total traffic v. 3% nationally) No new real estate required Enhance and expand operations through automated gate control systems Provide ease of use through better signage, movement monitoring systems Cost is affordable

COSTS Approx. $50 million for installation

– 80% Capital cost recovery from FTA $ 8-10 million per annum for Operations, Maintenance and Enforcement

– Recoup Operating, Maintenance and Enforcement costs through tolls

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Available HOV Lane Capacity Sell Blue and Yellow Areas

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HOT Lane Impact on Transit Schedules

Minimal Impact on bus schedule due to increased volumes expected– Reduce adverse impact on speed with controlled access to lane

• No Single Occupant access when speed less than 50 mph

– Dynamic Pricing increases tolls as speed diminishes to reduce demand

– Greater occupancy enforcement available due to funding through tolls

Arrangements on I-10 lanes with HCTRA– Bus access guaranteed

– Operations Committee reviews schedule impact and adjusts tolls / access accordingly

– No issues with traffic flow to date despite greater use than expected

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COMPONENTS OF HOT LANE TOLLING OPERATION

TRANSPONDER READERS LICENSE CAMERAS VERIFICATION AGENTS

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Two Path Access

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Toll Collection Single Occupant Vehicle (SOV) will use a special lane at

observation booths.– Transponder will be read– License Plate will be photographed

If transponder valid – account will be charged toll.

If transponder invalid or missing – license plate photo will be used to send violation notice to registered owner of plate.

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DYNAMIC TOLLING EMPLOYED– Toll varies based on HOT lane congestion / speed

Automatic toll collection — no barriers; no cash needed.

All vehicles will need a transponder.– EZ-Tag or Texas toll tags will be accepted for payment– fully interoperable– Free Trips counted with transponder readers in HOV lane– Missing transponder generates citation to plate holder automatically

Toll price posted well in advance of entry points.

Toll to patron does not change after entry to lane.

Occupancy enforcement with attendants and patrol officers

HOT Lane Operations

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Other HOT Lanes

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Phase 1 = HOT Lane Conversion – current year

Phase 2 = Access Improvements – 2 / 4 yearsPhase 2 a = Lane Access / Egress Improvements (Slip Ramps)Phase 2 b = Lane Access / Egress Improvements (Wishbone Ramps)

Phase 3 = Lane Dualization – 10 / 20 years

Phase 4 = High Speed Rail in ROW - ???

Future HOV Lane Enhancements

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Phase 2 – Access Improvements

BENEFITS Provides additional direct outbound and inbound access from general

purpose to HOV Lanes Further congestion mitigation Expeditious implementation – Approx. 4 years to install Minimal impact on real estate limitations – primarily achieved through use of

existing shoulders Employs movement monitoring, tolling systems and automated gate

systems from Phase 1 Cost to implement is affordable

COSTS Approximately $ 50 – 70 million to implement

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Phase 2 – Access Improvements

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Phase 3 – Lane Expansion

BENEFITS Maximize congestion mitigation on existing system

Increase HOV Usage – Estimates range between additional 60,000 to 85,000 vehicles – Change in vehicle volumes = additional 63% to 135% from current

DISADVANTAGES Extensive impact on real estate – need to expand freeways

• Will require thousands of condemnations / taking actions

Extensive cost

Extensive time required for implementation

Expansion of some corridors will NOT meet traffic demand in 2035

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Phase 4 – High Speed Rail Strategy

– Install elevated guide way rail in center of all HOV corridors– Install station operations at existing Park & Ride facilities– Extend rail beyond current termini of HOV lanes

Benefits– Avoid extensive need for real estate takings – most real estate in

TxDOT highway right-of-way and METRO Park & Ride sites– Provides service to meet traffic forecasts beyond 2035

Cost– Approximately $30 million per mile– Total costs for 6 corridors approximately $3 Billion

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THANK YOU !!!!

RICH LOBRONLCL Advisors, Inc. Houston METRO

610-889-2005 713-739-4047 rich@lobron.com rich.lobron@ridemetro.org