VIEWPOINT
Metro Response to LA Times’ Tim Rutten Column on Congestion Reduction Demonstration Project
Tim Rutten’s June 10 column on Metro’s congestion pricing program raises important issues – matters of equity and choice for the people of Los Angeles County. However, his assessment of the program is off the mark – in terms of what we’re working to achieve, how it will work, and what benefits it will bring to lower-income residents.
Traffic for many is like the weather – you can complain about it, but there’s not much you can do to change it. Mr. Rutten seems to hold this view and seems willing to continue on the current path of worsening congestion and inadequate resources to fix the problem. Commuters in the LA basin are fed-up with gridlock.
We owe it to our residents and businesses to try some approaches that have proven successful elsewhere, but are new to Los Angeles County.
As a result of this program, LA County commuters, regardless of income level, will have new and better options than they have today, including: more reliable, safer, and more frequent transit services along two of our most congested corridors; the ability to access HOV lanes without meeting the occupancy requirements; and improved traffic in all lanes resulting from the shift of hundreds of trips from autos to transit.
Interestingly enough, although much of the focus is on the ExpressLanes, this project is more about giving customers more options for dealing with congestion than it is about tolls. The program has a budget of $291 million, $210 million of that coming from the federal government, a huge investment in Los Angeles County transportation. Seventy percent – over $200 million – of that investment is going into transit. That will translate directly into benefits for commuters, especially lower-income residents who may be transit-dependent.
Service along the I-10 and I-110 corridors will be improved significantly. Trains and buses will run more frequently, aided by the addition of 57 new buses. Park and Ride lots will be expanded. Safety – often a deterrent to ridership – will be improved through better lighting, addition of cameras, and addition of new sheriff substations at key stations. Revenues generated by the tolls paid in the ExpressLanes will be reinvested in the corridors, to cover operating costs and then to support ongoing transit and carpool lane improvements.
Mr. Rutten cites a recent study conducted jointly by the Rand Corporation and the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF). Equity issues – how people of different income levels are treated – were a focus of the report. However, he drew conclusions that the authors did not. As noted by one of the report’s sponsors, "The research shows that equity issues can and must be addressed early on when designing a congestion pricing project. A well-designed congestion pricing project can deliver clean air and less gridlock to everyone."
This is exactly the approach we have taken. Equity issues have been at the center of the development of this program from the beginning. The state legislation that authorizes the program specifically requires that equity be considered and that actions have to be taken to mitigate any negative impacts. As a result of this approach, we will have a better, more effective and fair program.
Mr. Rutten in his column laments the choices faced by the hypothetical single mother. While none of the choices arise to Mr. Rutten’s utopian level, she may find one of the additional choices superior to her sole approach today – being stuck in traffic in the mixed-flow lanes without being able to use the HOV lanes.
This program provides the single mother with additional choices, some of which may be preferable to her. Through the $200 million in transit improvements along with the creation of the ExpressLanes, one new choice would be to take better and more reliable transit to avoid the highway traffic. Another choice based on the program would be to enter the toll lanes and save essential time. That choice could be made easier if she uses credits that she has built up by using transit, an element we’re including in the program specifically for lower-income commuters. Even if she stays in the regular lanes as would be her destiny without the program, the $200 million investment should produce better-moving traffic resulting from the shift of other trips to transit or into the ExpressLanes.
Mr. Rutten seems to suggest single moms will have difficulty making decisions when facing traffic congestion. Single moms respond every day to changing circumstances and choices that are far more complex. Traffic doesn’t have to be like the weather. We may not be able to transform it altogether, but we can have choices to make it better – for everyone. That’s the point of this program.