Highway

A high-occupancy toll (HOT) is a toll enacted on single-occupant vehicles who wish to use lanes or entire roads that are designated for the use of high-occupancy vehicles (HOVs, also known as carpools). Tolls are collected either by manned toll booths, automatic number plate recognition, or electronic toll collection systems. High occupancy tolls are a form of road pricing. Public domain photograph of the Mitchell Freeway from the Hay Street overpass in Perth, Western Australia. ... Public domain photograph of the Mitchell Freeway from the Hay Street overpass in Perth, Western Australia. ... The word toll has several meanings. ... A single-occupant vehicle (SOV) is a privately operated vehicle whose only occupant is the driver. ... A road is a strip of land, smoothed or otherwise prepared to allow easier travel, connecting two or more destinations. ... A permanent, separated high-occupancy vehicle lane on I-91 in Connecticut A high occupancy vehicle (or HOV) is any vehicle with a driver and one or more (or sometimes two or more, or three or more) passengers. ... A toll road, turnpike or tollpike is a road on which a toll authority collects a fee for use. ... The system must be able to deal with different styles of licence plates Automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) is a mass surveillance method that uses optical character recognition on images to read the licence plates on vehicles. ... Many ETC systems use transponders like this one to electronically debit the accounts of registered cars without their stopping Electronic toll collection (ETC), an adaptation of aircraft identification friend or foe technology, aims to eliminate the delay on toll roads. ... Road pricing is a generic term for charging for the use of roads using direct methods, charging the users of a specific section of the road network for its use. ...

The concept is an expansion of HOV lanes and an attempt to maximize their efficiency in moving vehicles. HOV lanes are designed to promote vehicle sharing and use of public transport by creating areas of lower road use as an incentive. Since some of these areas are under-used and therefore increase congestion, this has led to criticism of the scheme. HOT lanes are one answer to this. Since HOT lanes are often constructed within the existing road space there is much criticism of the idea, most commonly that HOT lanes are an environmental tax or perk for the rich. Efficiency is the capability of acting or producing effectively with a minimum of waste, expense, or unnecessary effort. ... A taxi serving as a bus Public transport comprises all transport systems in which the passengers do not travel in their own vehicles. ... An environment is a complex of external factors that acts on a system and determines its course and form of existence. ... A tax is an involuntary fee paid by individuals or businesses to a state, or to functional equivalents of a state, including tribes, secessionist movements or revolutionary movements. ...

HOT Lanes are currently mostly confined to the United States. If the idea is perceived as a success, they may spread world-wide. Other countries reported to be monitoring the results are Canada and the United Kingdom.

Examples of HOT lanes

Current HOT lanes

The following roads are among those currently using HOT Lanes:

• Interstate 15, San Diego, California, USA (SOV toll, HOV2+ free)
• 91 Express Lanes, Orange County, California, USA (SOV toll, HOV3+ discount/free off-peak)
• Interstate 10 ("Katy Freeway") (http://www.quickride.org/), Houston, Texas, USA (HOV2 toll, HOV3+ free, SOV prohibited)
• U.S. Highway 290 ("Northwest Freeway") (http://www.quickride.org/), Houston, Texas, USA (HOV2 toll, HOV3+ free, SOV prohibited)
• Interstate 394, MnPASS Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA (SOV toll, HOV2+ free)

Interstate 15, or I-15, is a north-south interstate highway in the western United States, traveling through the states of Montana, Idaho, Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and California. ... The 91 Express Lanes is a ten-mile high-occupancy toll road / tollway hybrid contained entirely within the median of the Riverside Freeway (California State Route 91) in Orange County, California. ... Interstate 10, or I-10, is the southernmost east-west, coast-to-coast interstate highway in the United States. ... U.S. Highway 290 (or US-290) is an east-west highway entirely in Texas. ... Interstate 394 (I-394) is a east-west interstate highway spur route in Hennepin County in the U.S. state of Minnesota. ... MnPASS is an electronic toll collection system used in Minnesota. ...

Future HOT lanes

The following roads are being reconfigured for HOT Lanes, which have not yet opened for toll-paying traffic

• Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway) (http://www.virginiadot.org/projects/ppta-defaultHOTLANESCapitalBeltway.asp), between Springfield, Virginia, and the Georgetown Pike exit in McLean, Virginia. Officials of the Virginia Department of Transportation signed an agreement with two private companies in April, 2005.

The Capital Beltway (in green) The Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) is a freeway-class interstate highway which circles the Washington, DC area. ... Springfield is a census-designated place and an unincorporated place located in Fairfax County, Virginia. ... McLean is an unincorporated community located in Fairfax County, Virginia. ... The Virginia Department of Transportation, or VDOT, is the government agency responsible for building, maintaining and operating Virginias roads, bridges and tunnels. ...

Possible HOT lanes

The following roads are among those being considered for HOT Lanes:

• In Seattle, Washington, USA:
  • Interstate 90
  • Interstate 405
  • SR 167 (project authorized to start, expected to open 2007-2008)
  • SR 520
• In Virginia, USA:
  • Interstate 95
  • Interstate 395
• In Maryland, USA:
  • Interstate 495 (Capital Beltway)
  • Interstate 270
  • Interstate 95
  • Baltimore Beltway (I-695)
• In Denver, Colorado, USA:
  • Interstate 25

Seattle skyline City nickname: The Emerald City Location of Seattle in Washington State County King Mayor Greg Nickels Area  - Land  - Water 369. ... t Interstate 90 is the longest interstate highway in the United States. ... Interstate 405 in Washington is a 30-mile loop route that bypasses downtown Seattle east of Lake Washington. ... Washington State Route 167 connects Interstate 5 in Tacoma with Interstate 405 in Renton. ... Washington State Route 520 is a freeway in the state of Washington, U.S.A. It extends 14 miles from Seattle in the west to Redmond in the east. ... State nickname: Old Dominion Other U.S. States Capital Richmond Largest city Virginia Beach Governor Mark R. Warner Official languages English Area 110,862 km² (35th)  - Land 102,642 km²  - Water 8,220 km² (7. ... Interstate 95 or (I-95) is an interstate highway that runs 1907 miles (3070 kilometers) north and south along the eastern United States coast. ... Interstate 395 in Virginia is a 13 mile long spur route that begins at a junction with Interstate 95 in Springfield, Virginia and ends in downtown Washington, District of Columbia. ... State nickname: Old Line State; Free State Other U.S. States Capital Annapolis Largest city Baltimore Governor Robert L. Ehrlich Official languages English Area 32,160 km² (42nd)  - Land 25,338 km²  - Water 6,968 km² (21%) Population (2000)  - Population 5,296,486 (19th)  - Density 165 /km² (5th) Admission into... The Capital Beltway (in green) The Capital Beltway (Interstate 495) is a freeway-class interstate highway which circles the Washington, DC area. ... Interstate 270 is the designation for four three-digit interstate routes in the United States, all related to I-70. ... Interstate 95 or (I-95) is an interstate highway that runs 1907 miles (3070 kilometers) north and south along the eastern United States coast. ... The Baltimore Beltway, Interstate 695, is a full beltway interstate highway extending around Baltimore, Maryland. ... Colorado State Capitol Building Denver is the largest city and capital of the state of Colorado, United States of America. ... Interstate 25 is an interstate highway in the western United States. ...

External links

• Washington State paper on HOT Lanes (http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/hov/hotlanes.htm)
• RPPI paper on HOT Lanes (http://www.rppi.org/transportation/ps170.html)
• Brookings Institution economic study on HOT Lanes (http://www.brook.edu/views/op-ed/downs/20020510.htm)
• A Guide for HOT Lane Development (FHWA, 2003) (http://www.itsdocs.fhwa.dot.gov/JPODOCS/REPTS_TE/13668.html)
• Virginia Department of Transportation press release on Beltway HOT lanes, April 29, 2005 (http://www.virginiadot.org/infoservice/news/newsrelease.asp?ID=CO-0517)
• Denver North I-25 HOT Lanes Study (http://www.valuelanes.com/)