Isn pricing inequitable toward low-income motorists?
Results from surveys conducted for projects in operation show that drivers of all income levels use priced express lanes. Although many low-income users don’t choose to use the tolled facility every day, they support having the option. For instance, a low-income parent racing to avoid the financial penalty associated with being late for pick-up at a daycare facility or for work, is often pleased to have the option of paying a fee to bypass gridlock in the regular lanes. In fact, a high level of support for San Diego’s HOT lanes comes from the lowest income users (70 percent support). Moreover, when pricing is coupled with transit investment, it helps rather than harms the poor, because low-income bus riders benefit significantly from toll-financed transit improvements. A well-designed value-pricing plan can be less burdensome to low-income citizens than current systems that are based on regressive taxes, such as car registration fees, sales taxes, and the gas tax. A recent study by Lis
