Slow the media's rush to judgment on HOT Lane startups - Charles Prestrud

The CongestionPric List recently carried discussions of the rocky startup of the Georgia I-85 HOT lanes northeast of Atlanta several weeks back, and comment on how the news media is inclined to pass judgment on just a few days operation. And if the tolling startup doesn't work perfectly on those early days when the cameras are out on the overpasses then the reporters are inclined to report the whole project as a "failure" and a "fiasco."

They may not use such words but the whole thrust of their reports is This-isn't-working, adn if they don't return to report again then damage may be done and a negative impression is left with casual viewers.

Charles Prestrud had some excellent comments on the List, we thought, and was kind enough to elaborate on them a bit for us - below.

"If I was giving advice to an agency planning HOT lanes I’d offer the following:
 
(1) "Do everything possible to slow down the news media’s rush to judgment. The local TV stations and news papers (but especially the TV stations) will want to render judgment on success or failure within the first few hours of operation. 

"To counter that tendency it should be emphasized that commuters are creatures of habit, many will take weeks or months to get transponders and adjust their travel behavior to use the facility. 

"Success should be measured after the first three months of operation, not after the first three hours.  By the way, the same applies to new bus and rail routes.  Transit agencies typically evaluate new service after six months or a year of operation.   

(2) "One of the great advantages of HOT lanes is that prices (and sometimes occupancy requirements) can be adjusted to optimize performance.  It would be wonderful if we knew exactly how many people were going to choose to pay a toll or join a carpool in advance of opening a HOT lane but those are difficult things to predict with any accuracy. 

"Fortunately, the flexibility of HOT lanes enables the tolling authority to adjust prices so traffic flows smoothly and highway capacity is used efficiently.  

"It may take a few weeks to fine-tune the pricing algorithm when the facility first goes into operation, but that in no way diminishes the fundamental advantages of using variable tolls to manage highway demand.  We should remember that in the private sector prices are constantly changing to balance supply and demand, and most of us think that is a good thing.

(3) "Emphasize the efficiency benefits of the facility (including transit speed and schedule reliability).  Too often people focus on the modest revenue produced by HOT lanes, but revenue generation is only a small part of the reason HOT facilities are implemented.

"Ensuring smooth traffic flow in the face of growing demand is usually the greater benefit and it is something the public can understand and appreciate.  If any of the toll revenue will be used to pay for incident response or safety patrols make sure the public knows about that too.  Those services help traffic flow and are appreciated by all motorists whether they are in the HOT lane or not.

(4) "Managing expectations prior to opening and in the early going is vital.  While it is invariably hard to get people’s attention in the planning phases it is still worth the effort to communicate project objectives and benefits well before the facility is opened.  

"The pre-opening education of the news media and public will be more important for the long-term success of the facility than the first week’s numbers.

"In the absence of simple and clearly explained performance measures you can expect the media to fill the vacuum with all kinds of half-informed conclusions and speculation.  

"Be prepared to cite examples of the ramp-up in utilization of other priced facilities.  

Prestrud is systems planning manager in Washington State DOT's Urban Planning Office, but he says his thoughts are personal, not WsDOT. He stresses his comments are not meant criticism of GA/I-85XL. He is contactable at

PrestrC@wsdot.wa.gov

TOLLROADSnews 2011-11-04