HOV no longer open on weekends due to $127,466 loss

By Dug Begley
October 1, 2013

For anyone who loves efficiency, those closed, empty car pool lanes on Houston freeways during non-peak hours probably look like a waste of good asphalt.

Sure, for the most part, Houston traffic isn't impossible during those hours, but sometimes it can be a pain. It seems unfortunate that those lanes are sitting unused at the very moment four people are choosing to ride side-by-side at precisely 59 mph along Interstate 45.

Michael "Griff" Griffin believes opening those lanes, especially if they were free during off hours, could connect people more conveniently to downtown.

"What we're trying to do is open them up so people feel like they get something back," Griffin said. "For 90 percent of the people paying (local sales) taxes, they don't get anything back from Metro. This way, they're getting something back."

Recently, however, when Metro opened the lanes, the toll revenues weren't enough to pay for the additional costs.

In addition to operating buses and trains, the Metropolitan Transit Authority manages HOV and toll lanes along U.S. 59 and Interstate 45 north and south of downtown, and along U.S. 290. Along with the Katy Managed Lanes along Interstate 10, maintained by the Harris County Toll Road Authority, they make up a network of toll and car pool lanes meant to address crippling peak-hour commuter congestion.

Griffin has repeatedly asked Metro to leave the lanes open until 11 p.m. rather than close them at 8. That could give theater visitors or people who want to grab a meal or a drink the time to relax and get home.

Area bar owners think the idea has some promise. Anything that made downtown a little easier to navigate would help, they said.

"It can't hurt," said Mike Shapiro, owner of Char Bar, a tavern on Travis near Market Square Park.

One of the biggest obstacles to visiting downtown, Shapiro said, is traffic. His own commute from Clear Lake varies dramatically depending on the time he's coming in.

"It is the difference between a 45-minute ride and a 28-minute ride, and for some people that's going to make a difference," he said.

That potential time savings is why 970 vehicles per day used the lanes when Metro opened them on weekends and holidays between downtown and southeast Houston. Officials opened the lanes on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays during the summer, to handle traffic headed to and from Galveston.

The weekend hours, run on a trial basis starting May 18, amounted to an extra 35 days of open lanes. During the trial, 33,879 vehicles used the lanes, including 2,416 solo drivers who paid the toll, according to Metro figures. More than half of the trial period's use was on Sunday, as HOV-users returned from Galveston.

Officials said the ridership was more than they expected, and far better than a pilot program 15 years ago that showed limited use. Metro interim CEO Tom Lambert said he was pleased that 7 percent of the users were toll-paying, solo drivers.

For the 16-week program, including three holidays, Metro spent $129,688 to provide staffing and police for the lanes, an average of $3,693 per day. Those costs were based on paying overtime and amending a contract with a toll management vendor, said Roberto Trevino, HOV lane manager for Metro.

During the trial, Metro raked in $2,222 in tolls, making the openings a more than $127,000 loser for the agency.

Whether it is a winner for drivers is a little harder to calculate. Ultimately, public roads aren't supposed to make money; they're intended to provide better access. The money for them has to come from taxes or fees or tolls. Metro's revenue comes in during the work week, when HOV users and toll payers flood the roads.

Griffin and others argue that Metro should give back to the public by making it a little easier to get to and from downtown. The question is what cost Metro should be willing to absorb.

Transit officials aren't slamming the gate shut on this one, though they've put the weekend openings along I-45 south of downtown on hiatus. If they can lower costs, officials said, they'll consider reviving the program - and maybe even expanding it.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/new...romise-of-big-benefit-4858183.php?cmpid=btfpm

 

Highways don't make money. Shocker.

So hypocritical of those that criticize public transit for not making money but are silent when it comes to the subject of publicly funded highways.

 

HOV lanes are managed by METRO. That would probably lower your 80-90% number.

Also when METRO tries to expand public transit it gets mass outrage. You can't have it both ways.