What Are I-394 HOT Lane Drivers Paying for?

One major factor that influences travel decisions is drivers’ willingness to pay for travel time savings. It is important for transportation engineers to understand the willingness to pay for travel time savings and the processes drivers use to determine their value of time in order to effectively plan and manage transportation facilities. In recent years, conversion of high occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to High Occupancy/toll (HOT) lanes has emerged as one method to more efficiently utilize transportation infrastructure. HOT lanes provide fast and reliable travel for users, including low occupancy vehicle drivers who are willing to pay a toll to use those lanes. The purpose of this research was to determine the willingness to pay for travel time savings for travelers on the I-394 HOT lanes in Minnesota. This report summarizes the findings of the value of travel time savings for each traveler on the HOT lane in 2008. These findings indicate very little travel time savings. However, many travelers have shown a willingness to pay the toll to obtain these minimal savings. This would indicate that additional factors, other than just travel time savings, are influencing these drivers to pay to use the HOT lane. Based on surveys of travelers of different express lanes of the country, travel time savings, travel time reliability, perceived sense of safety, better emergency response and better enforcement were important factors in their paying to use the HOT lane.