TALKING FREIGHT SEMINAR: Truck Separated Lanes/Truck Tolling MARCH 16, 2005

1. TALKING FREIGHT SEMINAR:Truck Separated Lanes/Truck TollingMARCH 16, 2005 DARRIN ROTH DIRECTOR OF HIGHWAY OPERATIONS AMERICAN TRUCKING ASSOCIATIONS

2. TRUCK LANES – POSITIVES • Safety • Eliminates operational differences that create conflicts • Safer working environment for professional truck drivers: three-quarters of car-truck crashes begin with the actions of the car driver • Opportunity for productivity improvements • Less congestion through increased capacity and better traffic flow (more homogenous mix of vehicles) • Better reliability • Changes in size and weight • Highway design can be tailored to fit vehicles • Thicker pavements, stronger bridges, better geometrics for truck lanes • Less expensive pavements, bridges, geometric features for passenger vehicle lanes

3. TRUCK LANES – NEGATIVES • Potential for reduced access if mandatory – shifts traffic to surface streets • Unique design features could produce safety problems • Potential merge issues if trucks mix with traffic in general purpose lanes to enter/exit • If a single lane, could result in reduced spacing, accident clearance, emergency response, construction zone problems

4. TOLL FINANCING • Trucking industry prefers highway funding through traditional methods, i.e. federal and state fuel taxes, registration fees • These fees can be passed on, tolls cannot, causing truckers to avoid toll roads: • More accidents – non-Interstates’ accident rate at least 4 times higher • Local congestion, pollution, noise problems • Higher infrastructure costs on alternate routes • Local deliveries bear the greatest burden • Traffic, revenue projections routinely underestimate evasion

5. TOLL FINANCING • If tolls are used: • Use of the toll road must be voluntary • Tolls on new lanes only…no tolls on existing Interstate lanes • All revenues go to the project • Highway user groups, business community united in their opposition to tolls on existing Interstates • General public will not accept tolls on existing Interstates

6. Reason Foundation Study • Meets all of ATA’s criteria, but concerned about single lane design • Trucking industry unsure about support because voluntary lanes could become mandatory if revenues too low • federal law allowing tolls on existing lanes is a barrier to acceptance • Most promising truck lanes fill gaps in existing longer combination vehicle network

7. I-81 Virginia • Mandatory tolled truck-only lanes in center median – 325 miles • No plans for LCVs • $13 billion total cost • VDOT acknowledges truck-only tolls won’t work under scenario being considered

8. I-81 Traffic Diversion • Toll rate at completion in 2019: 37 cents/mile = 25 cents/mile, 2004 inflation adjusted • Historically trucks make 2-4 cents per mile in profit • Causes truck to divert unless alternate routes are more costly

9. I-81 Traffic Diversion

10. I-81 Traffic Diversion

11. Closing Thoughts • The current system of financing and building highways is not working as well as needed • Tolled truck lanes can be a limited solution under certain circumstances… …BUT…planners and policy makers must have a much better understanding of how the trucking industry works to avoid unintended consequences, especially how services are priced and routing decisions are made