Can Silicon Valley express lanes end traffic congestion?

Silicon Valley’s transportation agency wants to increase revenues from its highway express lanes, but advocates say they could save more money by strengthening public transit.

VTA serves as Santa Clara County’s public transit operator and congestion management agency, overseeing the county’s highways as well as its buses and light rail. As the agency grapples with its multiyear budget deficit, officials are looking to diversify its revenue streams. The board of directors approved an expenditure plan for one segment of express lanes in April, which set aside about $1 million annually for transit operating costs starting in 2028.

Casey Emoto, VTA chief engineering officer, said the agency has been incrementally installing express lanes on highways across Santa Clara County since 2012, when the agency opened the Highway 237/Interstate 880 express lane interchange.

For most of the highways, the agency is converting existing carpool lanes into express lanes. However, Emoto said they’re considering expanding part of Highway 101 to add a second express lane from Dunne Avenue to the San Mateo County border.

“I think there’s a lot of benefit to doing it,” Emoto told San José Spotlight. “It helps get the money to transit faster than otherwise.”

Funding for the project has been sporadic, so the lanes are being installed in phases. The next phase includes the interchange between Highways 101 and 85, which Emoto said should be fully functional in the next two years. The agency is working on a strategic plan for the project, which was reviewed by the Citizens Advisory Committee Thursday and will be presented at a VTA board meeting in October.

While interest in the express lanes has increased due to the revenue potential, they’re mainly a congestion management tool. A VTA spokesperson said express lanes decrease travel time by up to 20 minutes during peak congestion.

“You’re able to move more people to places they want to get to, and this is people driving solo, carpool, van transit (and) motorcycles,” Emoto told San José Spotlight.

Those time savings may be coming at the cost of extra congestion for other commuters. Shams Tanvir, an assistant professor of civil engineering and construction engineering management at Long Beach State University and Mineta Transportation Institute researcher, said express lanes work in theory by discouraging drivers from traveling during peak hours. In practice, most driving commuters can’t choose when to drive, and those who can’t pay the toll are stuck in even worse traffic.

Another possible benefit of express lanes is the toll is normally discounted or removed for carpooling drivers. However, Tanvir said the express lane by itself doesn’t usually encourage people to carpool, and drivers would need another incentive to make the express lanes more practical.

“It works by discouraging people to drive by increasing the (toll), and who is going to be affected by that? People who are impacted by their wallet,” Tanvir told San José Spotlight.

Harry Neil, who sits on the citizens advisory committee, said he doesn’t buy into express lanes as the right way to improve congestion or a good revenue stream, especially if VTA expands Highway 101. Research shows expanding highways doesn’t reduce traffic, and Neil said greenhouse gas emissions from more traffic go against VTA’s climate goals.

He said the funding contribution to public transit isn’t worth the negative climate impacts, especially since funds generated have to be used on the corridor where they’re generated, per state law. To truly have the county’s highway system pay for local transit, he suggested VTA could look into tolling on all highways where there is a reasonable transit alternative.

“If we are serious about our impact on the climate, if we are serious about mode-share shifting people out of single occupancy vehicles and onto transit, then we should be putting in all-lane toll lanes where high quality transit exists,” Neil told San José Spotlight.
Tanvir was hesitant about focusing too much on public transit, however, when American society is so strongly car-dominated. He said the express lanes could decrease congestion if installed thoughtfully.

“Public transit is the key, that’s how we’re going to solve the problem long term. But how do we transition the people’s automobile lifestyle and wean them off cars?” Tanvir told San José Spotlight. “It needs to be a balanced approach.”

Contact B. Sakura Cannestra at [email protected] or @SakuCannestra on X.