The Effects of Pricing a Portion of the Lanes on Congested Highways [pdf]

The paper is long and I'm not sure where the economic magic happens but to be able to trade waiting time for money is truly a good thing for all. Sometimes I really am in a hurry and am willing to pay for it, other times not, but by not being able to pay I'm frustrated and all of us are poorer for it.

This of course assumes that the money I pay does not become a profit center - two examples - - If I'm at Disneyland and I can pay to cut ahead in the queue this is only good if the money I pay goes to those in the queue who wait longer, if it doesn't then everyone is suddenly paying more for the same ride - This ties in with the work on Shoup and parking pricing. If I'm wanting to park my car at the kerb in many cities I cannot pay as the parking is time limited and popular and parked out. The only way I can get a park is to spend ages searching for for a free bay. Alternatively if the parking is priced appropriately I can trade off the search time for money.

I did cringe a bit where the author worried about protecting the poor. This argument is often put, but if the "lexus lane" on one day makes the difference between keeping or losing your minimum wage job it is helping the poor. What is forgotten that the amazingly low value that wage earners place on their leisure time, typically $3-$8 per hour of leisure time really distorts the economics in ways you might not expect.

They are adding a Toll/HOV lane to 405 in the Seattle area. There will now be two HOV lanes and both will be converted to tolls for solo drivers. I couldn't wade through the article to see the conclusion. But I'm not exactly buying into it helping. Right now there are 3 free lanes, and one HOV lane. During rush hour the HOV lane is under utilized. So adding a second lane means only toll users will make use of the new lanes (i am sure HOV use will increase, but not by much, as it could increase today) So some people will chose to pay the toll, if traffic is bad. If it isn't, they won't as there isn't much benefit. The question is, is the cost of adding the second lane worth it? I would think that making the second lane free would be more beneficial, to the environment, and to the travel time. And how long will it take them to recoup the cost of adding the second lane? I'm not against making the single HOV lane also a toll lane, I just don't see how adding a second one is a win.