110 Freeway Experiment

November 16, 2012

The 110 in LA has express lanes as of Saturday.

L.A.’s first freeway toll lanes off to smooth start, officials say

Tolls vary from 25 cents to $1.40 a mile, depending on congestion and demand. Officials aim to keep travel speeds in the express lanes at least 45 miles per hour. They estimate the average toll for a motorist will be between $4 and $7 a trip, although it could be as much as $15.40. Officials estimate the lanes could save motorists as much as two to three minutes a mile.

These are pretty expensive rates. If you paid $15.40 for 11 miles and saved 2.5 minutes/mile that’d be about $30/hour value of travel time savings. The express lanes are a pilot meant to last one year. Like other express lanes, the authorities are targeting speeds instead of flows.