Person Throughput. Tables 19 and 20 show the changes in person throughput by vehicle type from before the project began to the present. Both tables show an overall increase in throughput. Two things need to be kept in mind when reading the tables. First, it is important to remember that the 95 Express Lane Project added a second express lane in both directions. Therefore, the additional lane capacity contributed to greater person throughput. Second, any SOVs recorded in 2008 were violators. In 2008, the “Express Lanes” were still a single high occupancy vehicle lane open only to carpoolers (HOV 2+) and transit vehicles. Total person throughput on the Express Lanes increased 42% in both the a.m. and p.m. peak periods between 2008 and 2010. The largest source of that increase came from toll paying SOVs. The other source was transit. Person throughput due to transit increased 23% in the a.m. period and 36% in the p.m. period. On the other hand, person throughput from HOV2’s and 3’s dropped. It was particularly severe in the a.m. peak period where HOV2’s dropped 53% and HOV3’s dropped 83%. These declines may be due to changes made to the eligibility requirements for free travel in the Express Lanes. In December 2008 at the beginning of the project, the requirements to use the lanes for free were changed from unregistered 2+ person carpools to registered 3+ carpools and vanpools in addition to other requirements based on the home and work location of each registrant. Interestingly, while there was a drop in person throughput from HOV2’s and 3’s on the Express Lanes, there was an increase in HOV2’s in the general purpose lanes. The amount of person throughput from HOV2’s in the general purpose lanes increased 96% in the a.m. peak period and 16% in the p.m. peak period. It is possible that some HOV traffic has shifted from the Express Lanes to the general purpose lanes to avoid paying tolls or because they do not want to register. Table 19: Person Throughput by Vehicle Type (Southbound AM Peak Period1) 08-10 SOV 573 - 4,827 +742% HOV 2 3,624 - 1,702 -53% Express Lanes HOV 3 294 - 49 -83% Transit 1,026 - 1,259 +23% Total 5,517 - 7,837 +42% SOV 7,599 - 10,982 +45% HOV 2 2,156 - 4,215 +96% General Purpose Lanes HOV 3 Transit4 358 - - 155 - - -57% - Total 10,113 - 15,352 +52% SOV 8,172 - 15,809 +94% HOV 2 5,780 - 5,917 +2% Facility HOV 3 652 - 204 -69% Transit 1,026 - 1,259 +23% Total 15,630 - 23,189 +48% Vehicle Type 20082 20092,3 20102 % Change
