A common type of alternative financing is tolls.[181] Generally, the public resists toll projects and opposes the tolling of pre-existing tax-supported roads. The public views the roads as "free" and believes that the construction and maintenance of these roads has already been paid for through Federal and State gas taxes, as well as other fees. Tolls are often viewed as an additional charge for a road for which the public believes it has already paid through taxes and other fees. However, when roads must be expanded to handle peak travel demands, existing taxes paid by motorists are inadequate to cover the costs, as discussed below.
State and Federal officials have a long history of commitment to "free" roads and have had difficulty generating enthusiasm for toll facilities, particularly in the face of public resistance.[182] Political and cultural resistance to tolling is reflected in the Federal-aid highway program, which as early as 1916 prohibited the use of tolls on federally funded roadways. Even today, tolling on the Interstate Highway System is prohibited except for two pilot programs that allow tolling of Interstates in limited situations-the value pricing pilot program established in 1991 and reauthorized in 1998, and the Interstate System reconstruction and rehabilitation pilot program authorized in 1998.[183] The public view towards tolls must change before the private sector will feel confident enough to pursue public-private partnerships and be able to gain financing and community support.[184]
While gasoline taxes may be a proven time-tested method of raising transportation revenue, a "utility" type system of financing, such as tolls, has multiple benefits and purposes. Such benefits and purposes include raising additional revenue, managing congestion, providing an opportunity for the market to work, and giving investors in the transportation system a direct cost-benefit correlation. As previously stated, in the past, there was political and cultural resistance to tolling. In today's political environment, support for additional gasoline taxes has waned and is likely to become even more difficult in the future.
With this decreased support for additional gasoline taxes and as public finances remain constrained as demand for improved transportation facilities continues to grow, opposition to the concept of tolling may be diminishing. Recent experience with toll roads suggests that motorists are willing to pay tolls if they see a clear benefit-such as having additional capacity available that enables them to avoid congestion and save time getting to their destinations.[185] Local polls suggest that the public opposition to the use of tolls to finance transportation improvements may be diminishing.
For example, a poll conducted in January 2004 by the Star Tribune in Minnesota found that those surveyed would be more willing to finance new highway construction with tolls, rather than an increase in the gas tax.[186] Of those polled, 69 percent indicated a preference for tolling to finance highway construction, rather than an increase in the State gas tax.[187] Only 23 percent of those polled indicated a preference for an increase in the State gas tax rather than tolls.[188] This poll was conducted by the newspaper to determine public opinion about the proposed regional "Fast Lane" network in the Twin Cities area. Tolls would be charged on new capacity added to existing freeways.
Another example is a poll conducted by the Chicago Tribune in 2001 in response to the Governor's proposal to phase-out toll roads in Illinois.[189] The poll indicated that a majority of those polled opposed the plan to eliminate tolls. Statewide, 41 percent of those persons surveyed disapproved of the Governor's proposal and 37 percent supported it. [190] Among those polled that use the Illinois toll roads on a regular basis 54 percent opposed the proposal, whereas 41 percent supported the proposal.[191] One of the more significant findings of the poll was the overwhelming opposition to an increase in the State's gas tax-almost 75 percent of those surveyed opposed such an increase.[192] Furthermore, 80 percent of those surveyed who live outside the Chicago area and 70 percent of those surveyed who live in the Chicago area opposed using gas tax revenue to compensate for lost toll revenue.[193]
Completed toll projects also demonstrate the importance of local community support. In the case of the SR 91 Express Lanes in Southern California, project sponsors clearly understood that public acceptance of the toll lanes was critical if the effort was to succeed.[194] As the first privately owned and variably tolled high-occupancy toll (HOT) facility in the country, the SR 91 Express Lanes depended on public approval and a supportive clientele to make the project viable.[195] Critics dubbed the proposed toll lanes as "Lexus Lanes" in reference to their concern that only the wealthy could afford to use the lanes.
Public outreach was a critical component during the project start-up phase as well as throughout the project. Once the decision was made to construct the HOT lane facility, project sponsors contacted the national media and public policy makers in an effort to garner support for the project.[196] Customers and non-customers are surveyed periodically to assess customer satisfaction, the need for improvements, and needed incentives to encourage road use.[197] A study of the SR 91 Express Lanes indicates that commuters of all incomes used the lanes.[198] Although the study did reveal that persons with annual incomes greater than $100,000 utilized the lanes at greater rates than lower income individuals, lower and moderate income individuals also make substantial use of the lanes.[199]
However, even the general public support for SR 91 was limited. A non-compete clause was included in the project agreement for SR 91 to protect the investment of the private investor-the California Private Transportation Company (CPTC).[200] In the non-compete clause, California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) agreed not to make improvements or add capacity to the existing general-purpose lane on SR 91 without consulting CPTC.[201] When Caltrans sought to add capacity to the existing lanes in 1999, CPTC objected.[202] This objection raised public opposition and ultimately led to a lawsuit seeking nullification of the non-compete clause.[203] In public-private partnership projects, it is important to ensure that the public does not perceive the private partner as maximizing profits through excessive peak tolls, while the public agency does nothing to relieve congestion on free facilities.
The I-15 toll lanes in San Diego, California, also illustrate the importance of local support. Based on the growth of vehicles using I-15 over the last decade and the success of the HOT lanes, the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG) and Caltrans have broken ground on a project to expand capacity in the I-15 corridor.[204] An 800-person telephone survey of I-15 users conducted in fall 2001 indicated that the majority of motorists supported the lanes, and that motorists with the most extensive experience with the FasTrak lanes were the most ardent supporters.[205] Ninety-one percent of users supported having a time-saving option on I-15, and 66 percent of I-15 users who did not use the FasTrak lanes supported them.[206] Moreover, I-15 users overwhelmingly supported the facility's expansion with HOT lanes, and tolling of new lanes was preferred over providing new free lanes. The tolling option was preferred over adding regular lanes by a wide margin (37% for priced lanes vs. 26% for regular lanes). It appears that a large share of the public in San Diego have grown to understand the value of priced lanes, and that simply providing new general purpose lanes, without fees or other restrictions, will not help much in relieving congestion due to continuing increases in traffic.
Both the SR 91 and I-15 HOT lanes continue to operate successfully because two key strategies were employed to get public and political support. First, there was an effective information campaign early in the process. Second, both projects involved an integrated package of mobility strategies that benefit all income groups.
Effective public outreach is essential in garnering support for the use of alternative financing and must continue throughout project planning, implementation, and operation.[207] Trends suggest that traditional local opposition to toll roads is waning. The public is willing to pay a toll if they can foresee clear benefits to using the toll facility.