HOV/HOT Lane Vehicle Characteristics: A Case Study on Atlanta's I-85 HOV-TO-HOT Corridor

The conversion of high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes to high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes was implemented in metro Atlanta as a pilot project and is under consideration for more widespread adoption throughout the metro region. Further conversion of HOV lanes to HOT lanes is a major policy decision that depends upon the likely impacts, including lane performance and equity impacts of the new HOT lane. This research effort collects revealed preference data in the form of observed traffic counts, vehicle license plate data, and vehicle occupancy data to study the impacts of the conversion. Building upon methodologies developed in Spring 2011, researchers are matching field-collected license plate data with vehicle occupancy data. Vehicle occupancy data from the first four quarters of data collection prior to the conversion are used to create the distribution of occupancy on the HOV and general purpose lanes, and then the transit and license plate data are analyzed. Preliminary post-conversion data are also included in the analysis. A conclusions section suggests possible impacts of the findings on policy decisions as Georgia considers expanding the HOT network.