High Occupancy Vehicle Facilities Degradation Report and Action Plan
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Title 23 of the United States Code (USC), Section 166, requires Caltrans to prepare an annual California High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) Facilities Degradation Report and Action Plan. The Degradation Report identifies the degraded facilities on the State Highway System while the Action Plan details the actions Caltrans will take to make significant progress toward bringing degraded HOV facilities into compliance with the federal performance standards.
More information on degradation analysis and the action plan development process can be found in the HOV Degradation Action Plans Video
A provision in USC Section 166 gives public authorities in California the jurisdiction to allow low-emission vehicles and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles displaying valid clean air vehicle decals issued by the Department of Motor Vehicles access to all HOV facilities without meeting occupancy requirements. Additionally, the provision gives California jurisdiction to allow toll-paying vehicles that do not meet occupancy requirements access to certain HOV facilities called high-occupancy toll lanes. Under USC Section 166 public authorities that allow exempted vehicles access to HOV facilities must also submit an annual report on the performance of these facilities to the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA).
Federal law requires that vehicles in HOV facilities must be able to maintain a speed of at least 45 miles per hour during weekday peak travel periods at least 90 percent of the time over a 180-day period. Any HOV facility that fails to meet this standard is considered degraded. Federal law requires that the public authorities with jurisdiction over a degraded HOV facility to develop an action plan that details the actions that will be taken to bring the facility into compliance with the minimum average operating speed performance standard. Failure to comply may result in federal sanctions and jeopardize states from receiving federal funds or project approvals.
Caltrans uses the Performance Measurement System (PeMS) to collect HOV data for every weekday for the period of July 1 through December 31. Speed data is collected from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. in the morning and 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. in the afternoon as most HOV facilities in California operate during both time blocks. The average speed of vehicles in the HOV facility is calculated and compared to the federal performance standard. If the speed of vehicles does not meet the federal performance standard, the HOV facility is considered degraded.
Caltrans further classifies degradation into three categories based on how frequently it occurs. The three classes are defined as follows:
- Slightly Degraded - degradation occurs from 10 to 49 percent of the time.
- Very Degraded - degradation occurs from 50 to 74 percent of the time.
- Extremely Degraded - degradation occurs 75 percent or more of the time.
HOV facilities with degradation are analyzed to help determine potential causes and develop remediation strategies that are compiled into an annual Action Plan. Remediation strategies may include increasing the occupancy requirement for HOV lanes, varying the toll charged to vehicles on HOV lanes, discontinuing the allowance of non-HOV vehicles to use HOV lanes, or increasing the capacity of an HOV facility.
Degraded Station Map Viewer
The Degraded Station Map Viewer provides a comprehensive spatial overview of where degradation has been observed and the overall freeway performance in these areas. The map, which was created using information from the CA HOV Facilities Degradation Reports, includes the locations of detection stations along degraded HOV facilities and further categorizes information by peak hour period and frequency of degradation. The map also includes bottleneck mapping from the most recent Mobility Performance Reports.
For further information, contact Christian Clarion.