According to a report from the Mineta Transportation Institute, toll pricing is not only a legal way of reducing traffic, but also a revenue generator that exceeds the costs of operating the toll facility.
The report, Using Toll Revenues for Transit: It Can and Should be Done, looked at the policy rationale and legal framework for tolling practices to fund public transit operations across the country. The report found that reinvesting toll revenues into transit systems is an effective way to improve transportation system performance in a number of ways.
“Agencies in Virginia are collaborating to re-invest toll revenues from express lanes in transit, carpooling, and other transportation demand management projects,” the study’s authors said about one example. “Since 2017, more than $150M in toll revenues have been invested in 32 projects throughout the region, including $5.1 million to pay operating costs for a new commuter bus route as well as purchase of 6 buses for the service, benefitting thousands of riders each day.”
According to the study, federal transportation policy gives agencies more flexibility in how they use toll revenues, and many agencies across the country have used that flexibility to invest in rail and transit systems as well as in transportation infrastructure and transit-oriented development. The report said these types of investments are longstanding, widespread and beneficial to communities across the country, and that transportation agencies should consider using toll revenues as a way to fund integrated transportation networks.