Traffic on the three O.C. tollways dropped in May by a combined 10.1% vs. a year ago, evidence that four-buck gas and a soft economy nudged drivers off local roads.
Combined, South County’s Foothill/Eastern and San Joaquin plus North County’s 91 Express Lanes had 993,478 fewer trips last month vs. a year ago. The three roads, in the 11 months of the government’s fiscal year that ends June 30, had 4.04 million fewer trips — a -3.9% drop — vs. the same period in fiscal 2006-07.
Traffic drops are rare. The Foothill/Eastern enjoyed traffic growth ever since it opened in 1993; the San Joaquin is heading toward only its second yearly drop since its debut in 1996; and the 91 never stumbled since its government takeover in 2003. (Psst! Metrolink ridership up 5%.)
Here’s a look at the three roads traffic. (Note: The month for the 91 is the four weeks ended May 31) …
| Toll road | Last month | Vs. ‘07 | Fiscal YTD | Vs. ‘07 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Foothill/Eastern | 5,386,318 | -9.6% | 59,560,096 | -3.6% |
| San Joaquin | 2,474,752 | -9.0% | 27,667,990 | -2.7% |
| 91 Express Lanes | 958,775 | -15.6% | 12,472,579 | -7.6% |
| • Combined | 8,819,845 | -10.1% | 99,700,665 | -3.9% |
But what the hey, let’s build another one. I am sure they will figure out a way for the tax payers to eat the combined losses. If you still believe the stupid adds telling you to be terrified of the coming gridlock, people will be fleeing this county for somewhere they can afford to live. Basically one has to believe that the toll roads are being built primarilly for the wealthy upper class as who on earth can afford those outrageous tolls on top of gas? There will only be gridlock with the increased insane developement that will go right back on track as soon as the recession subsides.
The Toll Roads need to drop their toll rates PERIOD.
probably a lot more county workers finding ways to jump the tolls - therefore ‘official’ numbers are down
Lansner on traffic? wow housing must REALLY be slow…
I’m sure the rising toll road fees had something to do with it also.
Because revenue is down they will probably raise tolls.
yeah.. considering the ocr brought the story to light, think they would of mentioned government workers as another cause.
People are tired of paying for the state and getting nothing back in return.
I wonder if they will drop the toll as a result of lower usage?
Hey Jon,
Any idea when these tollroads are going to be paid off? I remember reading a great article you wrote a few years back on how there were afraid the roads wouldn’t make enough money but then when the data came in, they found that they were actually ahead of schedule.
No need to extend the toll roads now !
I don’t think that “the soft economy nudged drivers off local roads” but more along the lines that the high price of gas is chipping away at the abillity for people to pay the tolls. If you are on a tight budget and your gas goes up $20/mo, chances are you toll roads would have to drop by $20/mo.
I’d be curious to see if traffic has increased on roads such as Bake, Alicica, El Toro or other main roads to avoid the Toll Roads
Then, following the mandate of the tollroad, we should be seeing a significant drop in prices for tollroad use.
Well, what do you expect when having a confidential plate no longer equals a free ride.
Housing is inverse, the 241 is empty too…
Is it possible traffic is down? People are just not using the toll roads because they cant afford the toll plus the cost of gas. They might just be using local roads and avoiding the toll roads.
I took the 241 to go to corona from Irvine and sat for more than one hour between the toll plaza and the on ramp. I thought it would save time, thereby saving gas and money. It would have been faster to take the 55 to the 91. Once on the 91, the express lanes were going just as slow as everyone else. And those poor folks in the express lanes paid a lot of money that day to ride in those lanes.
The toll roads are useless.
I guess there are TWO ways to reduce traffic gridlock. One: Raise the price of gasoline. Two: Put in mass transit. Our carpool lanes are virtually useless to the population in general. In fact, they are designed to fail if more people carpool. They will just become additional (billion dollar) jammed lanes. The real solution is to put regular, flexible, mass transit on these lanes in the form of Express Bus Service. Sure: There will be some walking involved and, admittedly, not everyone can take the bus even if its an express service. BUT, if 20-30 percent take the bus they will get cheaper transportation AND the other 70-80 percent will have their traffic jams reduced by 20-30 percent. Demand for gas will drop as well so maybe everyone could benefit.
NorthCounty, you see the light. I agree, express buses should go everywhere. Lets start with one going up and down the 405 and the 5 to and from south county. Why not an express bus down the 73 to long beach from south county. Lets do it OC.
If ridership on the 91 is off by 15 percent, why are they jacking the toll fees up for the second time this year starting on July 1?
My husband is now driving his MC to work, eliminating the need to use the toll road.
Good to hear. Those b_stards stole $75 from me because I got on the toll road by accident and didn’t have exact change so I had to run through one of the booths. At least in FL they forgive you once or twice if they don’t have a manned booth.