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Using Technology for a Sustainable Future

2022 AMPO Meeting

Minneapolis, Minnesota

October 27, 2022

Dan Lamers, P.E. | Senior Project Manager

North Central Texas Council of Governments

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MANAGED LANE POLICY SUMMARY

Primary purpose of the managed lane?

Managed lane vehicle eligibility?

Should the policy vary by corridor?

Pricing structure? (TOD, vehicle type, and occupancy)

Toll rate: fixed (schedule) or dynamic (i.e., change in response to congestion)?

What should the rate be and is it adjusted over time?

Initially scheduled, fixed price with $0.75 per mile cap (2010 $)
Dynamic pricing after six months (with soft cap)
HOV discount (50%) during peak periods (initially 2+)

MPO reimburses operator for HOV discount
Discount eliminated when region reaches attainment

HOV 3+ policy deferred contingent on data reporting
No discounts for “special vehicles”
Speed guarantee of a minimum average of 50 MPH
Rebate if average speed drops below 35 MPH (policy deferred contingent on data reporting)

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MANAGED LANE POLICY SUMMARY

Primary purpose of the managed lane?

Managed lane vehicle eligibility?

Should the policy vary by corridor?

Pricing structure? (TOD, vehicle type, and occupancy)

Toll rate: fixed (schedule) or dynamic (i.e., change in response to congestion)?

What should the rate be and is it adjusted over time?

Initially scheduled, fixed price with $0.75 per mile cap (2010 $)
Dynamic pricing after six months (with soft cap)
HOV discount (50%) during peak periods (initially 2+)

MPO reimburses operator for HOV discount
Discount eliminated when region reaches attainment

HOV 3+ policy deferred contingent on data reporting
No discounts for “special vehicles”
Speed guarantee of a minimum average of 50 MPH
Rebate if average speed drops below 35 MPH (policy deferred contingent on data reporting)

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Initially use manual enforcement for HOV verification but implement technology-based verification over as soon as practical

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PROJECT HISTORY

Using Technology for a Sustainable Future

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2012 - NCTCOG

Technology Approaches to HOV Occupancy Declaration and Verification (Texas A&M Transportation Institute)

2012 - NCTCOG

Request for Information (RFI) for IH 30 Managed Lane Technology

Occupancy detection and verification
Dynamic tracking of vehicles

2013 - NCTCOG

Re-Issue RFI with Demonstration Component

2014 - NCTCOG

TTI Update to White Paper and Proof of Concept Testing of In-Vehicle Technology

2015 – TxDOT/NCTCOG

Request for Offer - Automated Vehicle Occupancy Detection Solution

2016 – NCTCOG/TxDOT

Request for Proposals for Auto Occupancy Detection and Verification Technology

Research

Request for Information

Demonstration

Procurement

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KEY REQUIREMENTS

NO DISTRACTED DRIVING

AUTOMATED HOV VERIFICATION

HOV DISCOUNT AUTOMATICALLY SHOWS UP ON NTTA TOLL BILL

NCTCOG Presentation

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PRIVACY PROTECTED

IN-APP SUPPORT

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OCCUPANCY VERIFICATION OPTIONS

NCTCOG Presentation

Manual Observation

Manual Self-Declaration

External Cameras

In-Vehicle Sensors (OEM)

In-Vehicle Sensors (Aftermarket)

App-Based

NCTCOG Presentation

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Why verification over enforcement?

That means at best…

ONLY 4%

of violators will be cited

Violation Rate

Law Enforcement Safety

Economics

HOV

Roadside Sensing

Patrol Enforcement

Manual Declaration

No Messy Legal Issues

Manual enforcement sporadic and ineffective
No law enforcement officers needed to issue tickets
Does not tie-up court system
Willing to live with small level of “violators” in lieu of costly manual enforcement

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RISK TO OFFICERS

Image Provided By GoCarma

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…and that’s without even accounting for the physical safety of the officers on the side of the road and the disruption to traffic flow that occurs whenever an officer pulls someone over.

This is when we had the epiphany, what if we didn’t ENFORCE HOV, but just simply found a way to charge the proper toll to vehicles, SOV vs. HOV. We do this regularly on toll roads every day, why can’t we apply that same concept to managed lanes? Then it simply becomes a matter of VERIFICATION, so that the proper toll is charged, or not charged, if HOVs travel for free. And furthermore, if we made the program voluntary we could keep this out of the over-crowded and expensive court system. All vehicles are allowed to be in the managed lanes, but to receive the HOV discount you have to opt-in to the program and agree to its terms and conditions.

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Verification with GoCarma more cost-effective than enforcement

Estimated Direct Costs with Existing System (10-year implementation)
Manual Enforcement	$15 M
Enhancement to TEXPress Application	$6 M
Marketing and Education	$2 M
Total, Existing System	$23 M
Carma Funding Request
New Technology Cost, Including Pilot	$21 M

Using Technology for a Sustainable Future

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2. Sign Up

Enter name and verify phone number and email.

3. Add Vehicle

Enter or scan license plate.

5. Trip Confirmed

App verifies the trip and proximity of multiple people traveling together.

4. Just Drive

App verifies travel automatically within geofenced corridors.

1. Download

GoCarma smartphone app for iOS/Android.

USER EXPERIENCE

No user interaction required.

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KEY GoCarma FEATURES

Tolling

Back Office

Servers

DNT.12345678

Occupancy: 2

GoCarma

Back Office

Servers

Activates automatically in geofence

Confirms vehicle

Confirms occupancy

Fetches dynamic price

Applies charges and credits

Displays transaction history

GoCarma Smartphone App:

DNT.12345678

Occupancy: 2

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Automated data-driven identification of cheating.
Escalating in-app warnings, prior to a period of account suspension.

Post-Trip Identification of HOV Cheating (e.g. Carrying a 2nd Phone)

4% of Users Received

Warnings

99 DFW User Suspensions

Agency-Configurable Warning Notices

Fraud Scenario	Identification Approach
Second Account	Instant
2nd Smartphone Left in Car	Pattern Analysis
Occupant Pass Left in Car	Pattern Analysis
Driver Carries 2 Smartphones	Pattern Analysis
Drive Carries Smartphone & Occupant Pass	Pattern Analysis
2 Cars Together	Post-trip

LESS THAN 2% LEAKAGE

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PRIVACY AND GOCARMA DATA USE

Users opt in to qualify for HOV toll discounts

App only activates at geofenced locations

App only activates during weekday peak periods

Geo-transaction data expires within 60 days

No publicly identifiable information data shared, sold, or monetized

Image Provided By GoCarma

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GOCARMA HOV TECHNOLOGY: �DFW CASE STUDY

$1.13 M

2.5 M

transactions

in toll savings

Violations

(way down)

users

55,000

Image Provided By GoCarma

Using Technology for a Sustainable Future

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The GoCarma system has been operating in the DFW region for over two years now. Its full rollout was in January of 2020, which also happened to coincide with another rollout of sorts, that of the COVID pandemic. So unfortunately, the system wasn’t able to be utilized quite to the level that could have been. But nonetheless, it has become very popular, and it’s use continues to grow daily. Currently there are over 55,000 users who have saved well over a million dollars in tolls. I should note that the HOV discount is only given during the morning and evening peak periods. All other times of the day HOVs pay the same prices as anyone else. In addition, we estimate that the app usage violation rate is less than 2%, compared to the actual HOV violation rate in our legacy HOV system of over 30%.

We couldn’t be happier with the way the system is working. In addition to using it for occupancy verification, we continue to discuss new ways to use it to help improve mobility, provide transportation options, and reward commuter travel behavior such as taking alternate modes or traveling outside of the peak periods.

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LESSONS: TRANSITION FROM ENFORCEMENT TO VERIFICATION

People willing to pay toll if HOV discount convenient to acquire

Enforcement officers attend to other duties

Reduced demand on court system

High user satisfaction

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GoCarma APPLICATIONS

Occupancy Verification

Travel Demand Management and Travel Behavior Incentives

Road User Charge (RUC) Pilot

App-Based Solutions for Travel Verification Activities

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MULTI-DIMENSIONAL PRICING/CREDITING

Location

Lane Detection

Day/Time

Vehicle Occupancy

Duration

Distance

Vehicle Classification

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Image: NCTCOG

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TRAVEL BEHAVIOR �AND�DEMAND MANAGEMENT APPLICATIONS

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Road Use Charging (RUC)/ Mileage-Based User Fees (MBUF)

Gantry-Less Tolling

Congestion Pricing

Special Events Routing

Parking Charges

Modal Shift Behavior

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STSFA PILOT PROJECT

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Demonstrate the reliability of smartphone-based pricing/crediting at target geofenced locations in the DFW region.

Identify evidence-based policy recommendations regarding implementation design, public acceptance, revenue allocation, preservation of personal privacy, and equity.

Explore the potential for market-based congestion mitigation on targeted non-tolled roadway locations in the DFW region.

Determine the ease of compliance for different users of the system.

Confirm the administrative burden of implementing the user-based alternative revenue mechanism.

To demonstrate the potential for an app-based alternative mechanism to maintain the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund, including to:

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ROAD USER CHARGE (RUC) PILOT

TRAVEL DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS

ACCOUNTING FRAMEWORK

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Geofence(s) defined for target corridors in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex.

GoCarma smartphone app configured to generate road transaction data.

Road transaction data extended to include a wide set of dynamic variables.

Analysis of travel data to assess potential road pricing variables.

Identification of travel behavior to be incentivized.

Tools for visualizing travel pattern data and potential road pricing model.

Application of in-app road user incentives for target behavior.

Tools for modeling and reporting on road pricing/incentives.

Engagement with road users to assess opinions of smartphone-based approach.

Comparative analysis with alternative mechanisms (cost, admin burden, etc).

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CONTACT US

Dan Lamers

Senior Project Manager

North Central Texas Council of Governments

dlamers@nctcog.org | 817-608-2346

Paul Steinberg

Chief Business Officer

Carma

paul.steinberg@gocarma.com | 408-540-9942

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