Tolling and congestion pricing, like many emerging concepts, have evolving definitions of terms which may be used by different people to mean different things. To be clear, we have defined the following terms which are used in the seven white papers and highlights.
Tolling Types
High occupancy toll (HOT) lanes – Travel lanes restricted to either qualifying HOVs or solo drivers willing to pay a toll. The toll typically varies by time of day or traffic levels and is collected electronically.
Managed toll lane - Any toll lane that uses variably priced tolls to maintain superior, less congested travel conditions.
Area/Cordon tolling- Vehicles are charged to travel into or within a high activity center, such as a downtown or business district. Prices may vary by time of day to encourage motorists to enter the zone during less busy times or to use transit.
System tolling - Implementing tolls on all highways and major arterials in a region to reduce congestion, minimize route diversion and increase transportation revenues.
Tolling Approaches
Congestion pricing – An overarching term used to describe measures that reduce congestion by charging drivers tolls that vary by time of day or traffic volumes.
Tolling - Charging a price to use a road, bridge or tunnel.
Flat rate- Toll rates that don’t change.
Variable/dynamic - A toll that changes by time of day, traffic volumes or other factor. Dynamic tolls change in response to real-time conditions.
Electronic tolling - Using technology to collect tolls from drivers without requiring them to stop and make cash payments.
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