Report: Traffic Slower Near Bay Area Express Lanes

Travel time in regular traffic lanes adjacent to a set of new express lanes on Highway 101 in the San Francisco Bay Area is slowing down, according to a report presented to a meeting of San Mateo County cities.

As Michael Cabanatuan explains in the San Francisco Chronicle, drivers on the express lanes travel roughly 11-12 miles per hour faster than drivers in regular lanes. “However, the traffic in the general-use lanes slowed — at some times and in some locations — to less than 30 mph, according to the report. A comparison of reports from the latter half of 2023 versus the first half of 2024 also showed a slight increase in the number of hours in which drivers in the standard lanes experienced slow speeds.”

The state widened the freeway to accommodate the new express lanes, promising faster travel times for everyone using the roadway. “According to the express lanes report, 54% of the cars in the express lanes pay tolls — with 46% paying full toll and 8% paying half — while 41% are carpoolers who claim on their FasTrak toll tags that their vehicle has three or more occupants.”