Barrier Separated: Barrier separated managed lanes (either HOT or TOT) are lanes located within the highway right-of-way but physically separated from general-purpose traffic lanes by concrete barriers.

Carpool Lane: A term used to refer to high-occupancy vehicle lanes in some regions.

Diamond Lane: A term used to refer to high-occupancy vehicle lanes in some regions.

Direct Access Ramps: Highway access ramps providing exclusive entry and exit to managed lanes for eligible vehicles (e.g., high occupancy vehicles or other toll-paying customers in HOT lanes).

Dynamic Tolling: A system in which tolls vary in real time in response to changing congestion levels, as opposed to variable tolling that follows a fixed schedule.

Electronic Toll Collection (ETC): Systems deploying various communications and electronic technologies to support the automated collection of payment at toll booths and other collection points. Collectively, the application of these technologies increase system throughput, improve customer service, enhance safety, and reduce environmental impacts.

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Fixed Schedule Tolling: Fixed scheduled tolling is a system in which tolls are assessed based on a pre-determined schedule. Fixed scheduled tolls may be based on the time of day in response to peak congestion periods in which there is high demand.

General-Purpose Lanes: General-purpose lanes are lanes that accommodate all types of vehicular traffic on the highway.

HOT (High Occupancy/Toll) Lane: HOT lanes are highway lanes that provide free or reduced cost access to HOVs, and also make excess capacity available to other vehicles not meeting occupancy requirements (typically single-occupant vehicles) at a market price. See “About HOTs & TOTs” for more information.

HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle): A passenger vehicle carrying more than a specified minimum number of passengers, such as an automobile carrying more than one or more than two people. HOVs include carpools and vanpools, as well as buses.

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HOV (High-Occupancy Vehicle) Lane: An exclusive traffic lane or facility limited to carrying HOVs and certain other qualified vehicles. Motorcycles and certified clean fuel vehicles are permitted access to HOV lanes in the State of Georgia.

HOV-2: A high-occupancy vehicle lane requiring two-person (or more) carpools for access.

HOV-3: A high-occupancy vehicle lane requiring three-person (or more) carpools for access.

Indirect Access Points: Access points (entry and exit) or openings from the general purpose lanes to managed lanes for eligible vehicles (e.g., high-occupancy vehicles or other toll-paying customers in HOT lanes).

Intelligent Transportation Systems (ITS): A broad range of diverse technologies such as information processing, communications, control, and electronics which can help transportation systems in many ways, including congestion management.

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Lane Management Tools:

Access: Limiting or metering vehicle ingress to the lane or spacing access so that demand cannot overwhelm HOT lane capacity. See also Limited Access.

Eligibility: Limiting lane use to specific types of users, such as HOVs, motorcycles, low emission vehicles, or trucks. For most typical HOT lane settings, eligibility requirements would be used during selected hours or at specific access ramps.

Pricing: Imposing a user fee on a lane that helps regulate demand by time of day or day of week. The fee increases during periods of highest demand.

Level-of-Service (LOS): Also knows as “Traffic Service,” LOS is a qualitative measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream. LOS assesses conditions in terms of speed and travel time, freedom to maneuver, traffic interruptions, comfort and convenience, and safety. Six levels of service are defined by letter designations from A to F, with LOS A representing the best operating conditions, and LOS F the worst.

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Limited Access: A limited access highway is a divided highway designed for high-speed travel with specific vehicular access entrance and exit points rather than intersections.

Managed Lane: A lane that combines various operational and design elements in order to achieve goals, such as increased highway efficiency and/or revenue generation, by managing access via user group, pricing, or other criteria. A managed lane facility typically provides improved travel conditions to eligible users.

Mileage-Based Fee: A vehicular toll based on the vehicle miles traveled (VMT) in the jurisdiction.

Single Occupant Vehicle (SOV): A vehicle in which the driver is the lone occupant.

Time-of-Day Tolling: Facility tolls that vary by time-of-day in response to varying congestion levels. Typically, such tolls are higher during peak periods when the congestion is most severe. Signs indicate the current charge to drivers so they may decide whether or not to enter the lane(s). Many sectors of the economy (telephone, electric utilities, and airlines) use such pricing to manage demand within the available capacity.

Toll Road: A road or section of road where motorists are charged a fee (or toll).

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Transponder: An electronic tag, placed inside or on a vehicle, or built into a vehicle, that is read by an electronic tolling device. The tag is read electronically by an electronic tolling device that automatically assesses the amount of the user fee. The Georgia 400 “Cruise Card” is an example of a transponder.

Truck Only Lane (TOL): A lane separated from general-purpose traffic and restricted for use only by authorized truck types.

Truck Only Toll (TOT) Lane: TOT lanes are toll or fee based facilities restricted to use only by authorized truck types. See “About HOTs & TOTs” for more information (hyperlink).

Value Pricing: Value Pricing refers to the use of tolls or fees that vary based on congestion levels in order to provide congestion relief and environmental benefits by either taking advantage of excess roadway capacity or using pricing to control over-capacity managed lanes.

Variable Message Signs (VMS): Electronic signage that employs ITS technology and centralized control systems to change messages in real time, providing motorists with timely and useful information.

Variable Tolling: Time-of-day pricing and tolls that vary by other factors like facility location, season, day-of-week, air quality impact, or available capacity in the managed lane(s) Signs indicate the current charge to drivers so they may decide whether or not to enter the lane(s).

Vehicle Hours Traveled (VHT): Total vehicle hours expended traveling on the roadway network in a specified area during a specified time period.

Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT): The measurement of the total miles traveled by all vehicles in a specified area during a specified time.

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