LA and the federal government have signed an agreement for LA to get $213.6 million in federal funds to convert some HOV lanes around the metro area to toll express lanes. It is a big and very exciting project to convert HOV lanes that do little good into a set of lanes that could really give people and option to the stop and go congested trip when they need it. These lanes could be the foundation for conversions throughout the network. A region wide network of such toll lanes could a) allow transit buses to get out of congestion and provide better service, b) allow people to go around congestion when they need to and are willing to pay a toll. The experience with the Riverside to Orange County 91 Express toll lanes shows that people from all income levels are sometimes willing to pay the toll to avoid congestion. Public support for those lanes is very high. Peter Samuel dissects all the details of LA’s plan here.