Using Toll Revenues for Transit: It Can and Should be Done

Roadway pricing is a widely used strategy to manage congestion and its associated impacts including increased travel times and pollution. While pricing or tolling approaches vary—ranging from facility-based tolling to cordon pricing, with rates that may be fixed, time-of-day-based, or dynamically adjusted—many of these approaches have consistently proven effective at reducing traffic. When implemented efficiently, tolling not only improves traffic flow but also generates revenue that exceeds the costs of operating the toll facility. This raises a critical question for policymakers and toll operators: How should these revenues be used?

Public transit operations frequently emerge as a natural and beneficial investment, yet questions remain about the policy merits and legal pathways for using toll revenues in this way. In the United States, despite the presence of legal mechanisms allowing toll revenues to support transit, uncertainty and perceived regulatory barriers often deter agencies from pursuing this option.

This paper addresses both the policy rationale and legal framework for using toll revenues to fund transit operations. First, we examine why reinvesting toll revenues into transit is an effective strategy for improving transportation system performance on a variety of metrics. Next, we explore the legal history of tolling in the U.S., demonstrating how federal law has evolved to enable toll revenues to fund transit operations. Finally, we present case studies of American agencies that have successfully implemented this approach across a range of toll facility types, highlighting key lessons and performance outcomes.

With limited federal guidance on this issue, state and local agencies must be prepared to justify and defend their decisions to use toll revenues for transit. The examples presented—from the Golden Gate Bridge to Virginia’s Express Lanes—demonstrate that this practice is not only legally viable but has consistently delivered positive transportation outcomes. By providing a clear explanation of the policy rationale, legal basis, and real-world applications of toll revenue reinvestment, this paper aims to equip policymakers and practitioners with the information needed to advance these efforts with confidence.