(Source: Transportation Issues Daily, Komonews.com, Seattle Times)

The toll company operating the tolled bridge on Highway 520 in Seattle, WA has published the below infograph, which makes a compelling case to the customers in the region against using the congested bridge on I-90, just a few miles away. Both bridges across Lake Washington connect downtown Seattle with a very large population and employment region. The overall cost savings and reduction in travel times offer a great incentive to the drivers who favor the toll road.

Image Courtesy: TransportationIssuesDaily.com

In addition to the above , the commuters also have another handy decision-making tool – a smartphone app titled “520 or 90” whose tag line sells it easily: “Find out which bridge is faster or cheaper in less than 10 seconds.”

Image Courtesy: 520or90.com

The app creators expect drivers to save 8hrs of travel time per month if they took 520, which may only cost $90/month in tolls, the rough equivalent of a monthly phone bill.  Those who opt to take I-90 may save the $90/month but the trade-off is eight extra hours stuck in traffic.

Local news portal Komonews.com indicates the faster travel times on the toll road 520 were due to a reduction in traffic volume as more driver quit the 520 to save the $$.  It also quoted the researchers at INRIX, a well known traffic data company, saying that before the toll was implemented, I-90 drivers were going twice as fast as their 520 counterparts.

According to Seattle Times, the traffic volume on 520 has dropped of nearly 40% after the implementation of the tolls. It observed that much of the traffic, as expected, shifted to I-90, where volumes were up 20 to 25 percent for the morning but only 3 to 7 percent in the evening.  In addition, the local transit operator (King County Metro) expects ridership on its cross-lake routes to pick up by 15 percent as a result of the tolls, spokeswoman Linda Thielke said. Riders on several routes confirmed buses were more crowded Monday.