Del Plum to extend hybrid exemption
Printed From: Slug-Lines.com
Category: Archived Slugging Topics
Forum Name: Hybrids
Forum Description: This area is devoted to the discussion of hybrid vehicles and their impact to the HOV.
URL: http://www.slug-lines.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=2530
Printed Date: 25 Apr 2024 at 3:22pm
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.10 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: Del Plum to extend hybrid exemption
Posted By: duckduffer
Subject: Del Plum to extend hybrid exemption
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2006 at 3:44am
Will surfing the Wash Post I found this article. Please contact Del Plum and your State representatives.. We can not let this happen. Please feel free to contact me at SaveHOV@direcway.com. Please pass this on!!
Delegate Wants Hybrids to Keep HOV Exemption
By Ron Shaffer
Thursday, December 29, 2005; Page VA11
Dear Dr. Gridlock:
I will be introducing a bill in the 2006 session of the Virginia
General Assembly to extend the exemption for hybrid vehicles using the HOV lanes.
A bill I introduced several years ago put the current exemption in place.
Please encourage your readers to write to their delegates and senators asking them to vote for my bill.
I hope the legislature follows your advice that we extend the exemption and crack down on the cheaters.
Del. Kenneth R. Plum (D-Reston)[:(!]
|
Replies:
Posted By: Luddite
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2006 at 10:15am
|
Hello? There are 10 bills in the General Assembly related to HOV. HB 494, 717, 843, 876 and SB14 provide for the exemption to expire in July, 06. All of the others propose to extend the exemption. Call your legislator. They're all in Richmond now. If the extension is passed HOV on 395 is all but finished. Pretty darn bad now with 20% hybrids. Remember, hybrids won't be prevented from using HOV, they'll just have to have 3 people. Very simple.
|
Posted By: NoSUV
Date Posted: 26 Jan 2006 at 4:16pm
There are no legislators willing to allow the exemption to expire. At least, none that I have found. My delegate has specifically endorsed extending the exemption, as has Gov Kaine.
Key remains that express lanes move at or above speed limit during peak commuting hours - and that's with cheaters and hybrids. Regular lanes routinely average 35 mph less.
Most likely is a year by year extention until the express lanes are converted to HOT. If then.
With the huge momentum for extending the exemption, your best bet is to support 309 for the only 1 year extention. Otherwise, the vote might go for 604 (2 years) or 1248 (forever). Going for expiration now is like voting for the Socialist Party during the next Presidential election - you're wasting your vote instead of making an impact.
|
Posted By: Luddite
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2006 at 9:41am
NoSUV,
Your probably correct. Its been since the holidays that we have made an unimpeded trip on HOV in a.m. or p.m.
But...do you suppose the VDOT study that suggested the hybrid extension be allowed to expire in July 06 will have any impact on the committee meetings?
|
Posted By: Bob
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2006 at 12:14pm
He is trying to create the impression that slugs are the only ones that think the exemption should end. The VDOT task force in 2004 and again in 2005 stated strongly that the exemption should end on 95 this year as scheduled. State law enforcement agencies and the Feds also stated strongly in that report that they were concerned about clogging by hybrids and that the exemption should end. The politics are one thing, but let's not pretend that there is no problem or that VDOT and others aren't concerned.
|
Posted By: dickboyd
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2006 at 1:09pm
quote:
Originally posted by NoSUV
[br]There are no legislators willing to allow the exemption to expire. At least, none that I have found. My delegate has specifically endorsed extending the exemption, as has Gov Kaine.
Key remains that express lanes move at or above speed limit during peak commuting hours - and that's with cheaters and hybrids. Regular lanes routinely average 35 mph less.
Most likely is a year by year extention until the express lanes are converted to HOT. If then.
With the huge momentum for extending the exemption, your best bet is to support 309 for the only 1 year extention. Otherwise, the vote might go for 604 (2 years) or 1248 (forever). Going for expiration now is like voting for the Socialist Party during the next Presidential election - you're wasting your vote instead of making an impact.
Stick to your guns. Wrong is wrong. Allow one more year exemption for drive alones hybrids? That's the same as a resounding endorsement for operating the reversible lanes at "capacity". Capacity is unstable, wastes time and will kill slugging.
Ask for an effort from the politcians to recruit more passengers. MORE PASSENGERS.
dickboyd@aol.com
|
Posted By: N_or_S_bound
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2006 at 1:56pm
I wonder how many who post on this exemption issue have written to their elected politico to request an end to the exemption?
Just curious?
NoSb
SOV because you can, HOV because you care!
|
Posted By: NoSUV
Date Posted: 27 Jan 2006 at 3:53pm
I can tell you that I've written to not only my delegate (Bulova), but others (like McQuigg) and all have endorsed extending the exemption. They agree that the express lanes are unclogged, traveling at or above the speed limit most of the time. compared to regular lanes, which are on the average 35 mph below the speed limit.
They agree with Dick Boyd that wrong is wrong - and wrong is NOT extending the exemption.
BTW, most folks seem to think the VDOT study was flawed. Clearly, those in Richmond do!
|
Posted By: duckduffer
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2006 at 10:41am
Well Folks.. we need to post signs at the slug lots.. We need to pass out this info to our fellow slugs... When stading in line or in the cars.. take a minute to tell people... Even have the email addresses ready
You can find their address here:
Delegates - http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/MWebsiteTL?OpenView
Senators -http://sov.state.va.us/SenatorDB.nsf/$$Viewtemplate+for+WMembershipHome?OpenForm
Not sure who (and this is a shame if you do not know who you are voting for!) - http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform
|
Posted By: Jerry Seinfeld
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2006 at 11:45am
Posted By: NoSUV
Date Posted: 30 Jan 2006 at 11:50am
quote:
Originally posted by duckduffer
[br]Well Folks.. we need to post signs at the slug lots.. We need to pass out this info to our fellow slugs... When stading in line or in the cars.. take a minute to tell people... Even have the email addresses ready
You can find their address here:
Delegates - http://dela.state.va.us/dela/MemBios.nsf/MWebsiteTL?OpenView
Senators -http://sov.state.va.us/SenatorDB.nsf/$$Viewtemplate+for+WMembershipHome?OpenForm
Not sure who (and this is a shame if you do not know who you are voting for!) - http://conview.state.va.us/whosmy.nsf/main?openform
Remember, while it's vital to contact your Delegate and Senator, you should also contact several others - after all, the overwhelming consensus in Richmond is to extend the exemption, and the one vote of your representative, even if you convince him/her, is unlikely to be enough.
|
Posted By: glc
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2006 at 2:45pm
|
As regards to the Hybrid exemption, we should not let the perfect stand in the way of the good. The politics is against letting the the exemption sunset. You piss off the regular lane drivers and you piss off the hybrid owners - this does not make for good re-election efforts. We may want to find middle ground in having someone introduce a bill that would grandfather in all existing hybrid owners and bar any new entries after 2006. Half a loaf is better then none. Any comments?
|
Posted By: NoSUV
Date Posted: 31 Jan 2006 at 4:44pm
You may be on to something, glc. Assuming that hybrid owners bought them primarily to get out of slugging (now, why would they do that if it's so good?), then they likely have enough money to influence legislative votes.
Once upon a time I thought slugs and hybrid owners would be a gool alliance against toll roads, but slugs thought differently. Again, if hybrid owners can afford to buy their way out of slugging, then clearly they can pay tolls. Once again, uncompromising attitudes by the slug community only backfired.
|
Posted By: MDC
Date Posted: 01 Feb 2006 at 8:38am
|
They do that because it's available as a no-effort option. You ignore the fact that carpooling, bus riding, and slugging, takes more time than the drive itself. A hybrid driver can easily save 15 minutes per trip simply by driving their own hybrid instead of a carpool. A lot of people will do that regardless of the impact on other commuters.
|
Posted By: coulbc
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2006 at 8:23am
|
I think Hybrids are here to stay. It really defeats the whole purpose of carpooling. All it does is put more cars on the road.
|
Posted By: rale
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2006 at 8:24am
|
I'm on the HOV lane most mornings at approx. 6:15pm. There is always a back up in the HOV lanes starting near Woodbridge and going all the way to Springfield. Many mornings, at around Lorton, the regular lanes are going faster than the HOV lanes. I guess my point is how can the ever-growing congestion in the HOV lanes be ignored by our politians when making such decisions? What am I missing? The HOV congestion is only getting worse. I am totally baffled that anyone would even have to think twice about the hybrid issue. If the idea is to get more cars off the road to lessen congestion, how do hybrids and certain excepted government vehicles carrying only the driver help the congestion? My thought after reading all this is never to vote for these politicians again. What kind of thinking is this? It certainly does not promote carpooling.
|
Posted By: Sheepish
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2006 at 10:01am
I enter the lanes consistently at 7:15 at the Dale City entrance. Like you rale, I agree that this is getting worse as the congestion in HOV lanes is often starting just over the hill, prior to the PWC Parkway entrance. So those out there that leave an hour earlier and experience these backups, let me assure you, it continues for the later travelers too.
I also am curious as to the thoughts of Hybrid drivers and their reasons as to why think the lanes are now so clogged..... especially since the HOV lanes are fast turning into the main lanes.... Their commute is slowing down too..... yeah sure, it might still be a little faster right now-- but didn't another car maker just announce new hybrids coming soon--- hmmmmm bigger SUV size.....
It's a mind set change that needs to occur here .... I've argued this before... and the politicians who haven't a clue need to make the biggest mindset change of all!
|
Posted By: VA4ver
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2006 at 1:11pm
I wonder if the exemptions continue for another year, will there be more hybrid SUVs on the lanes?
Any word on the tolls lanes? I wonder if the delegates just aren't going to change anything because the tolls are coming soon.
|
Posted By: Bob
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2006 at 2:49pm
Of course. Keep in mind that the HOT lane only affects us in Northern Virginia. If they can manage to string out the hybrid exemption until the hybrids are kicked out by HOT (unfortunateley for them they will not be able to do that), then they will have accomplished foisting HOT lanes on us, end the hybrid issue in N VA , and allow hybrids on HOV in South VA.
Great plan huh?
|
Posted By: MDC
Date Posted: 02 Feb 2006 at 4:03pm
|
Wasn't there a bill or two that prohibit converting HOV to HOT?
|
|