Wake Up People! HOT lanes

Welcome to the argument JoanA.

It all seems so logical from this POV, the system is a huge success, so why mes with it, right!? But when you consider the POVs of the money hungry politician (who would rather look for new sources of revenue than become accountable for current excessive spending), or the road construction contractor (who couldn't care less about the success of the free HOV lane system), or the wealthy commuter (who would rather pay a toll than pick up a 'dirty slug' and can afford to pay) HOT lanes make sense. Unfortunately, none of these people gives a rats ass about those who the HOV lanes were built to serve; the everyday, middle class, tax paying commuter. Yes, that's you and I. And we are being left in the dust of the politician, contractor and wealthy commuters.

As I said, welcome to the argument!

My issue with the toll option is that there is no way to ensure carpools will be given free access unless a.) there are actual tollbooths to check carpool status, which will slow the commute, or b.) carpools have to register in advance for a special decal, which would defeat the purpose of informal carpooling.

Letter on main op-ed page of Post today: Great!



Going the Wrong Way


Friday, November 11, 2005; Page A24

The Virginia Department of Transportation is considering a proposal from a private company to abandon the high-occupancy-vehicle lanes on Interstates 95 and 395 in favor of express toll lanes [Metro, Nov. 2].

In recent years, authorities have had little success in improving traffic flow, with one notable exception -- the HOV and bus lanes on I-95 and I-395 in Virginia. They have functioned well for 25 years, moving tens of thousands of people out of their cars and into buses or carpools. These lanes have even created the phenomenon called "slugging," in which drivers pick up passengers in the morning at commuter lots and in the evening around the District to qualify for the three-person requirement of the HOV lanes.


But VDOT would apparently throw this success to the wind by making the high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes so popular that carpoolers would be squeezed out, even if they could use the lanes for free.

That would not be wise. What about reducing air pollution and conserving fuel? What about providing the incentive of speedier commutes through carpools or buses? What about people who can't afford the tolls? Their taxes support these toll lanes, too. Whatever private company builds and operates the toll lanes also will retain the revenue, so the tolls will not be returned to the state for further road improvement.

The Northern Virginia suburbs are affluent, and many residents may be willing to pay as much as $5 to drive alone in a toll lane -- so many, in fact, that the lanes could clog up and be little faster than the free lanes.

VDOT should look for long-term solutions to congestion that further the use of mass transit, buses and carpools. Meanwhile, it should leave the carpool and bus lanes on I-95 and I-395 alone.

I cannot believe that Northern Virginia commuters that use this HOV system are going to just sit back and let this happen. This is flat out going to ruin the most successful HOV corridor in the country. I would venture a guess that 95 percent of politicians and journalists have not even spent five minutes looking at what is actually being proposed here. Wake up! There is not enough spare capacity on this road for toll vehicles NOW, much less in 10 or 20 years. We are being taken for a ride, big time. HOT conversions of successful HOV systems should be illegal under federal law since these are interstates. HOT conversions are totally different from HOT new-builds.

Sponge,

Thanks for looking this up. I have put a lot of thought into this and I think I understand a little more. The thing is so complex it is difficult to get a handle on even the terminology. But when, for example Clark says that the toll will not change, I think what they mean is that when you get on in Fredericksburg (in 2020 or whenever) you will have a sign that says toll to Pentagon $22. That is what they mean when they say it is fixed. The trip cost to the Pentagon will be fixed, but it will consist of 20? different segments, each of which has its own toll rate. So when you enter at Fredericksburg, the computer freezes all the segments ahead. This means that you could be paying less than the guy next to you. That is what they mean with fixed.