CA - Pay to drive in the carpool lane if you're a solo driver

[dammitgibs]

http://www.bayareafastrak.org/static/news/index.shtml

The Bay Area's first Express Lane opened September 20 on a 14-mile stretch of southbound I-680 between Pleasanton and Milpitas. The lane, part of a long-term plan to improve traffic flow, allows solo drivers to choose to use the carpool lane by paying a toll electronically via a FasTrak toll tag. Carpools continue to use the lane for free. Toll costs vary based on real-time traffic levels on the Express Lane to ensure that traffic in the lane flows smoothly. The lane operates from 5 a.m. to 8 p.m. Mondays to Fridays. For more information, go to:
http://www.680expresslane.org.

So not sure how long this has been this way I've been gone for months and just noticed it today. Not quite sure how to feel about this but I have a feeling it should make me mad. The whole point of the carpool lane is to encourage carpooling, less traffic on the road, etc. Now they're turning it into somewhat of a "if you're rich you can drive in this special pay lane." Does this exist elsewhere in the country?

 

[RedChief]

This isn't new. Southern California has had this for years.

 

[dammitgibs]

This isn't new. Southern California has had this for years.

Ahhh, that explains it, the progressive-ism is spreading North

 

[ShawnD1]

So not sure how long this has been this way I've been gone for months and just noticed it today. Not quite sure how to feel about this but I have a feeling it should make me mad. The whole point of the carpool lane is to encourage carpooling, less traffic on the road, etc. Now they're turning it into somewhat of a "if you're rich you can drive in this special pay lane." Does this exist elsewhere in the country?

Not quite the same, but apparently some parts of California let you drive in the carpool lane if you're in a hybrid car. That makes perfect sense because hybrid cars do not contribute to traffic congestion and are actually better than carpooling.... wait... wtf? Someone needs to die over this.

I remember Top Gear mentioning something similar about London and a congestion tax. Cars below a certain pollution threshold don't need to pay a traffic congestion tax for driving within the downtown part of the city between certain hours. Again, how the hell does that make any sense? Congestion is congestion. If you're adding to congestion, you should pay the congestion tax.

It's bullshit.

 

[BoberFett]

Lots of places do this. Of the things that annoy me about government, this one is so far down the list that I simply can't get excited about it.

 

[dammitgibs]

Oh yah I remember that hybrid bullshit, just goes to show that the legislature is bought and paid for. I guess this is kinda the same thing except this time instead of boosting up the hybrid vehicle market they're increasing revenues at the expense of not decreasing congestion. Oh california you so crazy

 

[senseamp]

I say the more people we get into carpool lane, the less traffic left in the other lanes. If they pay the state for the privilege, even better.

 

[ShawnD1]

I say the more people we get into carpool lane, the less traffic left in the other lanes. If they pay the state for the privilege, even better.

My city has this awesome thing where there are dedicated bus lanes. It's not a carpool lane. Only buses are allowed in that lane. Taking the bus downtown takes like 15 minutes but driving there takes at least an hour. it's a really good reason to take the bus if you work downtown.

 

[rockyct]

Ahhh, that explains it, the progressive-ism is spreading North

Uhh...Orange County and San Diego County aren't exactly the progressive strongholds of California. If anything this is the privatization of freeways. In San Diego, the 15 has had a 2 lane carpool/fast track system set up for years. It works great as the lanes are open for southbound traffic in the morning and northbound traffic in the evening. It's worked so well, they are in the middle of a project that will eventually extend the lanes all the way to Escondido.

Think of it this way, the people willing to pay $5 a trip help subsidize the carpool people.

 

[Monster_Munch]

I remember Top Gear mentioning something similar about London and a congestion tax. Cars below a certain pollution threshold don't need to pay a traffic congestion tax for driving within the downtown part of the city between certain hours. Again, how the hell does that make any sense? Congestion is congestion. If you're adding to congestion, you should pay the congestion tax.

It's bullshit.

The congestion charge is free if you have a hybrid or other low emissions vehicle. But I think you have to pay double if you drive an SUV. The UK government is/was supposed to be progressive, but most of our vehicle and fuel taxes just mean that only rich people can drive nice cars.

 

[GoSharks]

So not sure how long this has been this way I've been gone for months and just noticed it today.

Way to read the first line of your quoted text.

 

[dammitgibs]

Think of it this way, the people willing to pay $5 a trip help subsidize the carpool people.

Yah that's the other thing I was thinking about, then I thought "well great my taxes will go down because they increased the revenues to pay for the freeway system" then I laughed at myself for being an idiot

 

[RaistlinZ]

It's just a way for the state to generate more income. Nothing new if you've lived in So.Cal.

 

[child of wonder]

Minneapolis, MN, does this. It wouldn't piss me off if the busiest interstate in the entire metro area that runs north and south had more than 2 lanes remaining after this "MNPass" lane.

Too often traffic in the two lanes is near a dead stop and the "MNPass" lane is almost empty. Then I get really upset when I come to find out the whole reason traffic is so slow is because a cop pulled someone over for speeding and MN law is that you must move over to the farthest lane or slow WAY down when passing a stopped law enforcement vehicle.

 

[Genx87]

Minnesota has been doing this for years.

 

[Genx87]

Minneapolis, MN, does this. It wouldn't piss me off if the busiest interstate in the entire metro area that runs north and south had more than 2 lanes remaining after this "MNPass" lane.

Too often traffic in the two lanes is near a dead stop and the "MNPass" lane is almost empty. Then I get really upset when I come to find out the whole reason traffic is so slow is because a cop pulled someone over for speeding and MN law is that you must move over to the farthest lane or slow WAY down when passing a stopped law enforcement vehicle.

Yup, our state govt creates a problem of congestion by underfunding highway construction, then tries to sell us a pass out of it. The speeding issue pisses me off. Honestly wouldnt mind making it a law that the cops can only pull over people for "speeding bettern 6-9 AM and 3-6PM if they are reckless drivers. The amount of wasted production because of the traffic backup because the cop has somebody pulled over for going 5 over the speed limit outweighs the benefit imo.

 

[PingSpike]

My city has this awesome thing where there are dedicated bus lanes. It's not a carpool lane. Only buses are allowed in that lane. Taking the bus downtown takes like 15 minutes but driving there takes at least an hour. it's a really good reason to take the bus if you work downtown.

Don't worry, I'm sure as soon as some one tries to fill the pension hole or wants to build a new water park they'll start charging for using that lane and the bus will go back to taking twice as long as driving.

Our state just has the regular story. Year after year there just wasn't enough money to balance the budget and pay for all the new expensive programs so they just diverted money from road maintenance because "that can wait". Well it did wait, and now pretty much all the roads are falling apart and its suddenly a big deal! How could this happen?!

 

[ElFenix]

the HOT lanes running down the middle of I-10 here in houston are what allowed them to build the whole thing in under 5 years as opposed to taking 15 years like all the other freeways around here.

 

[Londo_Jowo]

I've been coming to Houston for the last 15 years and moved down here 2 years ago. Without a doubt wise decisions were made on the highways. The Southwest Freeway (US 59) improvements make for easy travel to and from Houston.

 

[piasabird]

Just get rid of all car pool lanes.

 

[bfdd]

lol a lot of people i know hate going into car pool lanes now when they have multiple people in their car because most the people who own these 1 person carpool vehicles are douche bags who don't know how to drive and think doing 10+ mph under the speed limit in the fast lane just because they have a hybrid or EV is justified. FUCK I HATE THEM. If you don't do within 5 miles of the speed limit, get the fuck off the freeway. Almost every major side street is 40-45, if you want to go that speed don't do it on the freeway.

 

[BoberFett]

It's been a while since I've been out there, but aren't the HOV lanes in Virginia like this also?

 

[Slew Foot]

I still cant figure out how those lanes work, I drive by them every day but I only see a couple of sensors and no cameras. Seems to me it would be wasy to just go in an out of the lanes in between the sensors to avoid the tolls.

 

[ShawnD1]

lol a lot of people i know hate going into car pool lanes now when they have multiple people in their car because most the people who own these 1 person carpool vehicles are douche bags who don't know how to drive and think doing 10+ mph under the speed limit in the fast lane just because they have a hybrid or EV is justified. FUCK I HATE THEM. If you don't do within 5 miles of the speed limit, get the fuck off the freeway. Almost every major side street is 40-45, if you want to go that speed don't do it on the freeway.

It was either yesterday or two days ago where I saw the ultimate thing happen. There's an ambulance in the fast lane trying to get somewhere, and some dick is infront of him, going below the speed limit, and not getting out of that lane. People like that should just be killed. The ambulance could do the pit maneuver on him, crash his car into the guard rail, and just keep going.

 

[PingSpike]

It was either yesterday or two days ago where I saw the ultimate thing happen. There's an ambulance in the fast lane trying to get somewhere, and some dick is infront of him, going below the speed limit, and not getting out of that lane. People like that should just be killed. The ambulance could do the pit maneuver on him, crash his car into the guard rail, and just keep going.

I can't remember if I read it here, or some one from Mass told me this but apparently in Boston people were not getting out of the way of ambulances with their sirens on or otherwise blocking them. So they passed a law saying ambulance drivers could ram cars out of the way and bill them for damage or something like that.