What do you guys think of pay to use lanes on major freeways??

[JulesMaximus]

We have some of these in the SoCal region and at first I was kind of against the idea but having used one for a couple years now I'm a huge proponent.

I commute up and down the 15 freeway in North County San Diego every day during rush hour traffic and they have 4 lanes of HOV/Fastrak available with the ability to move the center divider over 1 lane during peak use (closing down a lane in the other direction) to accommodate more traffic. HOV is free to those with two or more people (and to motorcycles) but single occupant vehicles can also use these lanes as long you have a Fastrak pass and the lanes aren't marked HOV only.

I'm a huge fan as I hate sitting in stop and go traffic so I'll gladly pay the couple bucks it costs to use the Fastrak lanes and bypass the traffic.

I used to commute through this corridor back in the early 2000s and traffic was MUCH worse before they built the HOV lanes. Now the 5 freeway has become the worst commuting corridor in San Diego.

 

[JulesMaximus]

Just to clarify, there are 5 lanes of regular freeway in each direction you can use for free but they are always stop and go during rush hour. The HOV lanes are separate and you can only use them if you are carpooling or paying for the Fastrak pass (billing is automatic, there are sensors that detect your presence and charge you according to how far you traveled in the HOV lanes). There are also signs at entrance points telling you what the maximum fee for use is or if the lanes are closed to Fastrak customers, they are marked HOV only.

Fines for traveling in the HOV lanes without a pass or non-carpool are expensive and frequently patrolled so I'd say compliance is probably pretty high. They can tell what time you entered, how fast you were going at each checkpoint and what time you exited. So far, they do not issue speeding tickets based on the data they collect.

 

[keird]

In New England toll roads are common. We're transitioning to completely removing toll booths/cash and replacing with transponder only roads. Accidents will still effect everyone in the affected area. Tolls have no noticeable effect on traffic. This is likely because anyone who's using it, needs to.

If the government widened the road in order to make an HOV lane along a non-toll road. They would 'regrettably' be forced to make the whole thing a toll road even after they raised every resident's taxes. Trust me, the Mass Turnpike is one of the most expensive highways in the country requiring something like a million dollars to maintain each mile of the 138 mile road every year. Taxes, tolls and gas tax. I hate my state's addiction to money.

 

[EOM]

They've got 'em in the Bay Area CA, too. I think it's a joke. They already taxed us to put the lanes in, now they want to reduce overall traffic flow to allow an elite few that can afford to pay for it. Now the poor have to sit in even MORE traffic trying to get by...

 

[deadlyapp]

I'm a fan of them - I use them on the 110 every day. It encourages carpooling which I think is the main benefit. I do wish they'd completely open them during off-peak periods but I understand why they wouldn't.

 

[Newbian]

The problem is unless they built a extra road / lane for this purpose only you are taking away lanes from normal drivers.

Carpooling lanes are fine but expecting for tax payers to pay for the roads to begin with and then charge them to use them also sounds horrible.

 

[JulesMaximus]

The problem is unless they built a extra road / lane for this purpose only you are taking away lanes from normal drivers.

Carpooling lanes are fine but expecting for tax payers to pay for the roads to begin with and then charge them to use them also sounds horrible.

They built an extra 4 lanes, two in each direction with a moveable barrier in the middle so they can close down a lane in the off traffic direction and add a lane in the other.

The main freeway has 5 toll free lanes in each direction in addition to the HOV lanes.

And it has eased congestion on that freeway for everyone.

 

[maddogchen]

pay more to get to work faster? why?

its better to get to work late and complain about the traffic and then leave early to beat the traffic LOL

 

[Homerboy]

pay more to get to work faster? why?

its better to get to work late and complain about the traffic and then leave early to beat the traffic LOL

Don't forget the inverse excuse of "I need to leave to leave work early today to beat traffic on the way home"

 

[SeductivePig]

pay more to get to work faster? why?

its better to get to work late and complain about the traffic and then leave early to beat the traffic LOL

This is actually what I do lol

 

[Red Squirrel]

If I was stuck living in a high density populated area and had to commute these highways every day I probably would pay if it was reasonable. I'd time it to see how much time I really save and then decide from there.

 

[purbeast0]

they have some on 495 in the DMV area and i'd never use them simply because i would never take a job that required going on that road to work lol. i've heard it can be as much as like $9 to go like 12 miles depending on the time of day and traffic.

i do however take a toll road to work that probably costs me like $1.50 a day and probably only saves 3-5 minutes. but being on a highway going 80mph instead of being on a 1 and 2 lane road that has red lights is worth the cost.

 

[Imp]

If people want to pay, go for it. I'll stick to my peasant lanes.

It sounds like it's a lane for rich people but we have a toll highway parallel to a public highway here and lots of "poor" people take the toll... then they bitch about having no money after spending hundreds of dollars a month on tolls.

 

[pauldun170]

I look forward to non paying drivers treating the paid lanes as passing lanes.
Just like they do with the hov lanes in our area.

 

[zinfamous]

I'll stick to my peasant bus. 20 minutes to work and back, free.

 

[lxskllr]

There's a new one in MD, and it's a load of shit. It doesn't get much traffic for the millions spent putting it in. They should have kept saving their pennies, and put a train in the median. That would actually reduce congestion and pollution, and is a real solution to the problem.

 

[JulesMaximus]

I look forward to non paying drivers treating the paid lanes as passing lanes.
Just like they do with the hov lanes in our area.

A carpool lane violation is $490 here. And the one I commute on is divided from the main freeway by concrete barriers so once you enter them you're in them for a couple miles.

 

[ElFenix]

if the tolls were implemented in order to get the whole project done faster, then i'm in favor. otherwise, you're just double-dipping tax payers.

 

[rh71]

How much do you pay a day on avg? I wouldn't go higher than $2-3 a day extra and that's already a bit much IMO. I am already paying for roads thru taxes and my own gas.

It's kind of crazy how you have 5 lanes each direction of stop & go. We have 3 + HOV here and wish we even had 5 lanes... I am guessing your public transit isn't used as much as here. Also sometimes the HOV with 2+ passengers in them are also jammed up so it may not even pay to pay.

 

[JulesMaximus]

How much do you pay a day on avg? I wouldn't go higher than $2-3 a day extra and that's already a bit much IMO. I am already paying for roads thru taxes and my own gas.

It's kind of crazy how you have 5 lanes each direction of stop & go. We have 3 + HOV here and wish we even had 5 lanes... I am guessing your public transit isn't used as much as here. Also sometimes the HOV with 2+ passengers in them are also jammed up so it may not even pay to pay.

Public transit is almost non-existent. I'm not even sure if it's possible to get from my house to where I work via public transportation. If there is it would take hours each direction.

I don't use it every single day. On the days I ride the motorcycle it is free but I'd say when I'm not commuting much by bike I spend at least $80-90/month on tolls.

if the tolls were implemented in order to get the whole project done faster, then i'm in favor. otherwise, you're just double-dipping tax payers.

It's free for people car pooling. I'm fine with government subsidizing that and I have done the carpool thing when it is convenient for me. I'm pretty flexible and so is my job but finding people who live nearby and have the same hours (and work at the same company) has not always been easy.

It is nice to be able to take advantage of the HOV lanes when I'm on the motorcycle. I think it is safer for motorcyclists to be moving with the flow of traffic than filtering through gridlock or sitting in stop and go traffic.

 

[Imp]

A carpool lane violation is $490 here. And the one I commute on is divided from the main freeway by concrete barriers so once you enter them you're in them for a couple miles.

We use scary solid lines here... don't enter/exit the carpool lane unless you have broken lines!!!

They're pretty hardcore about ticketing violators.

 

[JulesMaximus]

We use scary solid lines here... don't enter/exit the carpool lane unless you have broken lines!!!

They're pretty hardcore about ticketing violators.

Many of the carpool lanes in LA and Orange County use the scary solid lines too and you really don't want to cut in and out of them in front of CHP because they will definitely ticket your for that. Still, it doesn't seem to deter people too much.

 

[RockinZ28]

I'd be ok with it. When I moved out of SoCal in 2013 all the freeways I regularly traveled with a carpool lane didn't have the option for pay to use. And the last few months I was there was so sick of the traffic I just began using them by myself regardless. Wasted so much of my damn life sitting in traffic would gladly pay the fine if caught. Thankfully never was, and now live 2 miles from the office in a small midwest town.

If I were to move back, I'd definitely be asking for a company paid transponder to go along with my company vehicle.

 

[pete6032]

In New England toll roads are common. We're transitioning to completely removing toll booths/cash and replacing with transponder only roads. Accidents will still effect everyone in the affected area. Tolls have no noticeable effect on traffic. This is likely because anyone who's using it, needs to.

If the government widened the road in order to make an HOV lane along a non-toll road. They would 'regrettably' be forced to make the whole thing a toll road even after they raised every resident's taxes. Trust me, the Mass Turnpike is one of the most expensive highways in the country requiring something like a million dollars to maintain each mile of the 138 mile road every year. Taxes, tolls and gas tax. I hate my state's addiction to money.

How should the roads be paid for?

 

[SSSnail]

I think it's bullshit money grab, and hypocritical of the whole idea of HOV Lane in the first place.

Hey Pete6032, we're already paying for the roads with registration fees and gasoline tax. Stop being a victim.