Posted on 12/07/2017 3:11:40 AM PST by markomalley
Outraged Washington, D.C.-area commuters and politicians took to social media Tuesday to blast a new tolling scheme on a busy interstate heading from Virginia into the nation’s capital, as fees along the route peaked to an eye-popping $40 during the morning rush hour.
The Interstate-66 tolling plan, which launched Monday, opens up express lanes on the highway in northern Virginia to single drivers, as opposed to just carpoolers. But the sticker shock prices being posted on electronic signs along the roadway led some commuters and residents to give the roadway a new nickname.
“This is #highwayrobbery. People are just trying to get to work. What happened to a government FOR THE PEOPLE. I'm appalled,” one user wrote on Twitter.
“Just go ahead & change its name to I-$66," said another.
(Excerpt) Read more at foxnews.com ...
I remember vaguely from American history that we fought a revolutionary war or something with tyrants overtaxing and harassing the citizens with their burdensome regulations. Perhaps it’s time for another one.
That fits the very definition of price gouging. But it’s the government, and they use complex math to get the ultimate squeeze, so we’re supposed to be impressed. And, they’re going to spend the money, so just thank them and move along.
From a Midwestern standpoint, that is madness.
I work a lot of odd hours. Carpooling is not possible, as that means I either adjust my schedule or they work mine. Also, in most areas here public transit is not possible. It doesn’t go where I need or want to.
However, we don’t have the congestion. Land is cheap enough you can build lots. Businesses are located in the rings around the cities, not in the core (or they have moved). Unfortunately, I see many “city planners” wander in and demand that we start building like you propose. They built one development like that, and not only did the houses not sell, the contractor sued the city. Biking 20 miles during an Iowa winter (or summer) isn’t going to work well. Most employers will not put up with the delays that come from it.
The key is to plan according to what the area requires. What we do will not work in NoVa (my wife’s cousin lives in Loudon county). What you do will not work here (unless you move a lot of manufacturing downtown). Work with what you have.
It’s not robbery, just sale to the highest bidder. The alternative is a highway that turns into a parking lot. The fee allows the single driver who would suffer great loss by being in stalled traffic to get where he needs to go on time. Others can avoid the fee by car pooling or taking transit.
was formerly HOV (2 or more people per vehicle) during rush hour.
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That’s what the sign says at the bottom.......
HOV +2 NO TOLL
are motorcycles free as well? in WA they are able to use toll lanes gratis.
Some in the DC area have expressed surprise that the politicians lied to them. Gotta laugh at that!
Living anti-urban you are correct: I have avoided the tolls, trolls and moles and have been better able to just ignore the aholes who are everywhere..
Good, make the tolls higher so they will quit going to work at all.
Government employees? More like Gibsmedat employees.
Raise the tolls on all the lanes into the cesspool.
‘Course, the gooberment will just give them a subsidy and let them show up for work late. We lose no matter what.
Houston uses a gang of metro cops at the exits. Every morning they had a long line of people pulled over blocking traffic at the exit ramps from the HOV lanes.
I’m out of that mess for the rest of my life. Yippee!
HOV lanes are another example of a Democrat idea that fails. Originally implemented during the gas crisis, it does nothing to save fuel. Where I live, it is mostly unused during rush hour, while the other lanes are backed up. And then like magic, when the lane opens up to other traffic, within five minutes traffic starts flowing again.
>> That fits the very definition of price gouging <<
OK, if you wanna call it that.
But for anybody who understands economics and understands how prices operate to maxmize the efficient use of available resources, this situation fits the very definition of allocation based on supply and demand.
Motorcycles are always considered hov vehicles and ride free on hov and hot lanes. MCs are NOT required to have a transponder.
I go that way to DC...From I-81...it used to b free all the way...
I have a friend who lives in the area. As part of his working contract, the company he works for pays for his EZ Pass. Now I know that is a private business, however it wouldn’t be too difficult to see the government elite who live in the burbs setting up some sort of similar arrangement with your tax dollars.
Ding Ding Ding. Winner.
Price gouging, like our water and sewer bill going up by 95% last month. The answer that was given by the Public Utilities Commission was ,they raised as a government entity it was legal.
One commissioner said “it would make people use less water”!
As I live in an apartment conclave(400+ units) we are billed on a percentage, not metered by apartments. That reasoning is Liberal Speak, ie Bull Shi-!!!
If I were to use 1,000 gallons less per month it would have zero effect on the Communistic billing!
‘.
If you use the HOT lanes with two or more people (three or more on I-95) you order an EZ-Pass transponder that has a switch. When you have the required number of people you switch it so it tells the sensors you are riding free and if you are alone you must place the switch in the toll position and then pay for your trip.
There are cameras that are used to verify compliance. I am not sure if the police patrols have receivers that can tell if you are driving illegal or not.
A vast majority of the HOV/HOT commuters are government employees. They are given the ability to to use the van pools, buses, or car pooling.
After I retired from the military and became a contractor my office was directly in the DoD buildings due to my work being mostly classified. I would arrive at the office at 0530 and open it up then around 0700 the government employees and military would start wandering in. Most of them were car pooling, van pooling, or such. In the afternoon, while myself and the other contractors were still working, they would all pack up to go catch their rides home leaving me with mostly contractors to finish up whatever had to be done. Even when I worked at the same Agency as a military type I never was able to use a car pool or such. I don't know how they got to do it but I was always doing most of the work.
The thing that chapped my butt was how I would hear all these Govies talk about how all the contractors were overpaid and lazy and they did all the work when they never spent a full eight hours in the office due to their car pooling and then only their names were placed on the work the contractors performed.
Returning to the car pooling business: most civilian contractors do not have the luxury of finding a way to use the HOV/HOT lanes due their contract requirements, although I did have one contract that allowed me to stop at the Pentagon parking lot and pick up Slugs, but that contract only lasted three years.
A little over a year ago all the HOV lanes on US75 in Dallas were blocked off. Totally unused. Never did find out why. They just closed them leaving two to three lanes unused.
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