It was bound to happen. HOV lanes will become "Lexus Lanes"

[Horse with no Name]

The HOV lanes are great. Their intent and purpose is to promote carpooling.
However, it was bound to happen sooner or later. Some rich person in their Lexus couldn't stand someone getting through traffic, so now they are going to let them drive on the lanes...for a fee. They are converting 5 OUT OF 6 lanes to PRICEY toll lanes for those too good to wait in traffic.:mad:
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/072807dnmetlanetolls.3348637.html
>>>snip
HOV lanes are less common in Dallas than in Houston, where their use has steadily expanded for nearly 20 years. But the Dallas area is catching up fast. New HOV lanes will open on Interstate 30 from the Dallas-Tarrant county line to Loop 12 at 6 a.m. Tuesday. Other HOV lanes are set to open this fall along Central Expressway, and an existing lane on the LBJ Freeway will be extended by September, Dallas Area Rapid Transit officials said.

Plans to make Dallas-area HOV lanes paid lanes are in the works. By next year, HOV lanes along I-30 between Arlington and Dallas will become the region's first such paid lanes, TxDOT spokesman Mark Ball said.

>>>snip
"It's almost a no-brainer," Mr. Lopez said after the meeting. HOV lanes have extra capacity, he said, so they should be monetized to let solo drivers pay to use them. Drivers in the regular lanes will benefit, he said, because the paying drivers will be gone.

[BulletproofLandshark]

1. Man, screw these people.

This sounds like another extension of the ongoing class war to me.

[Egalitariat]

36. Sounds like a tax for the rich. Isn't that good?

Or does it upset you because they'll get something of value in return?

[Catherine Vincent]

2. I heard they were going to start that in Houston too.

The HOV lanes are crowded enough as it is. I don't understand why they want to add more cars to it just because they want to pay.

[Horse with no Name]

3. I think it is just a backdoor way to make as many roads as possible

into toll roads.
They can't get rid of the HOV lanes, because I am sure that they receive some type of federal funding for them, but they can make them less attractive to use for the carpoolers and more attractive to the ones who feel their time is more valuable than your time.

[lurky]

4. Is this a step towards privatizing the highway?

By creating some kind of revenue model?

[Horse with no Name]

7. IMO, yes. n/t

[blondeatlast]

32. I think you've got it. Guess which lanes will be maintained?

It won't be the public lanes.

[Oeditpus Rex]

5. Look at it this way:

Eventually, enough of the I-can-afford-to-be-better-than-you bunch will opt for a speedier commute that they'll be paying to be the same as everybody else. :D

[TahitiNut]

6. I have always regarded them as chauffeur lanes.

Fundamental queuing theory betrays their idiocy, imho.

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

29. Yeah, bring a phrase like "fundamental queuing theory" ...

... along to a meeting with the geniuses at TXDot -- I'm sure they'd be quick to set you straight that "playin' pool ain't got nuthin' to do with it."

[gulliver]

8. These people have no concept of America.

"Monetize" it all. Make money on something and that makes it better automatically. They are pauperizing us in reality. Route 66 was there for everyone, the vapid rich, the poor poets. Everyone could love it. Now they are willing to divide people into social castes on the roads for a little money. I am so sick of these blind as a bat, dumb as a rock geniuses.

[SheilaT]

9. I think the HOV lanes

in the Denver area are also toll lanes, if I understand the signage I saw out there last week.

I don't get the complaints about the HOV lanes also being toll lanes. The whole point is to encourage car pooling, or at least to discourage wasteful single-person trips in cars, especially during rush hours. Failing that, raising revenue isn't such a bad way to go. And you don't have to drive a Lexus to pay tolls. Maybe owning a less pricey and more fuel efficient vehicle will save you enough money to afford the tolls.

[Zywiec]

10. "HOV lanes have extra capacity"

Why not use this extra capacity to make extra money. Consider it another tax on the rich.

[Horse with no Name]

11. Except that they don't.

The incentive to carpool is that you can move along at a decent speed if you are willing to carpool while the single drivers sit in the congestion.
I actually DRIVE in these lanes and it is usually pretty crowded--but it moves. There is NO excess room.

[Zywiec]

13. Your experience must be different from the OP

It's almost a no-brainer," Mr. Lopez said after the meeting. HOV lanes have extra capacity, he said, so they should be monetized to let solo drivers pay to use them.

[Horse with no Name]

14. He is appointed by a Republican governor

I'm sure YOU would believe him...

[Zywiec]

15. Well you posted the article

so I guess it's all non-sense?

[sandnsea]

24. Why not draw straws

And just let people use the goddamn roads that WE ALREADY PAID FOR, FOR CHRISSAKE!!!

[snappyturtle]

33. Thank you....that sounds reasonable to me!

With the price of gasoline rising more car pooling should soon follow along with greater use of public transportation. I don't know why our large cities can't have the same train system Washington D.C. has. I'm a relatively new resident to Texas and I see huge highway construction projects in Austin and Houston and little to no public transportation....am I just missing it somehow?

[Jade Fox]

35. That's was my first thought too.....

It seems a good idea to let a limited amount of people use the HOV lanes, but choose fairly.

[VP505]

12. More creative taxation

Wonder how long it will take before everyone will have to pay to use those roads, Those who can't afford them will have to drive on the surface streets.

[tkmorris]

16. Sounds like 2 America's to me

One for the haves, and another for the have-nots.

[devilgrrl]

17. I refer to California's "Carpool" lanes as the 8,000 mph lane...

because everyone using it is usually going 8 thousand miles an hour... like the Autobahn.

[Big Pappa]

18. If you read

the entire article it states that only single riders will be forced to pay. All other HOV riders can still use these lanes for free. I think it is a great way to collect revenue.

[Horse with no Name]

19. I read it thanks for your "concern"

and obviously the meaning of a HIGH OCCUPANCY VEHICLE lane escapes you...
and if YOU read the entire article you will see where the ONLY free ones are the ones that are more than 2(where presently that is free).

[Big Pappa]

20. So the

only change is single riders will have to foot the bill. Wow I hope we don't lose any sleep over this.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

21. I heard on the news that one of the tunnels from NJ to NYC was considering a $30 fee

if you wanted to use a special lane to avoid delays into NYC.

[no_hypocrisy]

27. It's being proposed for the Lincoln Tunnel which runs into Midtown.

The traffic backs up easily at either end.

[Perky]

22. I have no problems with this

If there is excess capacity in HOV and non-HOV land are maxed out... spreading the traffic out actually helps the envirnement and pays for wear and tear on the roadways.

Less-Gridlock slower Global warning. If you think of it as a reverse carbon-tax it is actually pretty easy to swallow.

[Big Pappa]

26. Damn!

Logic is such a wonderful thing.

[TahitiNut]

34. Yep. That way we get the best pollution money can buy.

:eyes:

[sandnsea]

23. We're all going to be on bikes soon anyway

I always said the sign of a Republican was no foresight and no imagination. I can't believe the number of people who can't figure out what the regular lanes are going to look like in 5 years. Or what those lanes are going to do to your cars.

Good thing oil is going to be $100 barrel and too expensive to afford before too long anyway. Folks better make damn sure they're happy where they live, cuz ain't nobody goin' nowhere pretty soon.

[Horse with no Name]

25. You got that right n/t

[Mr_Jefferson_24]

28. Predictable in our class society ...

...And this won't stop with HOV lanes. Over time look for, not just neighborhoods, but towns and maybe even entire regions of the country you don't visit or travel in without a pass showing your pedigree.

[qdemn7]

30. Just one more reason

To stay the fuck out of Dallas. :puke: Every day that passes I can see why Amon Carter acted as he did.

[rucky]

31. Dallas already has two tollways.

the upside is, I wouldn't want to go near a North Dallas yuppie. I had my fill in college at SMU.

[roody]

37. Enjoy life. Take public transit.