I66 tolls now in effect - at times over $30 one way (Chesapeake: car tax, live)

[ssa78]

The price tag is fairly astonishing.

That said, right now it is only being paid by drivers who were not supposed to even be on the road before. By 2022, when I-66 inside the beltway goes to HOV-3, that affects a whole new swath of drivers.

I generally don't care for private companies controlling the price of use of public utilities. I think in the end taxpayers end up footing a larger bill than if they simply decided to pay for it and manage it all themselves as a pure public utility.

Over time though, I do think this will really create a huge market for shared commutership. And if less people drive cars daily to work, that's a good thing for our roads and the environment.

[17thAndK]

Originally Posted by dkf747

Is that the reason for the change or just an observation ?

Probably just an observation. But why would the peak on Metro be any different from the peak on 66? One runs right down the middle of the other, after all.

[17thAndK]

Originally Posted by Vacanegro

Problem is that there are so few options for those commuting from far away (lots of folks).

If there are so many of you out that way, finding carpools or setting up commuter bus lots should be easy. The bottom line is that even with the widening of 66 west of Glebe Road, there is not enough room for as many west County and Montgomery County solo drivers to use 66 in peak hours as might want to. That's why soloists were previously prohibited. Now they are allowed to use the road if they are willing to pay a toll commensurate with their numbers. The new and expanded choices boil down to pay-to-play or find a different game. It's not like anyone was not told that this was coming.

[pierretong1991]

Originally Posted by ssa78

The price tag is fairly astonishing.

I don't think anyone has adequately answered my question though - if 66 is congested to the point that it costs $44 to travel it, why would you want to take it and not take the side roads/alternate routes anyways? (may be faster at that point).

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by pierretong1991

I don't think anyone has adequately answered my question though - if 66 is congested to the point that it costs $44 to travel it, why would you want to take it and not take the side roads/alternate routes anyways? (may be faster at that point).

The price rises exponentially in order to keep the traffic flowing. The road would not be congested enough to slow traffic.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by 17thAndK

Probably just an observation. But why would the peak on Metro be any different from the peak on 66? One runs right down the middle of the other, after all.

I don't see why the hours need to be the same. If few cars are out at those times, they shouldn't be charging them. There's no benefit to that other than making extra bucks off of them.

[ChristineVA]

Originally Posted by dkf747

I don't see why the hours need to be the same. If few cars are out at those times, they shouldn't be charging them. There's no benefit to that other than making extra bucks off of them.

I don't travel I66 but at 5:30 is there really "few" cars out there? I can tell you that just about everywhere else, there's quite a bit of traffic at 5:30AM. Might not be gridlock but it's busy out there.

[snowdenscold]

2 Questions:


1. What have the average prices been for the tolls in the 5:30-6:30 AM range? I assume the super high prices we see aren't until much later in the morning - but how low is it at that time? Big difference between $1.50 and $6.50...


2. Everyone is saying that prior cheaters are now being forced off. Is this true? Is the HOV 2+ monitoring technology that effective that no one's taking chances by cheating anymore? Any data from the 495 HOT lanes to know how good the cheater-catching has been?

I just don't understand how we were so ineffective at catching cheaters one day and so great at it the next. Seems like both scenarios involve picking out single drivers from a large pool of supposed carpooling vehicles. This is assuming police are still eye-balling it. Have some sort of thermal cameras been introduced as part of this new change?

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

I don't travel I66 but at 5:30 is there really "few" cars out there? I can tell you that just about everywhere else, there's quite a bit of traffic at 5:30AM. Might not be gridlock but it's busy out there.

Whenever I have been on 66 before 6:30 (used to be often) traffic was very light.

[dkf747]

Originally Posted by snowdenscold

2 Questions:


1. What have the average prices been for the tolls in the 5:30-6:30 AM range? I assume the super high prices we see aren't until much later in the morning - but how low is it at that time? Big difference between $1.50 and $6.50...


2. Everyone is saying that prior cheaters are now being forced off. Is this true? Is the HOV 2+ monitoring technology that effective that no one's taking chances by cheating anymore? Any data from the 495 HOT lanes to know how good the cheater-catching has been?

I just don't understand how we were so ineffective at catching cheaters one day and so great at it the next. Seems like both scenarios involve picking out single drivers from a large pool of supposed carpooling vehicles. This is assuming police are still eye-balling it. Have some sort of thermal cameras been introduced as part of this new change?

1. I saw prices of $3.50 to 3.75 in the news.

2.& 3. The way to cheat now is with an EZ pass switched to HOV while driving solo. Otherwise you will get a bill in the mail. The police have a device to tell them who has the transponder set that way. They only have to look for those instead of looking at everyone. That helps. Don't forget that you could ride solo from the airport before now. Many solo drivers were not cheating. Today, that's not allowed. This makes the cops job easier. All they need to do is sit at the exits and nab solo drivers that way. Some percentage of cheaters will get through, but it will be significantly reduced from the past thanks to the changes.