December 14, 2006
That's HOT
The latest new fangled idea being dangled out there is for so called HOT Lanes. HOT Lanes is short for High occupancy/toll lanes and for once has nothing to do with Paris Hilton for which we thank the Good Lord.
How this sucker will work is that if a car wants to drive in the car-pool and doesn't have somebody to drive with them to make it a car pool (hey, you could always hire a prostitute to get that car pool requirement down), you could just hop in the car pool line but only if you pay for it. The price for riding solo in the carpool lane will go up and down depending on how heavy the traffic is. If it's heavy, man, the price will be high. If it's not so bad, it won't be for that much. Prices start at $1 and could top out at $9 and the tolls will be done all Fast-Trak like.
One of these things is being created for a southbound fourteen-mile stretch on Interstate 680 from Pleasanton to Milpitas by 2010. Another one is being planned for Highway 101 and state Route 85 two years later.
So what's the benefits of all of this? It does ease congestion, especially in places that are known for being congested. Places that have used them have found that they do work and that people from all sorts of strata use them. The hitch, of course, is that it's still an experiment so it's not exactly been proven. Also, there's equity issues-- it's not sure whether everyone can afford to use this-- so expect one of those "CallTrans Declares War on Toll Challenged" headline to come pretty soon.
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Note that the state has been delivering stickers to electric vehicles and some hybrid vehicles (not all qualify, it's based on their fuel economy) to allow their owners to use the HOT lanes at all times, even when they're by themselves.
Even that practice is seen as a bad idea by many traffic experts, who predict those lanes will become saturated within a few years. So this idea of allowing those who can afford it to drive in those lanes might just be a very bad idea.
Let me see if I've got this right: rich folks who can afford to pay to get out of traffic will, while the rest of us get to slog through it. Charming.
What the heck is wrong with this state? Can't we just build some trains and smart growth instead?
This is *almost* as bad an idea as allowing hybrids to use the carpool lane.
All of a sudden I'm hot for wonky transportation discussions.
Jon, can you help out MattyMatt with his Muni photos?
Anything to make transit stories exciting. Also, according to the studies they've done on it, people who use the lanes fall across every class and that it's not just rich/upper middle class people who use it. Still, the studies aren't conclusive and these roads aren't that common yet. Most of the people who are into the idea are concerned about the equity issue so it is being addressed in some way.