Ping: Virginia E-ZPass Owners

[terpkristin]

I got an email from VDOT saying that they are considering adding a $1 monthly fee to cover "administrative costs." They're taking comments on their website through 5 p.m. on June 12. The website also has info on why they're adding the fee. http://www.virginiadot.org/newsroom/e-zpass_info.asp

I gotta say, if they started charging, I'd stop using it. And probably stop using the toll road, I can get around well enough on side roads...

/tk

[claphamsa]

arent they the last state to not charge?

[stevew]

$12/year is worth it to not have to hand money to the toll monkey.

[Toddzilla]

Wait, AN ENTIRE DOLLAR?!?!

[QuikSand]

Originally Posted by terpkristin

I gotta say, if they started charging, I'd stop using it. And probably stop using the toll road, I can get around well enough on side roads...

Actually, this was a very commonly stated reaction when Maryland made a comparable switch a few years ago. Outrage and promises to boycott, predictably.

A handful actually followed through with it.

Most recognized that the convenience remains a staggeringly good deal... and oddly enough, the more people who insist on sitting out the program for whatever reason, the faster that makes the e-express lane. So, uh, have at it.

[BillJasper]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Wait, AN ENTIRE DOLLAR?!?!

That was my thought as well.

[MacroGuru]

I still avoid toll roads at all costs...the only one I don't avoid because it takes me to far out of the way is the one to the Casino..

[Telle]

New York doesn't change a monthly fee as long as you have your account tied to a credit card. I doubt I'd continue using it if they did start charging.. I don't tend to spend over $1 in tolls on a monthly basis as it is.

[terpkristin]

Originally Posted by stevew

$12/year is worth it to not have to hand money to the toll monkey.

I guess it depends how much you use it. If I worked out east and had to go on it daily, maybe it would make sense. But there are plenty of side roads that will get me where I need to go.

I don't really see paying more to cost them less, since the tolls cost the same amount no matter if you go to a person or go through EZ Pass. They've raised tolls on the Dulles Toll Road 2 or 3 times in the last year or two without any co-commitant improvement (actually things have gotten worse). They've also raised my personal property taxes in Loudoun. Now they have the "EZ Pass" lanes on 495 (which I guess you pay a premium to in theory have less traffic? again, I don't drive that way very often). And don't get me started on the disaster of a Greenway.

Yes it's a dollar. Yes I can afford it. But is it worth it? To me, no. But anyway, was just posting this in case anybody else wanted to make public comment.

/tk

[Subby]

I hope it passes. Whatever it takes to keep the best traffic innovation of the 20th century operating is ok by me!

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Toddzilla

Wait, AN ENTIRE DOLLAR?!?!

For now

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by QuikSand

Actually, this was a very commonly stated reaction when Maryland made a comparable switch a few years ago. Outrage and promises to boycott, predictably.

A handful actually followed through with it.

Most recognized that the convenience remains a staggeringly good deal... and oddly enough, the more people who insist on sitting out the program for whatever reason, the faster that makes the e-express lane. So, uh, have at it.

FWIW, we're following through here.

The story: years ago they decide to build another loop around Raleigh, because the current I-40 loop gets busy during rush hour, plus they were starting to develop North Raleigh heavily, Cary was spreading south, Apex was growing, etc. So they start on I-540. They build the northern part first (where all the rich Raleigh folks that don't live inside the old beltline live, and all the developers that support them were building), keeping it a normal, open freeway. Then when they get ready to start the next leg, working around the southern part, they decide they are low on money (even though we have the highest gas taxes in the nation, etc) and make the rest of it a toll road.

So the part that gets the developers and politicians what they need is free, and the rest of us get charged to use it. The kicker is that the per-mile toll for the new section that just opened up is one of the highest in the nation at 22.2 cents per mile (Triangle’s toll road will be among more expensive - Triangle Business Journal).

There is one stretch that would be convenient for us to use, but not at the price they charge, so we'll be avoiding it, and in fact did just this past weekend. We'll see how many others do so, but between the cost and the clear political insider-dealing that avoided making the whole thing a toll road, our family at least is sticking to their guns.

Warning for the rest of the East-coasters: this is a trial baloon towards putting a toll on all of I-95 through North Carolina.

[Subby]

Definitely support your right to protest, but I wonder what difference it will make, both financially and politically.

[Logan]

Does Virginia not offer discounted rates at certain times for using EZ Pass? NY/NJ does so I assumed everyone else did. As an example, if I were driving on the NJ Turnpike, picking it up from the Garden State Parkway in central Jersey, and going into NYC...paying cash it would cost $5.15 to go that length of the turnpike and then another $12 at the Lincoln Tunnel for a total of $17.15. That same stretch using EZ Pass during peak hours would be $5.15 plus $9.50 = $14.65. And then during off-peak hours, it would be $3.85 + $7.50 = $11.35. So you can save as much as $5.80 on that one way, or $7.10 round trip (one way bridge toll).

[terpkristin]

No, there is no discount for using an EZ Pass that I know of in Virginia. That said, I only drive on one major toll road (and on that, not particularly often, which is why the $1/month fee seems silly for me...I spend maybe $6/month on the Dulles Toll Road, maybe $9. If I commuted on it daily, it would be $3/day but I live 5 non-toll miles from my office).

/tk

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Subby

Definitely support your right to protest, but I wonder what difference it will make, both financially and politically.

Eh, not much maybe, but it means something to us.

[stevew]

If we're going to bitch about toll roads, it absolutely infuriates me when they are doing massive construction on one and you still have to pay full price. If 50% of the highway is open and we're in painful one lane traffic for 15 miles, you should drop the rate some.

[Blackadar]

Originally Posted by gstelmack

FWIW, we're following through here.

The story: years ago they decide to build another loop around Raleigh, because the current I-40 loop gets busy during rush hour, plus they were starting to develop North Raleigh heavily, Cary was spreading south, Apex was growing, etc. So they start on I-540. They build the northern part first (where all the rich Raleigh folks that don't live inside the old beltline live, and all the developers that support them were building), keeping it a normal, open freeway. Then when they get ready to start the next leg, working around the southern part, they decide they are low on money (even though we have the highest gas taxes in the nation, etc) and make the rest of it a toll road.

So the part that gets the developers and politicians what they need is free, and the rest of us get charged to use it. The kicker is that the per-mile toll for the new section that just opened up is one of the highest in the nation at 22.2 cents per mile (Triangle’s toll road will be among more expensive - Triangle Business Journal).

There is one stretch that would be convenient for us to use, but not at the price they charge, so we'll be avoiding it, and in fact did just this past weekend. We'll see how many others do so, but between the cost and the clear political insider-dealing that avoided making the whole thing a toll road, our family at least is sticking to their guns.

Warning for the rest of the East-coasters: this is a trial baloon towards putting a toll on all of I-95 through North Carolina.

Not sure you should be complaining. Raleigh for years has gotten far more than their fair share of the road construction budget. Especially during the Jim Black years, the entire Eastern half of the state got far more (as a percentage) out of the transportation budget than they ever paid. Meanwhile, down in Charlotte, I-485 was an obsolete 4-lane highway the day it opened. The budget crunch allowed only 4 lanes (2 each way) on a stretch of road that carries the same amount of traffic as the damned Lincoln Tunnel. Unbelievable. Also, the widening of I-85 outside of Charlotte (another 4 lane highway that carries over 100,000 vehicles per day) just got started and the northern leg of the I-485 beltway still hasn't been built - over 20 years after the first section of 485 opened.

So no, there's no sympathy for the Raleigh/Durham road system to be had in Charlotte.

[gstelmack]

Originally Posted by Blackadar

Not sure you should be complaining. Raleigh for years has gotten far more than their fair share of the road construction budget. Especially during the Jim Black years, the entire Eastern half of the state got far more (as a percentage) out of the transportation budget than they ever paid. Meanwhile, down in Charlotte, I-485 was an obsolete 4-lane highway the day it opened. The budget crunch allowed only 4 lanes (2 each way) on a stretch of road that carries the same amount of traffic as the damned Lincoln Tunnel. Unbelievable. Also, the widening of I-85 outside of Charlotte (another 4 lane highway that carries over 100,000 vehicles per day) just got started and the northern leg of the I-485 beltway still hasn't been built - over 20 years after the first section of 485 opened.

So no, there's no sympathy for the Raleigh/Durham road system to be had in Charlotte.

I think in general there's plenty of room to gripe about the North Carolina Department of Transportation and how the large gas taxes we pay get spent. I agree that I-85 has needed a ton of work for a while.