Have you heard the news? The Feds want to change a large portion of the carpool lanes on the 10 and the 210 freeways to a toll road! This is supposed to happen in about two years. Of course it still has to be approved by the California Transportation Commission and other entities, but I'm sure they'll approve it for the money the Feds are offering! The main reason I bought my Pruis, and the carpool stickers, was for my commute! If they do this, I'll have to drive in the regular traffic lanes for several miles before I get back into a carpool lane. Does anyone know of a way that hybrid owners with stickers can fight this from happening or, at least, make it so that we can still use the lanes for free? We should try to fight for this!:rant:
Wait a minute, I thought by changing car pool lanes into toll roads, what will be changed is that single-occupancy driver can take the lanes as long as they pay (thru transponders). For carpools and vehicles with stickers (in Bay Area, we got transponders already), there is no change and no charge. Am I mistaken?
I'm not sure if the hybrids with stickers will be allowed for free or if we'll have to pay. If they're like other So. Cal. toll roads, we'll have to pay like everyone else!
It sounds to me as though you paid up front for the ability to drive solo in the HOV lanes. Turning them into toll roads is just giving people without hybrids the ability to pay for the privilege just like you did.
Don't know about CA but here they are converting one section of HOV lanes to toll by transponders. The problem comes with people who have transponders and use the HOV lanes with two or more people, they have to buy a special transponder shield for $5 to keep from being charged for using the lanes.
They're planning to do this in northern Virginia on 95/395. The HOV lanes will become HOT. At peak times they will cost a lot. I don't know if hybrids will be exempt like carpools will be. I don't use the HOV lanes now so I don't pay much attention to it. To me the main disadvantage is that currently the HOV lanes are open to everyone at off-peak times and all through the weekend, which helps cut down on traffic jams during those times. But they will be HOT 24/7 once the changeover happens which will probably mean worse traffic in the regular lanes than we have now.
Here in so cal on the 91 we can register are vehicle with the toll roads as a hybrid vehicle, so every time we go thru the toll plaza we can go in the "3 or more" lane where the toll is discounted drastically. saves me a ton a month. I was paying an average of 160 p month for the toll roads before the Prius. Ive had the car for about 3 months now and im down to 80 bucks a month. the good thing is you dont need the stickers!
