How high will the Toll go?

Editorial: How high will they go?







December: The 95 Express Lanes opened Dec. 14, ahead of schedule, changing the way Northern Virginia commutes forever. Tolling began on the 29 miles of lanes from Alexandria to Stafford on Dec. 29 and, so far, there have been no major problems – except for chatter about the price of the fluctuating tolls, which some have dubbed “highway robbery.” Photo courtesy Scott Hixson







Posted: Saturday, January 3, 2015 10:05 pm
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Change is hard, and nowhere was that more evident than on Interstate 95 this week.
Tolling began Monday on the 95 Express Lanes – the much ballyhooed, $1 billion dollar project promising to turn 29 miles of traffic gridlock into a breeze – if you’re willing to pay the price.
But in the first few days of 24-hour, seven-day-a-week tolling on the Express Lanes, which stretch from Edsall Road in Alexandria to Garrisonville Road in Stafford, the prices were confusing. And they were high, prompting a new nickname among commuters: the Lexus Lanes.
Transurban, the Australian company which built the new Express Lanes, has said it expects the per mile rate to range between 20 and 85 cents during rush hour, which translates to $5.80 to $24.65 for the entire 29-mile trip from Alexandria to North Stafford.
But on Monday, even with the lighter flow of holiday traffic, tolls were much higher for much shorter trips.
“At 3 p.m. it cost $7.36 to go from Route 1 Woodbridge to Prince William Parkway, really? It was $5.26 to Prince William Parkway from Springfield! How does that happen?” one commuter wrote onInsideNoVa.com’s Facebook page.
“Traffic was terrible at 3 p.m.,” wrote another. “I chose not to pay the toll; price from Edsall to Dale was $10.50!”
According to Transurban spokesman Mike McGurk, toll amounts will fluctuate with traffic and there will be no limit to how much drivers might have to pay. The goal of the lanes is to keep traffic flowing at 65 miles per hour, and tolls will tick higher and higher as the lanes clog with cars.
Toll-setting involves computers and complicated algorithms, but electronic signs posted at Express Lane entrances alert drivers to the current rates, which “lock in” for each tolled portion of the road.
To be fair, tolling has just begun and the system is probably still being tweaked. But we can’t help but wonder how high the tolls will go once the holidays are over and commuters are back in full force next week.
To get home at a quicker pace this week, some paid a price equal to a couple gallons of milk, or a family’s pizza dinner, or a morning or two of Starbucks.
“I am appalled at the prices. It is pretty ridiculous. They are actually punishing us to live here,” one commuter wrote.
But for others, the price didn’t compare to getting home in a reasonable amount of time.
“Loved it!” one commuter wrote. “Paid about $6 to go from 495 to Dumfries.
Hardly anyone on Express Lanes so made my commute in record time. I will be in the poor house if I do it every day, but so worth it on those really bad days for some quality of life!”
If you can’t or don’t want to pay the price, you have alternatives. Ride in the regular lanes, or carpool. Vehicles with three or more riders will always be free, provided you have the EZPass Flex transponder switched to the carpool option. Or get a motorcycle. They ride free, too, and without an EZPass.
And in a concession to the magnitude of the change, Transurban on Tuesday announced first time forgiveness for those who receive toll violation invoices.
We’ll see how it goes