DC: New toll roads intended to expand car pools, maybe rail
Passenger Trains > DC: New toll roads intended to expand car pools, maybe rail
Date: 11/18/19 06:58
DC: New toll roads intended to expand car pools, maybe rail
Author: Lackawanna484
The commonwealth of Virginia and the District of Columbia will open new 24 hour toll lanes on I-395, offering car pools and people willing to pay a steep toll an alternate to grinding and slow travel. Three new lanes replace two sets of two directional lanes. Tolls may be as high as $30 for peak driving times. I was surprised to see that motorcycles will ride free,it willl be interesting to see how that works out. Hybrid vehicles will now pay tolls, I believe straight electric vehicles will not pay tolls, even when occupied by a single driver.
I-395 runs from northern Virginia, past the Pentagon, and into DC. In Virginia, it connects with the already tolled inner lanes of I-95. Since the tolls vary based on traffic volume, it is difficult to predict precisely how much they will be. The DC Metro rail also used variable pricing, people would wait outside the entry gate until the chime signalled lower late morning rates were in effect.
Many drivers may be headed to the L'Enfant Plaza area, where there are many government offices. It would be great if this produced a bump in VRE services, too. It's a lot cheaper to add one train than capacity for a thousand more cars...
https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/trafficandcommuting/tolling-on-395-express-lanes-starts-sunday-heres-what-you-need-to-know/2019/11/16/07742088-07d4-11ea-818c-fcc65139e8c2_story.html