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Dallas is building a congested demand pricing project for the I-635 corridor. They are calling it managed toll lanes. http://www.txdot.gov/business/partnership

Dallas is building a congested demand pricing project for the I-635 corridor. They are calling it managed toll lanes. http://www.txdot.gov/business/partnerships/current-cda/635-lbj-cda.html http://www.txdot.gov/business/partnerships/current-cda/635-l...

alistairSH 12y ago
I-495 through the VA side of the DC suburbs uses High-Occupany Toll lanes - demand pricing on top of HOV lanes. If you have passengers, you can use them for free. If you're solo, you pay the toll. They use a switchable EZ Pass transponder to make it work without toll booths at each end. Colloquially, they're referred to as "Lexus Lanes". As far as a I can tell, they haven't done much to reduce congestion on the non-toll lanes. But, if you can afford $12/day (peak rate, round trip) for a 10 mile stretch of interstate, you get to avoid the dirty, unwashed masses who are stuck in the poor lanes. :)
- koenigdavidmj 12y ago
  The concern when this got deployed in the Seattle area is that it would be poorer people who are most likely to use these. Example: somebody trying to get to the daycare by 6PM so they don't get charged by the minute for being late.
  - crazy1van 12y ago
    Why is this a concern? It sounds like a completely rational decision for someone of any income level to pay money for a faster trip to avoid an even great amount of money in fines...
- fataliss 12y ago
  Well, there is the same concept in LA, the 405 got "pool" lanes, usable for free when you got 2+ people in the car. The issue with this kind of lane is that it's the farthest left, and if your trip on the 405 is only a couple miles you gonna struggle most of your time to reach this lane and then leave it and reach the right lane before your exit when the road is jammed!
chiph 12y ago
Well, at least there'll be multiple toll lanes. Some cities have demand pricing (Atlanta, for one) where there's only one lane and it's separated from the main highway by solid painted lines or barriers. So if you are in the lane behind some slowpoke, you're unable to pass them. I drove from Austin to Dallas the other weekend -- what a mess I-35 is. And it's been that way for 30+ years. High speed rail could help, if there's good transit connectivity at both ends, and the trains are frequent enough.

alistairSH 12y ago

I-495 through the VA side of the DC suburbs uses High-Occupany Toll lanes - demand pricing on top of HOV lanes. If you have passengers, you can use them for free. If you're solo, you pay the toll. They use a switchable EZ Pass transponder to make it work without toll booths at each end. Colloquially, they're referred to as "Lexus Lanes". As far as a I can tell, they haven't done much to reduce congestion on the non-toll lanes. But, if you can afford $12/day (peak rate, round trip) for a 10 mile stretch of interstate, you get to avoid the dirty, unwashed masses who are stuck in the poor lanes. :)

koenigdavidmj 12y ago
The concern when this got deployed in the Seattle area is that it would be poorer people who are most likely to use these. Example: somebody trying to get to the daycare by 6PM so they don't get charged by the minute for being late.
- crazy1van 12y ago
  Why is this a concern? It sounds like a completely rational decision for someone of any income level to pay money for a faster trip to avoid an even great amount of money in fines...
fataliss 12y ago
Well, there is the same concept in LA, the 405 got "pool" lanes, usable for free when you got 2+ people in the car. The issue with this kind of lane is that it's the farthest left, and if your trip on the 405 is only a couple miles you gonna struggle most of your time to reach this lane and then leave it and reach the right lane before your exit when the road is jammed!

chiph 12y ago

Well, at least there'll be multiple toll lanes. Some cities have demand pricing (Atlanta, for one) where there's only one lane and it's separated from the main highway by solid painted lines or barriers. So if you are in the lane behind some slowpoke, you're unable to pass them. I drove from Austin to Dallas the other weekend -- what a mess I-35 is. And it's been that way for 30+ years. High speed rail could help, if there's good transit connectivity at both ends, and the trains are frequent enough.