Diamond, Commuter or HOV lanes don’t make a lot of sense to me. Originally conceived to “reduce pollution and congestion” by removing vehicles from the road, California has subverted the original goal a couple of times. First was the 50,000 HOV stickers provided to early hybrid buyers – These stickers allowed hybrid buyers to use the HOV lanes solo. It’s unclear how that helped achieve either of the two original HOV goals.
But now California has pulled a real doozie – A new HOV lane along a 14-mile stretch of IH-680 includes a “solo” option. Essentially any FasTrak equipped car can pay a fee to use the HOV lane, even with only one occupant. But seriously, an HOV lane with a fee? Huh?
And this just keeps getting better:
- If you are a FasTrak account holder, but have two or more people in the car, you’re instructed to remove the FasTrak device from its windshield mount and place it in the Mylar shipping bag (What? You didn’t save your shipping bag?) while in the HOV lanes so you don’t get charged.
- The best is last – Solo drivers can use the HOV lane for a fee. In this particular case, the morning commute fee is a minimum of $1.00 but rises as much as necessary to maintain a “40-50MPH average speed.” The county’s website offers no maximum fee and some outraged customers are already complaining about $5.00 charges appearing on their FasTrak bill.
So let’s call this what it is – It’s not reducing pollution nor congestion – It’s a revenue grab, pure and simple. And in an area known for its poor public transit infrastructure, it’s opportunistic and greedy. I would like to shame the California legislators who subverted the intent of HOV lanes, but I doubt it would do much good.
