Virginia was originally the first state to give clean fuel vehicles free HOV access. This boosted hybrid sales from 2000-2011 in the DC Metro area, and still now, whereas Va. hybrid owners are grandfathered. As long as they own HOV plates, these can be transferred to a new hybrid or plug-in. So we still have 18,000 hybrids/plug-ins with free HOV access. This year Virginia started converting I-95 and next I-66 to HOV-3 Toll lanes with no hybrid free access. HOV (Clean Fuels) plate users have a couple more years until the new HOT lanes are completed. Most of these projects are private funded by Transurban. Dynamic tolls can be as high as $17 when traffic is heavy. Car pooling (we call it our "slugging" system) is quite active here. It'll be interesting to see if the new HOT lanes encourage even more car pooling as hybrid drivers lose free access, and other factors. http://www.bizjournals.com/washington/morning_call/2015/11/8-things-the-i-66-jolt-for-hybrid-owners-abc.html
Virginia now in the national news again re: Hybrid controversy. I was going to apologize for not covering this, but I see Dec 4, 2015 I made the first post here. Hybrid Owners To Lose Clean Fuel HOV Exemption On Virginias I-66 | WAMU 88.5 - American University Radio Some Va. hybrid owners are asking for free HOV for BEV like California. This way they can go out and buy an BEV and get shorter commute. But we have no fundamental need for BEV in Virginia, we need to unclog the highways. Car pooling actually working pretty well here, but now we have green car owners feeling they have some right to free HOV incentive. Easy for me to say: we live closer in to DC and never used HOV plates. However some people moved out to the Va. x-burbs and are using hybrid ownership to get speedy and free HOV access all the way into DC. Grass roots group "66 Alliance" has formed...we should hear a lot more in the next month as our General Assembly convenes only one month a year (January). 66 Alliance, VDOT, HOV, Clean Fuel, I-66
Having lived in Oakton, what NOVA needs is more mass transit. Get more cars off the roads. Traffic was the prime reason I moved away as soon as I could. My commute from Oakton to Tysons had grown from 9 minutes to close to 45 minutes over 25 years. My wife got up at 4:15 to get to work just over the 14th Street bridge and that was with carpooling.
Well we're in a helluva bind with mass transit as the DC Metro is slow motion train wreck re: mismanagement it is being run by committee (DC/VA/MD US govt) ...but we have pretty good mass transit expanded Metro into Virginia Tysons, Reston, we have VRE railroad, and we have successful car pooling system called slugging, and buses.
Metro is good to get you downtown if you are on the route. But lots of the traffic is suburbs to satellite cities. Say Vienna to Rockville. Limited number of bridges have always been a bottleneck. Little in the way of interstate level roads and bridges for I95 interstate traffic to bypass the beltway. People from NC going north schedule their trips to avoid about 12 hours of awful traffic. An outer beltway has long been needed. Traffic all funnels into the same few choke points, even if they are hybrids. People from NC going north schedule their trips to avoid about 12 hours of awful traffic.
When I drive down to visit my brother in South Hill, Va., I always make it a point to get through the DC area on I95 before the going home rush hour starts. It sucks!
I have a love/hate relationship with solo HOV access here in CA. While I fully take advantage of it and enjoy its privileges, I detest it with a passion as I do HOT lanes. It basically says, those of you who can afford an expensive plug in vehicle or can pay the toll, come on in and clog the system. Because you have money, you get access even though everyone pays taxes to support our transportation system. Well, BEV owners pays less road tax but that's another discussion. I'm undecided on HOV access for carpoolers but at least I can see how taking two or more cars out of traffic and replacing with one could improve traffic and decrease pollution.
We're going full-out HOT-3 (without green car HOV incentive) in northern Va. already I-95 did that so we already have one chunk of green car owners have lost free HOV up I-95 The problem with Va. implementation is high tolls (flex w/ traffic)
IIRC, NOVA or at least VA sold the HOT lane building rights and wouldn't come up with the taxes to pay for additional lanes. So only right that those who use those lanes pay for them...someone has to. I have no problem with HOV benefits but asking for HOV-3 means, in practical terms, the carpool has to have 4 people. My wife was the 4th in her car pool and only got the slot because one of the other three was off work or working from home enough that the car was often only a 2 occupants vehicle. The parking spot downtown was also because there were 4 listed occupants. These benefits are both to reduce pollution and vehicle traffic on the other lanes.
I've used it a couple of times when I95 was stopped dead heading North. The truckers use it. You'll have to look at a map to see if it's to your liking.
I remember my days too living in Northern VA. I started out in Mclean, then moved to Fairfax and finally to Centreville. The 1st morning in Centreville at 7 a.m. there was a line of vehicles down the road waiting to get on 66. I thought to myself what have I done? My commute to McLean, Va should have taken 15 mins. I never knew on route 66 if it would take 15 minutes to 1 hour depending upon the traffic/accidents. This was in the 1980's! In and around DC/VA/MD one has to plan their day very carefully if driving. Around 3:30 in the afternoon traffic starts building and does not let up until possibly 8:00 pm. The only way around this if coming from the north or south would be to go on 81. If you hit rush hour at the wrong time you are in for a long wait (I just had some friends who went south over the holidays and 95 south of DC was a virtual parking lot all the way to Fredericksburg, VA). Glad to hear they have extended Hov on 66 past Tysons Corner. Do not miss the driving in and around the Washington D.C. area. You are very correct about the "choke" points being a problem.
It currently ends down toward Stafford just north of Fredricksburg. On I95 it is reverse direction depending on traffic flow. The problem is it bogs down at the end southbound, so locals know when to bail to the regular lanes. Next year they are going resume construction to extend it further south in an attempt to solve the bottle neck at the southern end merge. It is owned by Transurban. They are not sure if the next round of HOT in I66 will be Va.-funded or 3rd party PPP. 495 | 95 Express Lanes - On the Road Now
The future HOV policy issue in Virginia (I-66 at this point) is becoming a very hot topic!! Here is a great info report on a detailed study of HOV use on I-66. Car pools HOV-2 are about 60%. Hybrid SOV about 36% (but that includes rule breakers and exempted airport traffic SOV). Traffic study shows why I-66 is a mess - The Washington Post The Gov's plan would eventually kick off HOV-2 and hybrids (most of the users) and make the lanes pay or HOV-3 with pay option being $$big bucks. So that's becoming controversial. I hate to say kicking off free hybrids/plug-ins could help a lot (just my first impression).
