Forward Virginia

Save HOV

For those of you tracking the status of the I-395/95 HOV corridor as the Metropolitan Washington region looks ahead toward implementing HOT lanes, two pieces of legislation currently before a subcommittee in the Virginia General Assembly might interest you:

HB-494
Prohibits imposition of tolls on HOV facilities. This would ensure that any HOT lane proposal would allow HOV vehicles to pass without charge, unlike the current situation in Southern California, where HOV vehicles now pay half-price tolls after originally being promised a free ride. The maximum possible incentive is needed for carpooling because only carpooling actually takes cars off the road and helps relieve traffic.

HB-717
Prohibits conversion of existing HOV lanes into HOT facilities. This legislation is crucial to saving the I-95/395 HOV corridor in Northern Virginia and the massive network of informal carpooling (slugging) it has spawned. Allowing people to pay their way into these lanes would destroy one of the largest mass carpooling success stories in the country.

These pieces of legislation are currently before the House Subcommittee on Transportation #1. Click on the link and see if your legislator is one of the subcommittee's members. And no matter who your legislators are, if there were ever a time to write them, this would be it.

posted by Omar @ 6:39 AM