With tens of millions of dollars flowing into Metro's coffers, and slight time savings for commuters, the transit agency's board voted yesterday to make the ExpressLanes toll system permanent. The demonstration project for the ExpressLanes, which started in late 2012 and converted 25 miles of carpool lanes on the 10 and the 110 into toll lanes open to anyone who could pay, including solo drivers, was a success—the agency expected to distribute 100,000 of the transponders required to use the lanes, but ended up handing out more than 260,000 (the lanes are also driving more people to transit, which is another win). Now Metro will lobby the state legislature to keep the ExpressLanes for good, and to expand the system to other freeways, possibly starting with the 405, which will have continuous carpool lanes from the Valley to the OC starting next month.
On an 8-3 vote, the board agreed to a $1 monthly fee for those with transponders—previously, anyone who used the ExpressLanes more than four times a month paid no monthly fee and infrequent users paid three bucks a month (the fees were also temporarily suspended for a bit).
· MTA makes 110, 10 pay lanes permanent; 405 Freeway might be next [Daily News]
· ExpressLanes [Curbed LA]
Loading comments...