Comments about ‘UDOT Express Lanes tags will collect tolls’

Weren't we told that these lanes were implemented in an effort to encourage car pooling and lower pollution levels? Isn't this new program blatantly counter to the original promise?
I guess we were sold a bill of goods.
Not only is UDOT not upholding it's initial promise but they are not upholding their previous promise to increase the policing of the lane of the initial "pay to play" system.

This system is simply a steal as you go system.
We all pay for the lane yet only some get to use it? It is "Social Engineering" that costs taxpayers and commutors more time and money!
Quit trying to get us to do what you want us to do you government hacks!
We all pay taxes that have paid for those lanes!
Open them up like a normal lane and quit trying to make more money and restrict the use of those lanes.
Now you get carpools with slow people in the HOV lanes and it messes up the original system of the slower cars yield to the right.
Martin

If someone can get one of these monitors and then shut it off manually, what is to stop them from just putting it in their car and shutting it off so it looks like they are paying when they aren't?

to Mokie: If you shut the device off while you are using the HOV lane and the scanning monitor set to check that lane does not read that you are paying to drive solo AND an officer sees you driving solo, then I think that you can be pulled over and sighted. My question is, if you can turn it off, why do you need it in the first place? How many people drive solo in those lanes now and never get pulled over? Police are far too busy to be looking to see how many passengers you have in your car. I think it may be a way to make some money, but I don't see it working out as planned.

Why doesn't Utah learn from other states mistakes? Now I'm taxed to pay for the road to be built AND charged to use it. This is the groundwork for toll-roads. Soon there will be reports of how much revenue this generates, then someone will sell us the idea that they'll save us a tax hike by simply adding the "toll" to all the lanes. Then the toll will stay, cause nobody is willing to repeal it for a tax hike. If anyone knows of a road or highway anywhere that's pay-per-use and actually removed the toll, please let me know.

Welcome to the elitest "High Occupational Lanes," (HOV) for those rich people who desire to pay more so that the rest of us struggling in this dire economy and suffer in envy and traffic jam rush hours in the non-HOV lanes. Utah's conservative pro-business environment has finally created the class society of public transportation.

I had a toll roads account when I lived in California. When you enter the toll lane they have scanners set up at certain points that scan your transponder and bill your account accordingly. The scanners were on poles and the transponder would beep when you drove through. If you drove through without a transponder then cameras would take pictures of your car's plate and send you a ticket in the mail. I imagine they would have to have something like that in place here, or the people at DOT aren't the best and brightest.

@eyeliketoreadthepaper

The difference is that UDOT is still allowing multiple occupancy vehicles into the lane. Every time I'm on the freeway I see countless vehicles driving in and out of double lined areas using the lane as a passing lane. When they first started the "pay for play" system they did some token enforcement of the lane for about a week or two. I'm sure they'll do it again.

Bout time they had these RFIDs. Hate to have my car shoplifted from Wal Mart. Hey, can I have one in my forehead, please?

A precurser to toll roads for everyone to pay?

One thing that should be stressed, the HOV lane is not a high speed lane. It has the same speed limit as the rest of the freeways and roads.

Not only is it illegal to toll those who use the freeways, it is illegal and breaks the laws of the intent of the HOV portion of the freeways. UDOT is after money and breaking the law seems okay for government agency's. We now have UDOT, the DWS, the department of education, and law enforcement flaunting the laws with fraud, who's next?

Will this window mounted transponder know if you have other people in your car and can travel in the HOV lane for free? or does it bill you either way? if i drive in the lane closest to the HOV lane does my transponder get triggered and i get billed even though I'm not in that lane? Things to consider.

I don't understand how it would distinguish between a single driver and 2+ people in the vehicle.

@fedup: Wow, have you not read the article? It said explicitly that if you have other people in your car, you can manually turn the transponder off. And as for driving in the lane closest to the HOV lane, that's usually a significant distance (6-10 feet?)that I'm sure has been accounted for.

I commute form SLC to Provo and I am convinced that traffic flows much better with 4 lanes than with 3+HOV. Even with contruction all along the way it's faster where the HOV lane is eliminated that it was with 3 lanes+HOV and no construction.

Ah, the unfounded hysteria. People please inform yourselves. This is just an extension of the 'pay-to-play' system that UDOT has already been using in the carpool lanes for the last 2 or 3 years. The difference is that now, instead of having to pony up 50 dollars a month, a solo driver is paying per-use.

The transponder tech itself is well-proven, so no worries about getting billed if you're not in the carpool lane. As the article states, if a driver happens to have additional passengers, the transponder can be shut off manually.

And for those of you who want to ride free, it's simple. Find a friend. No one is charging you extra to drive in the carpool lane. You might even relearn the art of conversation.

Study after study has shown that car pool lanes do not increase car pooling nor traffic flow. If UDOT was truly trying to solve traffic congestion or fight increased pollution they would open all lanes to be used by everyone. All other options are counter productive.

I drive SLC to Provo 3 or 4 times per week. As far as I can tell UHP does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING to enforce the EXISTING HOV rules. Why have rules at all if they're not ENFORCED?

I think the state could make a fortune if they would only start enforcing HOV lane laws. Put all the new systems in place that you want but if there is NO ENFORCEMENT, it does no good at all.

I have seen an HOV highway entrance enforced once. That is about it.

I paid for the HOV permit that let me drive in the HOV lane solo. It was a decision made at least 15 days prior to the beginning of the month. Now, everyone can buy the transponder and decide to jump in the lane just when other lanes are jammed full. This will result in the HOV lane now being full so it's now of NO USE to have a transponder.

This system brought to you by the same people that terminated an I-15 left lane in sandy & forced light rail on us in spite of a NO vote.

Car Pool lanes are nothing but social engineering by "greenies".

It does nothing to help traffic flow whatsoever.

Bottom line you have 4 lanes and the majority of vehicles are crammed into 3.

We can all do the math UDOT.

What a scam and all this political correctness scam is perpetrated with your tax dollars!!

Its part of the "transformation of America".

Even the stupid republicans here in Utah have become blind to that fact. They should not be allowed to call themselves conservative with this kind of pathetic policy in place.