Daily Camera reports, “Starting New Year’s Day, the express lanes of U.S. 36 [between Boulder and Denver] will require cars to carry three passengers — up from the current two — to qualify as high-occupancy vehicles and enjoy the toll lane for free. But the switch from HOV 2 to HOV 3, which also applies to express lanes on Interstate 25, is not a response to any particular problem on the highway.” Instead, as the newspaper reports, Plenary Roads, CDOT’s P3 collaborator in the US 36 express lanes project, “has about $300 million in debt left to pay off on the project, and the company believes raising the HOV requirement will lead to more people paying the toll.”
