The Washington Post’s Dr. Gridlock, a self-described “fan” of metro DC high-occupancy toll lanes, writes, “But when one electronic sign tells me the toll for a trip from just north of Tysons Corner to Springfield is $29 while another warns of congestion ahead, that’s above my threshold.” Transurban, operator of the I-95 and I-495 HOT facilities, explains that a recent spike in rates and a slowdown in traffic speed is primarily a seasonal phenomenon. The doctor responds, “Although the high tolls and heavier than normal traffic may pass with the holidays . . . commuters would have been better off if the state had developed a robust system of commuter buses to take advantage of the HOT lanes, in which buses can travel free.”
