- Colorado DOT Touts Benefits Of Express Lanes Ahead Of A Wednesday Tolling Launch
- Maryland Will Use EV Charging Grant To Boost Underserved Areas And Workforce Development
- Hertz Sells Off 20,000 EVs Due To Weak Customer Demand And Cost Issues
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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Colorado DOT Touts Benefits Of Express Lanes Ahead Of A Wednesday Tolling Launch
Colorado DOT issued a news release encouraging motorists to open an ExpressToll electronic payment account before tolling of the I-25 South Gap Express Lanes begins on Wednesday. The department outlines the express lane operating rules and toll rate schedule, noting particularly that motorcycles, “commercial transit vehicles” and HOV-3+ vehicles equipped with a switchable transponder are exempt from paying. Piper Darlington, director of the Colorado Transportation Investment Office, the CDOT division that controls the facility, comments that express lanes “are proven to relieve congestion, and drivers using the South Gap Express Lanes will see reliable trip times for low toll rates. . . . Even drivers in the adjacent, general purpose lanes benefit from the Express Lanes with shorter travel times and reduced congestion.”
In The Denver Post, another CDOT spokesperson says it’s estimated express lane users will “save between 20% and 50% on their trip time” while reducing congestion in I-25’s general purpose lanes.
The Denver Gazette recently noted that I-25 South Gap tolls will be the lowest, on a per-mile basis, in Colorado and “are also among the lowest in the country,” according to CDOT. The article included a comparison of rates charged on several express lane facilities in metro Denver.
Carpooling Colorado Colorado Department of Transportation Denver CO Metro Region ETC Systems Express Lanes ExpressTollMaryland Will Use EV Charging Grant To Boost Underserved Areas And Workforce Development
WTOP reports, “Maryland is getting millions of dollars in federal money to ramp up the number of electric vehicle charging stations in the state. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore [said Friday at a press event] the state will use the $15 million from a federal grant to install 58 new electric vehicle (EV) charging stations around the state, adding that the project will create 600 new electrician jobs for men and women who will service them. Moore said getting more EVs on the road is part of the state’s long term climate change goals and many of the charging stations will be in lower income, traditionally underserved communities.” Moore was joined by other state and federal leaders who acknowledged that consumers’ “real-world frustrations” with EVs, including range anxiety, discourage wider adoption of battery-powered cars.
Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Maryland Maryland Department of Transportation (MDOT) US Gov't Transportation Funding US Infrastructure Funding And Financing InitiativesHertz Sells Off 20,000 EVs Due To Weak Customer Demand And Cost Issues
Transport Topics reports, the Hertz rental car agency is selling off 20,000 electric vehicles (EVs) — a third of its EV inventory — “due to weak demand and high repair costs for its battery-powered options.” The company plans to reinvest the sale proceeds in replenishing its fleet of gas-powered cars. The article notes, “The dramatic reversal, after Hertz announced plans in 2021 to buy 100,000 Tesla Inc. vehicles, underscores the waning demand for all-electric cars in the U.S. EV sales slowed sharply over the course of 2023, rising just 1.3% in the final quarter.” In addition to noting the extent of repair costs, Hertz management said recent Tesla price cuts raised Hertz’s depreciation costs, which contributed to its failure to meet third-quarter earnings estimates.
The New York Times covers this story in depth. It reports that US conservatives jumped on the Hertz announcement to bolster an argument that consumers are rejecting the Biden administration’s attempts to speed a transition to battery-operated vehicles. However, a car industry observer notes that US EV sales “totaled nearly 1.2 million last year, and were up 40 percent in the last three months of 2023 from the same period in 2022. ‘There is still a market for E.V.s,’ he said.” Hertz’s CEO commented that the company isn’t abandoning plans to electrify its fleet so much as responding to the pace of market development.
Economic & Social Considerations Affecting Transportation Electric and Hybrid Vehicles Rental Car Tolling Service Plazas Tesla, Inc.These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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