- DC Casual Carpooling Is Slow To Recover From Its Pandemic-Induced Decline
- Report: Japanese Government Plans To Allow Expressway Tolling Through 2115
- Prince Edward Island Leaders Push For Confederation Bridge Toll Reduction
- These are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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DC Casual Carpooling Is Slow To Recover From Its Pandemic-Induced Decline
The Washington Post reports, in metro DC, the time-honored tradition of slugging — an informal, ad hoc practice whereby car owners who need passengers to travel toll-free in express lanes meet up with hitchhiking commuters who need rides — is in decline. Three years into the pandemic, and despite more workers returning to offices, the number of participants is a fraction of what it was before the COVID-19 shutdown. “Employer policies allowing more flexible schedules and remote work have reduced the number of riders and drivers while the threat of transmissible viruses have left others wary about sharing a ride with strangers.” Some transportation officials and practitioners predict that slugging will eventually make a comeback on its own, but there are also calls for agencies to make investments in encouraging the practice.
66 Express Lanes (Inside DC Beltway) 66 Express Lanes (Outside DC Beltway) 95/395/495 Express Lanes (Metro Washington DC) Carpooling Highway and Bridge Safety (Including COVID-19 Impacts) Virginia Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Washington (DC) Metro RegionReport: Japanese Government Plans To Allow Expressway Tolling Through 2115
Kyodo News reports, “Japan’s government plans to continue collecting toll fees from expressway users almost indefinitely as it plans to further extend the tolling period by 50 years to 2115, a source close to the matter said Saturday. The envisioned extension of the tolling period is aimed at paying for replacements of aging bridges and lane expansions in rural areas. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism is preparing related bills for submission to parliament when a new session is convened on Jan. 23, the source said.” According to a plan adopted in 2005 coincident with the privatization of expressway management, the government had intended to discontinue tolling in 2050. The termination date was later pushed back to 2065 because it was determined that additional funds for infrastructure maintenance and improvement were needed.
Company and Agency Financial Issues And Reports Highway and Bridge Maintenance Infrastructure Investment Trends JapanPrince Edward Island Leaders Push For Confederation Bridge Toll Reduction
CBC News reports, Prince Edward Island (PEI) Premier Dennis King (PC) wants the federal government to support reducing the toll on the privately operated Confederation Bridge by 60 percent to 20.00 CDN (about 15.00 USD). “King spoke with federal officials about decreasing [the toll for crossing to New Brunswick] in November, and then sent a letter on Dec. 9 to Dominic LeBlanc, Canada’s minister of infrastructure and a New Brunswick MP. The current regular car toll of $50.25 [approximately 37.50 USD] . . . is not affordable for Islanders and Island businesses, said King. He would also like to see the cost of taking the ferry between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia drop to $20.” Percy Downe, a federal senator representing PEI, also favors the reduction, stating, “We all pay for that at the grocery store and everywhere else. It’s a cost-of-living factor and it’s grossly unfair when others are using federally owned bridges and not paying any toll at all.”
Canada Confederation Bridge New Brunswick Prince Edward Island Strait Crossing Bridge LTD (Canada) VINCI GroupThese are just some of the toll industry developments TRN is following.
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