I66 tolls now in effect - at times over $30 one way (taxes, pricing)

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by 17thAndK

The tolls are simply having their intended effect. We are learning who is willing to pay for peak-period travel on 66 and who is not. Volume and tolls will self-balance as time goes by.

My guess is that no real individual is paying the $30-$40 tolls. It's likely those individuals who can expense the costs - consultants, those on business trips, etc.

[17thAndK]

Originally Posted by spencgr

My guess is that no real individual is paying the $30-$40 tolls. It's likely those individuals who can expense the costs - consultants, those on business trips, etc.

If people had not been paying the tolls, they would have gone down. That's how it works. The toll at 8:36 on a given Monday morning is only the toll at 8:36 on a given Monday morning. Other days and hours are a different matter.

[NOVAmtneer82]

Originally Posted by 17thAndK

If people had not been paying the tolls, they would have gone down. That's how it works. The toll at 8:36 on a given Monday morning is only the toll at 8:36 on a given Monday morning. Other days and hours are a different matter.

Can you imagine what they might be on a bad weather day? I bet it could come close to $50.

[17thAndK]

Only if unreasonable numbers of people are trying to use 66 at the time. The tolls increase as needed to keep traffic to a volume that can move along at a speed limit or other designated pace. Monday was of course the first day that tolls were in effect and people who didn't get the memo simply showed up as usual. That was a mistake that in most cases will not be repeated. Snow days meanwhile make for slow going everywhere, whether there are tolls in effect or not.

[ICS67]

Even the New York Times has now picked up this story:

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/12/05/u...cle-click&_r=0

Opening sentence of the article says it all:

"If you took a bus from New York to Washington tomorrow, a 230-mile drive, and then turned around and came back, you still might not spend as much as some Virginians paid on Tuesday to drive there from 10 miles away."

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by 17thAndK

If people had not been paying the tolls, they would have gone down. That's how it works. The toll at 8:36 on a given Monday morning is only the toll at 8:36 on a given Monday morning. Other days and hours are a different matter.

No, I understand the tolls are being paid. My point was I don't think the people who are driving on 66 with these unreasonable tolls are having the tolls come out of their pocket. My guess is that they are people who can immediately expense the costs to their employer or contract. Not people who will feel it in their own wallet.


Does anyone know ANYONE who saw the sign that said the toll is $40 and said, "yup, that's what I am going to pay out of my pocket today!"? Yes, there were lots of single drivers (over 50% of the total cars on 66), but I doubt many, if any at all, chose to do so if the cost was actually coming out of their pocket.

[jillybean720]

Originally Posted by spencgr

My guess is that no real individual is paying the $30-$40 tolls. It's likely those individuals who can expense the costs - consultants, those on business trips, etc.

I was thinking the same thing, that most who use it at these rates can either expense it and get reimbursed or at least write it off as a business expense.

[Flamingo13]

it's my understanding that you can't actually see the toll amount until you are already on the road and stuck?

[spencgr]

Originally Posted by Flamingo13

it's my understanding that you can't actually see the toll amount until you are already on the road and stuck?

Incorrect. There are two signs before getting on 66 that indicate the price. That is the fee you will pay. If the toll changes while you are on the road, you are still paying the fee the sign said when you entered the road.

[NeganGrimes]

from my experience approaching the toll way east bound from 66 outside the beltway, you have like a quarter mile between the sign that has the amounts and the last chance to bail to go on 495, otherwise the next chance to bail is route 7 which is like a $2 toll already