Sounds like a plan to me:
http://blog.wired.com/cars/2008/04/los-angeles-to.html
Quote:
By 2010, single-occupancy vehicles will be able to use carpool lanes - at a fee, of course. Los Angeles' transportation board unanimously approved the measure to charge certain vehicles to use these lanes on two of the region's freeways. Limiting the tolls to only rush hour, the board hopes to see a reduction in peak-hour traffic by encouraging people to drive in the off-peak.
Any vehicle who wishes to use the carpool lanes will use an electronic transponder (similar to E-Z Pass or Fastrak) that will charge to a credit card account. The price to use the lane is still being sorted out. In Orange County, where toll lanes already in use, the fee is between $1.20 to $10. In San Diego, it's $0.50 to $4.
The exact rules of these lanes are yet to be decided by the Los Angeles MTA, but several board members have expressed that they do not want to discourage people from carpooling. They hope to keep the lanes free of charge for cars with three people or more.
The money generated from this pricing will go towards the region's mass transit system.
|