The Metro Board agreed to hold a motion for 60 days — until the March Board meeting — by Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky that proposes to eliminate the $3 monthly maintenance fee on FasTrak accounts that use the ExpressLanes three or fewer times per month. This will give Metro staff time to collect more data about the number of infrequent users of the ExpressLanes.
It is important to note that the fee has yet to take effect — it will begin when the ExpressLanes open on the 10 freeway on Feb. 23.
Metro staff told the Board that of the approximately 81,000 transponders issued so far, about half have not yet used the ExpressLanes. Staff believes that some of those numbers are due to motorists getting transponders in preparation of the ExpressLanes opening on the 10.
Here is an earlier post with a Metro staff report on the issue.
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Traffic on the 110 is a disaster because of the VIP lanes. Shame on you Metro! Have you seen the 110 on the weekends? The regular lanes are jammed with stop and go traffic while no one is in the “express lanes”. Why? Because no one wants to buy a transponder and pay a monthly fee just to use the 110 a couple of times on the weekend. The regular lanes are filled with 2 or more passenger cars that should be in the carpool lanes. Metro, do the right thing here. Drop this monthly fee nonsense. Better yet, drop the whole fastrak thing on the weekends. It is not improving traffic or air pollution or quality of life; it is making it worse!
This was scam from the start, to use the “conman” parlance, this was the “long con.” It is illegal, immoral and just plain wrong to charge folks to drive on what they already paid for. The outrage would be obscene if the “freeway” was now tollway. BUT, the “more clever then you folks” realized the foothold would be the return of the 70’s debacle, the carpool lane. First the carpool lane would be established, and used very little by actual carpoolers, but just enough to entice the idiot who wants to pay to drive faster. Then, when the hook was set, the reeling in happened – a toll road will be born. The charge to drive on the freeway won’t be seen by the stupid masses as this is a charge to drive in the carpool lane (see the difference?) – carpoolers are free to drive, only they are NOT. This transponder fact is reveals the scam – the fact that you must have a “transponder” to drive in the lane at all is proof the toll charge was the goal all along – this was 20 years of planning the Kardashian worshiping public can’t keep track of. ALL, read my lips, EVERY SINGLE CARPOOL LANE WILL BE TOLL as soon as the 405 project is complete. The sole, the only, reason for the 405 project is revenue via the new, “gee citizens, the toll roads will help you get there faster, save fuel, clean energy, and cure cancer…” Your elected officials will tax your every move, and lie to you about how it is done, and everyone in this State will just eat it up because it’s: green, clean energy, saves the children, good for schools, cures cancer.
Your right Mike; I totally agree with you. Get ready car pool lanes on all what was once freeways be the thing of the past. I am sure there are plans to turn car pool lanes in express toll lanes region wide. Lol, next they will change the names of the road to Harbor Expressway, Golden State Turnpike, San Bernardino Tollway, etc.
This whole thing is such a scam! Just a way to milk money from what used to be a “FREE” way! They should scrap this whole program. Traffic is now worse on the 110!
I hope Metro can incorporate some FasTrak functions (speed projections, transponder status, etc.) into its mobile apps! Is there any move in that direction?
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The problem with this is that they want to “give Metro staff time to collect more data about the number of infrequent users of the ExpressLanes,” but most of those infrequent users won’t be users at all with the service fee. Many are holding out and not getting a transponder because of the fee, so Metro won’t be able to collect any info on them.
At first glance I thought this read “Metro eliminates maintenance fee”. I thought I was finally gonna get the transponder, but I guess not. We will see what March brings.