How to take the I-495 Express Lanes without an E-Z Pass

The new I-495 Express Lanes (also known as HOT lanes, for High Occupancy Toll) on the Capital Beltway opened in mid-November 2012.  For those paying attention, there has been a lot of information about what they are.  Importantly, they have been making the point that one MUST have an E-Z Pass to travel on the lanes (or an E-Z Pass Flex for travelers who want to travel free with 3 or more passengers - see my critical post about this policy).

In fact, this E-Z Pass requirement has been made so strongly that numerous crashes occurred at the southern entry point caused by drivers trying to get out of the Express lanes, because they did not have an E-Z Pass.

However, less well publicized is the fact that one can use the Express lanes without an E-Z Pass for a slight additional charge.  There is a "Missed a Toll?" link on the Express Lanes website where one may pay the toll on-line.  There is a $1.50 administrative fee added to the toll as long as you pay within five days.  Certainly that's a small amount to pay to avoid a crash.  It may even be a reasonable amount to pay if stuck in interminable traffic.

Monday What's on the Web: The Green Miles

Each Monday I highlight other bloggers or web contributors who are making important or interesting contributions to climate, sustainability, transportation or market transformation. Check back each week for another installment.

---------------------------------------

Miles Grant is a fellow Arlingtonian who shares a strong interest in protecting and improving our environment.  He is also an assiduous follower of politics--both local and national, with a particular interest in Virginia state politics.  His blog, The Green Miles, reflects both of these, with posts that address one or the other or, often, both.  Mr. Grant ran for state delegate in 2009, but lost in the local election.  He works for the National Wildlife Federation, where he also maintains an active blog focusing on issues specific to that organization.

Recent posts on The Green Miles include:

• Conservatives Make Their Own Reality: Clean Air Act Edition
• Possibility of Wind Farm to Ruin Christmas
• What Energy Sources Do Your Tax Dollars Subsidize?

Recent posts on his blog at the National Wildlife Federation include:

• Big Oil Money Working to Rewrite History of Gulf Oil Disaster
• Top 10 Unsung Heroes of 2010′s Gulf Oil Disaster
• Polluters Pour Millions Into November Elections

Keep an eye on Miles.  It's my hope that he and people like him will be politically successful to help push more progressive environmental policies at a faster pace.

Freight Rail Is a Transformative Solution, But Not Necessarily a Job Creator

Today's Washington Post contained an op-ed penned by the Governors of five states in the Mid-Atlantic and the South. In it, they recommend investing in a 2,500 mile rail corridor termed the Crescent Corridor that will replace much of the truck traffic between the South and the Northeast. This is a great idea, and it has already received some stimulus funding. As pointed out in the article, as much as 40% of the traffic on I-81 is truck traffic. There is not much room to expand road capacity, and even if there were, the space required to move the same amount of freight via rail will be much, much smaller.

In addition, shipping freight by rail is far more environmentally sustainable, with reductions in fuel consumption of 2/3rds or more to transport the same amount of goods. "It's an idea that will not only create jobs but also reduce highway congestion, improve safety and take more than 1 million long-haul trucks off the road each year," the article states.

Transforming our transportation systems is an imperative objective as we continue to move into a world of rapidly changing climate, unsustainable land-use patterns and increasing traffic congestion. Shifting significant portions of our freight transportation from truck to rail is a no brainer, even taking into account the significant infrastructure costs involved.

So I am totally on board with these governors and the overall idea of shifting freight to rail. My only quibble is that they are throwing out the job creation rubric as a key reason for doing this. You can see the contradiction in their statement above: removing 1 million trucks from the road will also remove the truck drivers and the support systems for those trucks. That's part of the reason it's so efficient--you only need one really big vehicle with a staff of two or three people to move the goods that would have taken hundreds. Yes, some jobs will be created in the construction part of the initiative, but in the long run, shifting to rail will be much less labor intensive than trucking.

So, yes, let's invest in rail (passenger rail, too, for that matter) Let's transform our transportation systems to more sustainable models. But let's not couch it in false terms of job creation.

Miles Grant for Delegate

Miles Grant, who is running for State Delegate in Virginia, stopped by my house yesterday. I know Miles through a professional connection and follow his blog: The Green Miles. He's an environmentalist like I am, and we had a chance to discuss some local and statewide environmental issues. (Click here for his campaign site)

In our discussion, we talked about coal, including the new Wise County coal plant, which neither of us thinks was very wise. I agree with him that it's long past time to stop building coal plants and start transforming our energy economy and our energy systems to an entirely new paradigm. Coal cannot be part of that paradigm. Unfortunately, I don't think the state of Virginia perceives itself as being a leader on climate change or on our environment. Come to think of it, I'm not sure the state considers itself to be a real leader on anything. I believe Miles will strongly bring those issues to Richmond if he wins this primary and goes on the win the election. Good luck to him.