Buy Your Way Out Of Traffic Jams

Washington state considers letting solo drivers pay for the privilege of using High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes.

1 minute read

July 17, 2003, 7:00 AM PDT

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"Washington state Rep. Fred Jarrett is making the proposal that solo drivers, commercial truckers, and delivery services such as UPS and FedEx may be willing to pay for the privilege and advantage of using High Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes. These lanes are currently reserved, under penalty of heavy fines, for buses and private vehicles holding at least two occupants... To determine just how much individuals or corporations will pay for the HOV lane privilege, state officials will consider auctioning, on the online site eBay, a limited number of monthly HOV access permits."

Thanks to Chris Steins

Thursday, July 17, 2003 in The Christian Science Monitor

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