HOV Or HOT? Robert Lang 14 March 2005 Hello; I am Robert Lang. I take a moment to thank Delegate Jeff Frederick for the great work he did on funding the 234 commuter lot expansion. Please, let’s give Jeff a round of applause.... Vigorous applause follows. I am analyst for a major defense contractor, a car–pooling commuter, and a concerned citizen. I am here to share my observations with you.

HOT versus HOV HOV is a viable system that encourage car pooling, bus service, and uses commuter lots. Greatly improving HOV requires using tax revenues. HOT is a promise to build a third commuter lane, encourage car pooling, expand bus service, build new commuter lots, and do so using no Public Funding. HOV riders “pay” to enter the lane by car-pooling. HOT charges a per car user-fee. WE HAVE A WORKING, RUNNING, GREAT SYSTEM CALLED HOV. High Occupancy Vehicles lanes that run reverse directions for the AM and PM rush hour. SOMEONE THINKS WE SHOULD REPLACE THAT WITH SOMETHING CALLED HOT. The HOT folks are here to sell you on HOT. You should ask, “Why?” BUT, NOT “Why HOT?” Rather, “Why is this guy selling us HOT?” My answer: “Follow the money!”

Revenue HOT 20% Toll HOT 75% Toll HOT 50% Toll HOT 100% Toll HOT – The “T” $tand for Toll$. Management will drive u$ to ma$imi$e the dollar$ MONEY! ROAD BUILDER want HOT because the builder will profit. They do not look at the social impacts. And once they pass it to a management company, more money – your money now, becomes even more important. Building a third lane changes nothing. The system remains capacity constrained by cars per lane per hour. You can’t put two cars in the same space. It is an HOVer, or a toll- payers, or an HOVer. Management will maximize profits if everyone is a toll- paying drivers. More toll-payers – MORE MONEY. Less car pooling – more profit. NO HOV, all the better. Max profits when 100% are toll-paying drivers.

Commuters per hour HOT 20% Toll HOT 75% Toll HOT 50% Toll HOT 100% Toll Capacity is FIXED. There is no incentive to support non-paying car-pools. Maximizing revenue will decrease total commuters per hour. AGAIN, YOU NEED TO UNDERSTAND, The system is capacity constrained to the same cars per lane per hour, whether HOV or HOT. You can’t put two cars in the same space. It is an HOVer, or a toll-payers, or an HOVer. Max profits when 100% are cars have toll-paying drivers. You maximizing revenue at 5,400 cars per hour. And doing so KILLS the car pooling function

TollversusCommuters per hour HOT 20% Toll HOT 75% Toll HOT 50% Toll HOT 100% Toll Toll or carpool. There is no incentive to support non-paying car- pools. Guess where a toll management company will go? LOOK AGAIN. HOV and HOT ARE NOT complimentary entities. We may want, We may need We might be dying for car-pooling, but management will push for the competing goal of maximizing profit.

What’s wrong with HOV? Is it really broken? Are there too many cheaters? Are hybrid vehicle hurting the commute? What about Stafford people who park at the 234 lot? Is there really light at the end of the tunnel? Hey! These questions are asked to distract you from the real issue! How can you improve HOV? So, WHAT IS WRONG WITH HOV? WHY DO WE NEED HOT? Who causing CONGESTION All these questions are just YOU NEED TO ASK, HOW CAN WE HAVE MORE HOV?!!!!!

How can we Increase Commuter Throughput? Commuters per hour REMEMBER, THE SYSTEM IS CAPACITY CONSTRAINED cars per lane per hour. Replacing single drive cars with high density car-pools increases throughput. HOV promotes more commuters per hour – not more cars per hours, but more commuters per hour over the same lanes. You need solutions to pass, NOT MORE CARS PER HOUR BUT MORE PEOPLE PER CAR PER HOUR. MORE PEOPLE PER CAR PER HOUR OVER THE EXISTING STRUCTURE.!

Commuters per hour 2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20% exempt 2 lane HOV-3 HOV-4 No exemptions and 3 rd lane We currently run about 9,400 commuters, per hour, on two HOV-3 lanes. Current capacity Assumes 20% hybrids, 9,360 passengers per hour, based on 1800 cars per lane per hour.

Commuters per hour 2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20% exempt 2 lane HOV-3 HOV-4 No exemptions and 3 rd lane We can increase throughput 15% by repealing the exemption. This will pass about 1,400 more commuters each way. Exemptions and exceptions have to go, NOW! No hybrids, two lanes, 10,800 passengers per hour (based on 1800 cars per lane, per hour) 9,360 passengers per hour to 10,800. You add about 1,440 PASSENGERS – NOT CARS, PASSENGERS per hour.

Commuters per hour 2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20% exempt 2 lane HOV-3 HOV-4 Zero Tolerance and 3 rd lane According to some, we could increase throughput 15% by strict, “draconian” enforcement of HOV-3. CHEATERS have to go. More aggressive patrolling, higher fines, detaining until after hours perhaps? It takes ticketing 1 cheater every 20 minutes during the AM rush hour to pay for one trooper- day. Begs to know, why don’t we have better enforcement? This adds about 4,000 commuters per AM/PM flow – with NO ADDITIONAL TRAFFIC.

Commuters per hour 2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20% exempt 2 lane HOV-3 HOV-4 No exemptions and 3 rd lane We can increase throughput 33% by going to HOV-4. This will pass an additional 3,600 commuters, each way. HOV-4! 14,400 passengers per hour. Not a free lunch, BTW. Parking is an issue. But parking is cheaper than roads! Based on two lanes. 1,800 cars per lane,per hour, HOV- 4, no hybrids, 9,360 passengers per hour to 14,400 (more with draconian enforcement.).

Commuters per hour 2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20% exempt 2 lane HOV-3 HOV-4 No exemptions and 3 rd lane We can increase throughput another 130% if our commonwealth adds a third lane. This will pass an additional 7,200 commuters. IN THE LONG RUN, Northern Virginia is the economic engine for this STATE. DELEGATES and SENATORS, DON’T RENEW the great NORTH VERSUS SOUTH VIRGINIA BUDGET BATTLE. WE CANNOT FAIL NOW FOR THE FIRST STATE NEAREST WASHINGTON DC THAT FIXES THIS COMMUTER ISSUE REAPS AN ECONOMIC WINDFALL. With that said, codify a greater portion of our budget to fund a third lane, and HOV-4, and enforcement, and repeal the exemptions. IN THE LONG RUN, we go from 9,360 passengers per hour to 21,600 passengers per hour, workers who will continue to feed our prosperity!

2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20% exemptions 2 lane HOV-3 HOV-4 No exemptions and 3 rd lane We can Increase Commuter Throughput! Commuters per hour There are non- material solutions that can improve the commute tomorrow, without spending additional public money. We can take steps, within the existing structure, to have a reasonably improved commute in the short run. By investing in commuter lots and investing in HOV –4, we can grow our capacity over a longer term.

Commuters per hour The Choice is Clear! You will Maximize Commuter Throughput or Maximize the Revenue of a Toll Road! We do not need to make a less than wise giveaway of existing, paid for and free, public infrastructure to chase after some far flung, extravagant, and even baseless promise of future commuter nirvana.

Commuters per hour HOV – FOREVER FREE! We can have more than doubled the capacity without HOT. I urge you, keep HOV – keep HOV forever free. HOV – FOREVER FREE HOV – FOREVER FREE.

Commuters per hour 2 lane HOV-3 HOV-4 20% exempt NO exemptions HOT 20% Toll HOT 75% Tolls HOV-3 HOV-4 NO exemptions W/ 3 RD Lane HOT 50% Toll HOT 100% Toll KEEP HOV – FOREVER FREE The Choice is clear! Enlist your fellow commuters and their friends, across all of Virginia! Save the entity that lubricates the engine, that drives the economy of Northern Virginia, that further fuels the good of our Commonwealth!