HOV

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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, lets give Jeff a round of applause. . .
. Vigorous applause follows. I am analyst for
a major defense contractor, a carpooling
commuter, and a concerned citizen. I am here to
share my observations with you.
HOV Or HOT? Robert Lang
RobertLangDirect_at_Comcast.net 14 March
2005
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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!
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HOT The T tand for Toll. Management will
drive u to maimie the dollar
Revenue
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 cant
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.
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Capacity is FIXED. There is no incentive to
support non-paying car-pools. Maximizing revenue
will decrease total commuters per hour.
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 cant 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
HOT 20 Toll HOT 75 Toll
HOT 50 Toll HOT 100 Toll
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Toll or carpool. There is no incentive to
support non-paying car-pools. Guess where a toll
management company will go?
Toll versus Commuters per hour
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.
HOT 20 Toll HOT 75 Toll
HOT 50 Toll HOT 100 Toll
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Whats 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?!!!!!
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How can we Increase Commuter Throughput?
Commuters per hour
REMEMBER, THE SYSTEM IS CAPACITY CONSTRAINED.
1880 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.!
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We currently run about 9,400 commuters, per hour,
on two HOV-3 lanes.
Commuters per hour
2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20
exempt 2 lane HOV-3
HOV-4
No exemptions
and 3rd lane
Current capacity Assumes 20 hybrids, 9,360
passengers per hour, based on 1800 cars per lane
per hour.
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We can increase throughput 15 by repealing the
exemption. This will pass about 1,400 more
commuters each way.
Commuters per hour
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.
2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20
exempt 2 lane HOV-3
HOV-4
No exemptions
and 3rd lane
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According to some, we could increase throughput
15 by strict, draconian enforcement of HOV-3.
Commuters per hour
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 dont we have
better enforcement? This adds about 4,000
commuters per AM/PM flow with NO ADDITIONAL
TRAFFIC.
2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20
exempt 2 lane HOV-3
HOV-4
Zero Tolerance and
3rd lane
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We can increase throughput 33 by going to HOV-4.
This will pass an additional 3,600 commuters,
each way.
Commuters per hour
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.).
2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20
exempt 2 lane HOV-3
HOV-4
No exemptions
and 3rd lane
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We can increase throughput another 130 if our
commonwealth adds a third lane. This will pass
an additional 7,200 commuters.
Commuters per hour
IN THE LONG RUN, Northern Virginia is the
economic engine for this STATE. DELEGATES and
SENATORS, DONT 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
exempt 2 lane HOV-3
HOV-4
No exemptions
and 3rd lane
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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.
2 lane HOV-3 HOV- 4 20
exemptions 2 lane HOV-3
HOV-4
No exemptions
and 3rd lane
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The Choice is Clear! You will Maximize
Commuter Throughput or Maximize the Revenue of a
Toll Road!
Commuters per hour
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.
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HOV FOREVER FREE!
Commuters per hour
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.
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KEEP HOV FOREVER FREE
Commuters per hour
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!
2 lane HOV-3 HOV-4 20 exempt
NO exemptions
HOT 20 Toll HOT 75 Tolls
HOV-3
HOV-4 NO exemptions W/ 3RD Lane
HOT 50 Toll
HOT 100 Toll