Virginia Eyes Toll Revenue for Transit as Express Lane Debate Grows

Virginia is pushing to reinvest express lane and toll revenue into public transit instead of road projects, even as public concerns persist about using priced roadways.

The focus on reinvesting express lane revenue is reflected in the estimated $46.5 million the commonwealth expects to generate from its express lanes, which are designed to mitigate congestion through alternative traffic lanes.

A view of the Interstate 95 Express Lanes in Prince William, Fairfax, and Stafford counties. (Photo courtesy of Trevor Wrayton/Virginia Department of Transportation)

The Office of the Virginia Secretary of Transportation said in a statement that one of its core goals is maximizing the benefits and value of Virginia’s existing infrastructure, including express lanes in Northern Virginia and Hampton Roads.

Rising operating and labor costs threaten the stability of transit funding in Virginia, underscoring the urgency of reinvesting toll revenue into public transportation.

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“Governor (Abigail) Spanberger has clearly said that affordability is a primary goal for this administration,” the office stated. “Offering affordable transportation choices looks different across Virginia and for different Virginians. But for much of urban and suburban Virginia, one way of providing transportation affordability means expanding fast and reliable transit options.”

The Commuter Choice Program, operated in partnership with the commonwealth and the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission for the past 10 years, has helped take cars off the road and move commuters onto express lanes.

The program also invests toll revenue to improve transportation options and reduce congestion, including transit.

“There’s an incredible benefit of putting express lanes and transit together,” said Kate Mattice, NVTC executive director, during the May 19 Commonwealth Transportation Board work session.

“The ability to take 50 people who otherwise would be in a car, either in the general purpose lanes or in those express lanes paying tolls, could be sitting in a single bus. And so the program that we have here is a way to effectively remove vehicles, which means both for the general purpose lanes as well as the express lanes is the ability to be moving things more reliably.”

Arlington County Board of Supervisors Chair Matt de Ferranti told the board during last week’s work session that transportation is about “the people.”

“There are many residents in different parts of the commonwealth who are walking, biking, or taking transit and the buses,” de Ferranti said. “We certainly saw it through COVID that so many of the heroes in our community were taking the bus and Metro.”

A view of the Alexandria Transit Company’s electric buses in Northern Virginia. (Photo courtesy Alexandria Transit Company)

As government interest in using toll funds for public transit grows, the Virginia Department of Transportation has pushed back on cost-related objections by noting that most trips are toll-free because of HOV and transit exemptions.

Data shows 55% of users pay no toll on Interstate 66 inside the Beltway Express Lanes, meaning more than half of trips are toll-free. Similarly, 55% pay no toll during morning hours on I-95 express lanes from Exit 166 to Exit 169 in Fairfax County.

Other concerns include whether express lanes are beneficial and whether drivers improperly switch their Flex Pass to HOV mode to avoid tolls. A Flex Pass allows drivers to save on lane use or ride for free when enough passengers are in the vehicle.

VDOT said it is adding more cameras and automated enforcement to detect misuse.

On the other hand, the agency said express lanes offer ”significant benefits for economic competitiveness and travel reliability” by reducing travel times, incentivizing carpooling and managing congestion through pricing.

“Express lanes work best when many of the people in them ride in carpools or buses,” the secretary’s office stated. “We will work with stakeholders in our existing express lanes, and the soon-to-open lanes in Hampton Roads, to maximize the benefits by maximizing carpooling and transit use.”

The board took no action on the presentation but instructed staff to improve communication about how express lanes work and to avoid placing them in every location.

“I think as we think about I-81 and other projects in the future, maybe we need to give more consideration to using express lanes where that makes sense,” board member Raymond Smoot said on May 19. “They don’t make sense everywhere obviously, but this has been very insightful.”

by Nathaniel Cline, Virginia Mercury

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