Hopping in the ‘green lane’

November 10th, 2008 at 11:26am Jennie Pollock

Today, I see a story from our transportation writer, Thomas Bona, that the tollway plans to spend big bucks to convert existing interstate lanes into “green lanes” that would theoretically move faster.

… The $400 million “green lanes” program would convert existing lanes on portions of the Tollway system east of Illinois 59. Because of restrictions, Tollway officials hope those lanes would move faster, enticing drivers to car-pool and use mass transit.

Vehicles with at least two people in them would continue to pay existing I-PASS rates. Vehicles with only one person would pay a higher rate when using the “green lanes” — somewhere between 80 cents and $9 a pop (the range will actually be much smaller, but Tollway officials are legally required to advertise some range). Hybrids and “high miles-per-gallon” vehicles with one person in them would pay half what regular vehicles pay.

Passenger vehicles using conventional lanes would pay the same they are now.

Trucks and other commercial vehicles could only use the conventional lanes, and would pay 60 percent more than they do now. That would bring the average rate to 43 cents a mile in 2015, not far above the current national average of 39 cents …

I’m guessing that calling them “green lanes” instead of “carpool lanes” is more appealing these days.

Entry Filed under: Energy, In the news