Gregory Todd Williams

I enjoyed the Times’ recent article on “Toll Discounts for Going Green”, but had a few issues with what’s said.

After discussing congestion charge systems around the world, this shows up:

While transportation experts applauded these efforts to reduce smog and bolster fuel efficiency, they worry that the discounts could reduce toll revenue.

“While all this is great for climate control, as these vehicles become more popular it’ll erode their revenues,” said Jeffrey M. Zupan, a senior fellow at the Regional Plan Association in New York. “All these are good measures, but you don’t want to compromise the purpose of the tolls.”

I’m a bit frustrated at the implication that the purpose of the tolls is to bring in revenue for the government and not to, you know, reduce congestion and pollution. When it comes to charges from Turnpike and Transportation Authorities, I understand that the tolls are used for the upkeep of the roads, but the societal benefit of reducing congestion and pollution (a more healthy and physically fit population leading to dramatically reduced health care costs) almost certainly outweighs the loss of toll revenue.

The financial tradeoff seems especially insignificant considering the numbers listed in the article: the New York State Thruway Authority has handed out only 1,240 “green tags” out of 2.3 million total tags (that’s just five one-hundredths of one percent), with the green tags getting a 10% discount on tolls.

This is followed immediately by:

Mr. Zupan and other transportation experts also questioned policies in California and other states that permit hybrid vehicles - even those with no passengers - to ride in high-occupancy vehicle, or H.O.V., lanes. These lanes, they said, are intended to reward drivers who car-pool and to reduce highway congestion. But as more hybrids are sold, H.O.V. lanes could end up being just as crowded as other lanes.

This is where Mr. Zupan loses credibility. California does allow hybrids in the H.O.V. lanes, but you need an identification sticker on the car. Only 85,000 stickers were available, and no more are being given out. Moreover, these stickers will only provide the H.O.V. benefit until 2011 at which point the program expires and they become meaningless. Given this, “as more hybrids are sold,” H.O.V. lanes will not become more crowded as a result, and can only stay at the current levels of hybrids for another four years when all the hybrids will once again be subject to the same requirements for using the H.O.V. lanes as everybody else.