VA SCC launches a probe in to the Greenway

Last week the Virginia State Corporation Commission (SCC) officially announced it will hold a series of meetings and is currently seeking public comment on the Dulles Greenway tolls.

Commuters can file their e-public input:
www.scc.virginia.gov/case

1) Click on the "public comments/notices" link a
2) Then the "submit comments" button for 2013 SCC Greenway case number PUE-2013-00011.

Below is the actual Docket/Case info for the Dulles Greenway Probe. I've also attached the complete docket/case info officially released by the SCC on 2/15/13
http://docket.scc.virginia.gov/vaprod/main.asp

 

As I have mentioned in previous posts, it’s not just high tolls that we’re struggling with. The toll structure is also ridiculously out of whack.

The root cause of the rate structure problem is that the eastern terminus is a toll collection point but the western terminus is not. This creates a huge asymmetry at each Greenway access point where westbound drivers pay to get on but not to get off. Conversely, eastbound drivers don’t pay to get on, but they do pay when they get off. This flawed toll-collection logic undergirds a rate structure that is unfair to everyone who rides only a portion of the road instead of its full length. This places Ashburn residents at a huge disadvantage compared to Leesburg residents.

Please allow me to illustrate my point.

Consider what effect the toll structure has on those who commute into Fairfax county and exit the Greenway at Route 28. For example, a person who gets on at the western terminus in Leesburg pays the full toll and gets to enjoy the full length of the road. However, a person who gets on in Ashburn still pays the full toll yet only gets to ride about half the length. In fact, the per mile rate is DOUBLE for an Ashburn commuter versus a Leesburg commuter. And we should all take pity on those poor saps who hop on the Greenway at Route 606 because the per-mile rate of their very short ride is a whopping 550% greater than that of a Leesburg commuter.

This has never seemed fair to me. Regardless of the rate, if I ride half the road I expect to pay half as much as someone who rides the entire road. But this isn’t the case because the deck is stacked against us.

For more than 15 years I have complained about this problem to everyone. I have explained it in great detail to Frank Wolf’s office on three separate occasions, but this aspect of the highway robbery being perpetrated by TRIP II never seems to make it into the discussion or press coverage. Is it perhaps that the concept is too difficult to get one’s head around or maybe just takes up too much time or printed space to fully describe? I don’t know, but I intend to attend the SCC meeting to make my voice heard.

But wait, there’s more.

Exit 5 at Claiborne Road is about halfway between the eastern terminus and the western terminus. If during the peak periods of the so-called congestion management toll an Ashburn resident rides the Greenway in the morning to its eastern terminus (either continuing on the Dulles Toll Road or dumping off on Route 28) and then reverses that route in the evening, that person will pay $9.80 per day. However, that same Ashburn resident making a commute of roughly the same distance from Claiborne to the western terminus in Leesburg under those same conditions will pay only $7.50 per day. If we had true distance-based tolls, then this would not be the case. But because the system is rigged, Broadlands residents making an east-west commute versus a west-east commute get screwed even further by the unfair rate structure. And, of course, all of this is in addition to the exorbitant rates themselves.

I’ve compiled a toll matrix based on entrance points and exit points. I pulled the rates from the Greenway’s web site, but I have presented them in a way that the Greenway has chosen not to, surely out of concern that it would help to expose their little scam. I show distances (calculated using Gmap Pedometer) and use them to compute the cost per mile. This allows all of us to see the rip-off in a new light.

I welcome continued discussion on this matter as we prepare for the SCC hearings on April 9.

 

But goofus, if they did the tolls based on distance, then they would lose allll that money us Cashburnians have lying around doing nothing.

I am betting that is their sole reason to fight distance based tolls. They want Ashburn to pay, and keep on paying!

 

T8erman - This is precisely my point. I agree with you that TRIP II expects Ashburn to pay through the nose. The challenge is whether we can get the SCC to see that we are being squeezed by this unfair toll rate structure.

flynnibus - I agree that TRIP II would never cut our rate in half; rather, they would cook up some scheme much like you have described. But again, if the SCC is getting involved (finally) and the state is considering taking over the road, then this is our opportunity to challenge the unfairness of the status quo.

***************

I moved here in 1995 shortly before the road opened. By the time I got here, the toll structure and the logic for the asymmetrical toll collection configuration had long been baked into the plan. But why was it done this way? The Dulles Toll Road has toll collection points at both termini, so why was the Dulles Greenway designed differently? I have no proof, but my gut tells me that it was designed from the beginning to rip off those who hop on midway (translation: Ashburn). It wasn't so bad when the toll was a buck – who remembers the $1 promotional toll? – but at $5 it's painful. This is the message that needs to be conveyed to the SCC.

 

I know this is minor compared to all the money we pay. But I would guess that this pricing structure discourages big retail stores such as target and walmart. No one would ever pop off the greedway on the way home to leesburg under the current tolls.... they'd have to pay double.

It'd be nice not to always drive 15 minutes to these type of stores.

Bear

 

On 2/20/13 the VS SCC agreed to hold a Public Hearing in the Ashburn area.

Although a date/location has yet to be finalized, when those details become available I'll post them here.

 

this is a waste of time. State doesn't care. feds don't care. they just like to have "hearings" to make it look like they're doing something.
NOTHING about the Greedway will change........except tolls going up.

 

Way to add to the dialog Cliff. Yes, nothing will happen if everybody sits back and takes the same attitude as you have shown here. Thank God you were not elected to public office and my support of you ranks up there with one of the bigger mistakes I have made in the last 10 years.

Speaking of your comment though: If you really want to talk about a commission's activities that have really been a waste of time, let's talk about our Loudoun County Government Reform Commission. What has it really accomplished other then providing a few people with some additional empty titles.

 

SCC Agrees To Ashburn-Area Hearing On Dulles Greenway Toll Rates

http://www.leesburgtoday.com/news/s...cle_e2a6951e-7c3f-11e2-ac60-001a4bcf887a.html

A July 9 deadline for written comments has been established. Correspondence should be sent to the Clerk of the State Corporation Commission, Document Control Center, P.O. Box 2118, Richmond, Virginia 23218-2118, and refer to case number PUE-2013-00011.
Comments may be sent electronically via the SCC’s website: www.scc.virginia.gov/case. Click on the "public comments/notices" link and then the "submit comments" button for case number PUE-2013-00011.

 

Delegate Ramadan (who is largely responsible for the VA SCC probe/hearings) sent me the following Order. The two page document, which was released on Feb 20th, states the VA SCC has agreed to move the Richmond hearing(s) to Loudoun County;

1st Public Hearing is: April 9, 2013 4PM to reconvene at 7PM-9PM
Loudoun Valley High School - main auditorium

I do not believe the SCC has officially stated the location of a secondary hearing, which was originally scheduled to take place in Richmond. Once I have the date/time I will post. In the mean time I would encourage people to file an e-comment. Directions have been listed several times in this post. Again I would encourage participation, we (and Richmond) need to hear from users and non-users of the Greenway - in order to affect change.

 

Grow up.
To the subject at hand, after all the political failures at having ANY changes to the Greenway, I wish you would enlighten me as to how this one will have any difference.
Truly wish it would, but it won't. Period. Ever.