I know that I see METRO officers at the 610 Transit Center, but what exactly are they there for? Are they really there to enforce the rules of the HOV or are they there to catch up on each others day? Typically our carpool passes through between 4:55 and 5:10 which you would think would mean that we see those same METRO officers pulling over violators of the previously stated HOV/HOT rules - you know, the ones I refer to as HOCheaters... - at the astonishing rate of 10-15 per half hour but NO, they are standing around chatting it up today!
How much more money could this cash-strapped county collect if these men did the job they were paid to do in the hours they were paid to do them? It is hard to imagine....but based on the number of single riders we see daily, it is almost conceivable that financial woes could be a thing of the past if violators were ticketed...and fines collected.
We know the rules aren't enforced in the mornings very often, as eight of the cars that I saw this morning before we got on at West Road were single or double occupants, but only one of the eight went through the toll lane....
I know that once the construction is completed that the Constables Office will be responsible for enforcement of the rules....here's hoping they do a better job....
Tuesday, February 24, 2015
Wednesday, February 11, 2015
Rules were made to be broken, right?
It's amazing to me how many folks think that rules don't apply to them....which rules you ask? Oh, the rule about specific number of riders in a vehicle in order to ride on the Hwy 290 HOV Lane....or pay the toll.
Now, I've been riding this HOV Lane for more than 14 years but it hasn't been a HOT lane all that long. That came with the construction project to widen the freeway. HOV rules are in effect for certain hours and within those hours, HOT rules go are in effect but for only limited hours. The deal is with the HOT rules, one must go through the toll lane so that the ezTag can be read and the toll charged. But this only works WHEN THE TAG IS READ....meaning that if drivers don't go through the toll lane, THEY ARE HOCHEATERS!!! (Yes, that is a word I coined, combination of HOV/HOT and cheaters....pronounced "ho-cheat-ers.....)
Monday, we were unable to even get on the HOV from I-10 (yes, with 3 of us in the vehicle!) due to accidents / stalls / idiots causing problems in the HOV lane. We made our way on mainlanes and were amazed at just how many single occupant vehicles there were in the HOV lane. Now, I'm not saying they were all cheaters, but if you had sat on that HOV lane for almost an hour, how likely would you be to go through that toll lane when you finally reached it? But would that experience have deterred you from riding on it as a single person? I doubt it....Our trek on the mainlanes that day put us at the Northwest Station PNR by 5:36 PM....not too much after a typical journey on a regular day on the HOV.
I understand that the HOT lanes were put into place to allow people who were willing to "pay to play" but I guess METRO took for granted that folks would be honest about things....
Having gotten fed up with calling METRO and complaining, as well as just trying to "talk it up" with folks who I rode in with or rode in with me, I decided that I would start a blog just to see how much traction we could get to force change ....
So, just so we are all aware of the rules of the HOV/HOT Lanes ..... as found on the HOT/HOT Lane FAQs page on METROs website:
As you can see, the HOT lanes close at 6:30 AM Monday through Friday and reopens at 8:00 AM.....but as someone who gets on the HOV between 7:15 and 7:45 AM most mornings, Monday through Friday, almost every morning there are more HOcheaters than legitimate 3+ carpools. Now, I understand that there are perks to being an employee of the State Fire Marshal's Office, HPD, HCSO, and any number of other "governmental" entities that entitle some folks to drive on the HOV/HOT and not have the rules apply to them....I have issues with them too, but the ones I have the most issue with are the ones that knowingly violate the rules and get on the lane as a single occupant and deliberately bypass the "HOT" lane, and cruise their way on to work. It's a gamble they take in betting that the METRO PD officers will be busy working either of the other three HOV/HOT lanes in the system....or that the officers will overlook their single-occupancy because their registration and inspection is still within date.
In the evenings, the traffic is so thick and clogged up with HOcheaters getting on at the 610 Transit Center and then the Hempstead entrance to the HOV/HOT that the line of cars is typically well past the entrance to the lane on I-10. Which, while not a bad thing, most violators don't even pay attention to the overhead sign that tells them that the HOV is open to 2+ vehicles (occupants), and that the HOT (Toll) is closed. Wonder if they are just ignoring it or if we need to make it a bigger sign?
I spoke with David Fink of DOT on the phone this week and suggested that the "reader" of the ezTag be relocated to a spot closer to the entrance of the lane at I-10 so that violators would know immediately that they were being charged and would not get in the lane. Another suggestion (not made during our conversation) but seems logical to me, would be to make the ticket writing process much quicker than it currently seems to be. Seems like three METRO officers take approximately 11 minutes each to issue a citation to one car -- and in that same time frame at least 25 cars with violators get past them onto the HOV lane. Now I see this between 4:45 and 5:10 PM each day.....not every day are the METRO officers there, but when they are, it is a good sign to see them pulling people out of the lane that aren't following the rules. Today we gave the officers "thumbs up" signs to let them know we appreciated their efforts. That notwithstanding, we still did not make it to West Road any earlier than 5:40. Yet another suggestion would be to end the outbound HOT hours at 4:30 instead of 5.
I know that 290 is under construction and that things will get worse before they get better. Maybe we can make our voices heard in such a way that the cheaters will either pay up or they will stay out of our lane. Until then, if you are a cheater, and I see you, expect to hear my horn and see me waggin' my finger at you calling you what you are....a HOcheater!
Now, I've been riding this HOV Lane for more than 14 years but it hasn't been a HOT lane all that long. That came with the construction project to widen the freeway. HOV rules are in effect for certain hours and within those hours, HOT rules go are in effect but for only limited hours. The deal is with the HOT rules, one must go through the toll lane so that the ezTag can be read and the toll charged. But this only works WHEN THE TAG IS READ....meaning that if drivers don't go through the toll lane, THEY ARE HOCHEATERS!!! (Yes, that is a word I coined, combination of HOV/HOT and cheaters....pronounced "ho-cheat-ers.....)
Monday, we were unable to even get on the HOV from I-10 (yes, with 3 of us in the vehicle!) due to accidents / stalls / idiots causing problems in the HOV lane. We made our way on mainlanes and were amazed at just how many single occupant vehicles there were in the HOV lane. Now, I'm not saying they were all cheaters, but if you had sat on that HOV lane for almost an hour, how likely would you be to go through that toll lane when you finally reached it? But would that experience have deterred you from riding on it as a single person? I doubt it....Our trek on the mainlanes that day put us at the Northwest Station PNR by 5:36 PM....not too much after a typical journey on a regular day on the HOV.
I understand that the HOT lanes were put into place to allow people who were willing to "pay to play" but I guess METRO took for granted that folks would be honest about things....
Having gotten fed up with calling METRO and complaining, as well as just trying to "talk it up" with folks who I rode in with or rode in with me, I decided that I would start a blog just to see how much traction we could get to force change ....
So, just so we are all aware of the rules of the HOV/HOT Lanes ..... as found on the HOT/HOT Lane FAQs page on METROs website:
The hours for use of the HOV/HOT lanes on 290 HOT Lane Hours are:Using the METRO HOT Lanes
- Toll tags only.
There are no cash payments. METRO HOT Lanes users can use a METRO HOT Lanes Toll Tag, Harris County EZ TAG, TxDOT’s TxTAG or the Dallas NTTA Toll Tag.- Drive the METRO HOT Lanes.
Drivers without passengers enter the METRO HOT Lane via existing HOV Lane entrance points. Entry and exit points vary by corridor. These are outlined on METRO’s website, here.- Paying the toll.
Drivers without passengers must have a toll tag. Signs at the entrance will post the price for single drivers to use METRO HOT Lanes.- Verifying METRO HOT Lanes’ status.
Clearly marked in each METRO HOT Lane are verification lanes where drivers must declare whether they have passengers or not. At verification points, the lane will briefly become two lanes – all METRO HOT Lanes users must declare single- occupant status by moving to the lane marked "TOLL ONLY". Vehicles driving through this lane will automatically be charged the METRO HOT Lane toll even if they have multiple passengers.
| US 290 METRO HOT Lanes | ||
| Hours of Operation | Direction | |
| Monday - Friday | 5 a.m. – 6:30 a.m. 8 a.m. – 11 a.m. | Inbound |
| 1 p.m. – 5 p.m. 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. | Outbound | |
As you can see, the HOT lanes close at 6:30 AM Monday through Friday and reopens at 8:00 AM.....but as someone who gets on the HOV between 7:15 and 7:45 AM most mornings, Monday through Friday, almost every morning there are more HOcheaters than legitimate 3+ carpools. Now, I understand that there are perks to being an employee of the State Fire Marshal's Office, HPD, HCSO, and any number of other "governmental" entities that entitle some folks to drive on the HOV/HOT and not have the rules apply to them....I have issues with them too, but the ones I have the most issue with are the ones that knowingly violate the rules and get on the lane as a single occupant and deliberately bypass the "HOT" lane, and cruise their way on to work. It's a gamble they take in betting that the METRO PD officers will be busy working either of the other three HOV/HOT lanes in the system....or that the officers will overlook their single-occupancy because their registration and inspection is still within date.
In the evenings, the traffic is so thick and clogged up with HOcheaters getting on at the 610 Transit Center and then the Hempstead entrance to the HOV/HOT that the line of cars is typically well past the entrance to the lane on I-10. Which, while not a bad thing, most violators don't even pay attention to the overhead sign that tells them that the HOV is open to 2+ vehicles (occupants), and that the HOT (Toll) is closed. Wonder if they are just ignoring it or if we need to make it a bigger sign?
I spoke with David Fink of DOT on the phone this week and suggested that the "reader" of the ezTag be relocated to a spot closer to the entrance of the lane at I-10 so that violators would know immediately that they were being charged and would not get in the lane. Another suggestion (not made during our conversation) but seems logical to me, would be to make the ticket writing process much quicker than it currently seems to be. Seems like three METRO officers take approximately 11 minutes each to issue a citation to one car -- and in that same time frame at least 25 cars with violators get past them onto the HOV lane. Now I see this between 4:45 and 5:10 PM each day.....not every day are the METRO officers there, but when they are, it is a good sign to see them pulling people out of the lane that aren't following the rules. Today we gave the officers "thumbs up" signs to let them know we appreciated their efforts. That notwithstanding, we still did not make it to West Road any earlier than 5:40. Yet another suggestion would be to end the outbound HOT hours at 4:30 instead of 5.
I know that 290 is under construction and that things will get worse before they get better. Maybe we can make our voices heard in such a way that the cheaters will either pay up or they will stay out of our lane. Until then, if you are a cheater, and I see you, expect to hear my horn and see me waggin' my finger at you calling you what you are....a HOcheater!
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