Vallejo 7:30 AM Cold rainy morning
Many cars waiting. My ride today is a bright red Nissan Pickup 2-seater. The driver is a 30-something jean-clad fellow, shaved head, goatee. His blue baseball cap lays on the dashboard. No heat, too bad.
Traffic is slow in all lanes this morning. Many trucks are out here today and that slows things down.
Did you see the front page story in yesterday’s SF Chronicle? Here’s the link: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2010/02/22/MNVO1C0D4I.DTL
;Toll Increase Creates Casual Carpool Conundrum
It’s a good review of the carpool toll issue written by Michael Cabanatuan and includes opinions from riders and drivers on how the toll will be handled by carpoolers themselves. To pay or not to pay if you’re a rider, and how much should you pay.
The driver drives this freeway every day and is resigned to the lengthy commute. He’s a man of strong opinions. He believes that letting hybrid cars use the carpool lane, regardless of the number of riders, has doomed the system. “All downhill from here”. He thinks it’s wrong to charge a toll for carpoolers, and he hates the cheaters (single drivers who use the carpool lane illegally). His keys are attached to a well worn length of a leather belt, which swings to and fro as we navigate the heavy traffic.
Approaching the bridge we pass a car with dark smoke rolling out of the engine. It’s trying to maneuver out of the lanes of traffic onto the shoulder.
The driver says “If you don’t change your oil, that’s what happens”.
A man to listen to.
Filed under: Casual Carpooling, commute, casual car pool, Today's Commute, Tolls for car pools | Leave a comment »
Getting There 