Opinion: Surprise — many of the people who use L.A.’s toll lanes don’t pay the tolls

To the editor: As a two-person carpooler on the 110 Freeway long before the toll lanes were created, I can vouch for the fact that the northbound toll lanes provide little or no time savings during the morning rush hour commute due to the congestion caused by what is now a majority of solo drivers. (“Bad traffic in L.A.’s toll lanes? Blame the 25% of drivers who don’t pay to use them, officials say,” Oct. 13)

What is most unbelievable is the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s suggestion that 75% of solo drivers are not cheating and are paying up to $20 for no advantage at all during the morning rush-hour commute. Unless there are a lot of clueless solo drivers out there, the number of cheaters must be higher than 25% of motorists.

Also amazing is the fact that Metro would admit the success of its toll lane system was based on its assumption that “people would be more honest,” which is nothing more than an admission that its so-called “system of enforcement” was fatally flawed to begin with.

Professor Martin Wacks of the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs hit the nail on the head when he said of the toll lane program, “You can’t charge people to use a system that you’re not willing to enforce.”

George Pisano, Rancho Palos Verdes

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To the editor: When it was finally discovered that people cheat in the toll lanes, Metro deputy executive officer Kathleen McCune commented, “We thought people would be more honest.”

This simple comment confirms something that all of us who drive the streets of Los Angeles have known for a long time: There’s tons of cheating everywhere, almost no enforcement anywhere, and the people in charge of the roads have no idea of what’s going on out here.

The city is ripe for a one-issue mayoral candidate. The issue? Traffic.

Peter Marquard, Northridge

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