Virginia's I-66 morning toll reached $40 last week

If you think Washington state’s tolls were bad, consider the toll that 28 drivers in Virginia paid on Interstate 66’s new express lanes last week: $40.

According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, this toll only applied to eastbound drivers heading to downtown Washington from the Capital Beltway for a six-minute period shortly after 8 a.m. last Tuesday.

According to the New York Times, the tolls change every six minutes, depending on how many people are on the road.

If the drivers who paid $40 last Tuesday took the same route the next morning, they would not have paid the same amount. Last Wednesday, the eastbound morning toll peaked at $23.50.

Carpoolers do not have to pay the weekday tolls, which may explain why the percent of carpool trips increased throughout the week, according to VDOT's analysis of the I-66 traffic during the first four days of express lanes.

Although 28 drivers ended up paying $40 last Tuesday, approximately 41 percent -- that’s 5,965 eastbound drivers -- did not have to pay a toll that morning because they had passengers. Between 5:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m., one-third of drivers paid less than $10.

The Washington Post reported that Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne responded to claims that the tolls are unfair. She said no one actually has to pay a toll.

“You simply could have put another person in your car and avoid a toll,” Layne said.

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