Greenway Revenue, Traffic At Odds
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Fewer on Va. Road Since Tolls Went Up
Sunday, July 5, 2009
The Dulles Greenway is rapidly losing commuters but increasing its revenue because its remaining drivers are paying up to $1 more to use the 14-mile private toll road.
Daily weekday traffic on the Greenway, connecting Dulles International Airport and Leesburg, fell nearly 8 percent over the first three months of this year, compared with the same months in 2008. The sharp drop in Greenway traffic, to an average of 47,490 tolls a day, coincides with fee increases that took effect in January.
The $3 base toll rose by 40 cents; $1 during rush hour. But average daily revenue jumped by 11.5 percent, to $167,453.
For most drivers who use the Greenway, it's a largely unavoidable neccesity in an area lacking mass transit. During workday rush hours, motorists who drive the toll road's entire stretch to the airport save roughly 30 minutes compared with alternate routes. Geoffrey Kostal, 39, an airline pilot who lives in Waterford, said the increases are "repugnant" but uses the Greenway to get to Dulles International Airport.
"If I need to get to the airport or I want to see my kids, I'll take it, but I avoid it as much as I can," Kostal said. "It offers a benefit, but how is that benefit shared between the users and the investor class?"
Ann Huggins-Lawler, a spokeswoman for Toll Road Investors Partnership II, or TRIP II, said the increases help pay for the road's construction, including possible widening to 12 lanes, and continued maintenance.
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Related tories
- June 24, 2009 -- Fees Likely To Double on Dulles Toll Road by 2012
- Jan. 6, 2009 -- County Agrees to $744 Million Stimulus Wish List
- Dec. 10, 2008 -- In Brief: Base Toll to Rise by 40 Cents, Rush Hour $1
- Nov. 3, 2008 -- Control of Dulles Road in New Hands
- March 15, 2008 -- Bill Limits Greenway Tolls
- Sept. 12, 2007 -- Tolls Set to Rise on Dulles Greenway
- March 14, 2007 -- Proposed Greenway Toll Hike Protested
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The inverse relationship between commuter and profit numbers reported at the Greenway is similar to that of figures recorded along San Diego's South Bay Expressway, a toll road opened in 2007 and also owned by the Australian company. The firm also operates toll roads in Chicago and Indiana, although those roads are far less traveled than the Greenway.
Company officials described the toll as a bargain that saves drivers more than $7 a trip in time, gas and vehicle wear-and-tear by taking the Greenway instead its non-toll alternative, Route 7. That's according to an analysis by TRIP II sent to state regulators. Tolls are set to rise again in 2010 and 2012, to as much as $4.80.
When it opened in September 1995, the road was ahead of its time. Most drivers were unwilling to pay to bypass Routes 7 and 28, and its original owners defaulted on the loan.
But a decade later, the Dulles corridor experienced a boom. Today, the road is a primary thoroughfare that connects the densely-populated planned communities of eastern Loudoun County to the high-tech hubs and myriad jobs of the Dulles and Tysons Corner areas. The Australian firm Macquarie Infrastructure Group paid $617.5 million in 2005 to purchase the road.
Since then, the company's fortunes in the Greenway have been helped by a 1988 state law that authorized the construction of the state's first private highway since the Civil War. That law allowed toll increases under three conditions: if the new fee does not "significantly discourage" drivers from using the road; if the company does not make an "undue profit" from the increase; and if the road's benefits matches its cost.
Nearly two years ago, the State Corporation Commission ruled that the owners of the Greenway could raise toll rates but also recommended that officials force the owners to study a toll plan that would allow motorists who drive only a portion of the Greenway to pay a lower fee. TRIP II officials said they studied the idea of a distance-based toll structure and discarded it years ago, finding that drivers benefited from "shorter travel times, reduced maintenance costs and safer driving conditions."
Rep. Frank R. Wolf (R-Va.), a longtime critic of the Greenway plan, said the toll road has been unfairly aided by the "poorly drafted" 1988 law and heavy lobbying at the state level against proposals that would put an inflation-based toll-increase structure in place.
"It's highway robbery. It's a disgrace," Wolf said. "Everyone knows that these tolls are ripping people off and there's not much we can do about it."
But financial analysts say the toll road's owners are well within their rights to raise rates in the face declining traffic, as commuters are free to choose new routes.
"People use toll roads to get out of gridlock, and congestion and driving is still down in this area," said John Townsend, a spokesman for AAA Mid-Atlantic. "Drivers have a visceral reaction to toll increases, and people will vote with their gas pedal."
Tagged: Dulles Greenway, traffic, transportation
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I drive the Greenway on the way home to avoid the extra 30 minute drive in gridlock. I view it as 30 minutes I get to spent with family and not in my car.
The real crime here is that Loudoun County built so many homes, and not enough roads to match the traffic demands. Route 28 can't handle all the cars and trucks between 4:30 and 7:30 PM.
Posted by sigmanu_187 (anonymous) on July 5, 2009 at 10:51 p.m. (Suggest removal)
What would Frank Wolf suggest, Congress run the Greenway? He will pander to anyone on anything. Stop the whining. This is a free market solution that is working: People can save an HOUR A DAY and they are willing to pay for it, and the company allowing its customers to save an hour a day is making money (SHAME ON THEM!!!). Should we punish them and then punish the drivers as a result? Should we tell the owners of the road how much they can make? Did Frank Wolf or the fellow from AAA ever take a basic economics class? Are they familiar with supply and demand. It should be obvious to everyone that the supply/demand curve is a perfect inflection point here. Let the owners and the drivers make what they think is the best decision for them. If the owners gets too greedy they will damage themselves and quickly drop the tolls. As long as people, like me, are willing to pay for more freedom (i.e. time to myself) than those who are not, should come up with a better solution (as you're sitting on route 7 for that extra hour a day).
Posted by dbc007 (anonymous) on July 5, 2009 at 11:18 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Freedom of choice. Once the County completes the additional interchanges on Route 28 & 7, the greenway will make a smaller difference.
Posted by yind2b (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 10:30 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Why does they Greenway need to expand to 12 lanes when usage has dropped? Simple! They need to artificially create a loss by spending money on a problem that does not exist so they can get a rate increase! The 1988 law has given a foreign entity the license to print money off the backs of Americans!
Posted by bschweiker (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 11:55 a.m. (Suggest removal)
The greenway rocks I would pay 8 dollars. No traffic! Nicely paved so I can get my European
car up to autobahn speeds! Long live the Dulles Greenway
Posted by shawnblyther (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 12:09 p.m. (Suggest removal)
"Once the County completes the additional interchanges on Route 28 & 7..." When will that be? 2050 when we're all dead? My solution is I wake up early, go to a gym near work (sometimes before & after work) to avoid the worst of the traffic. I arrive at work totally stress free. Granted, I don't have any children about whom to worry. The point being, you come up w a system that works for you.
Posted by ms1234 (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 12:15 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Nine thousand dollars ($9,000) a year is what we pay. When we moved to Ashburn, the Greenway rates were $1.25 each way. They are now approximately 4x this. While my salary has not managed to keep up, the Austrlian company seems to continue to bump up the fees at their whim and obviously doesn't take the rate of inflation into account.
What is the real crime in all of this? Loudoun County officials refuse to create any other east/west roads which would provide alternatives to the Greenway. They assume that everyone should use the Greenway, thereby, tossing our money overseas and not allowing us to gain benefit from our own tax payer dollars.
Yeah, it's time to move out of Loudoun.
Posted by pointer87 (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 1:35 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Lets tax the hell out of it. If you are a non-us tax paying country and own a road the enters or exits loudoun county then you should have to pay a Big old property tax! good day, ph
Posted by Funnyguyva (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 1:48 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The real crime is that the state politicians stiffed Loudoun County by not funding the road in the first place. The attitude in the General Assembly is that us rich folks in northern Virginia can pay for our own roads while they spend most of the taxes we pay on converting highways like Route 29 into 4-lane expressways in the rural parts of the state.
Posted by Loudountag (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 3:14 p.m. (Suggest removal)
You can earn 5% back from what you spend in tolls when you make 180 trips on the Greenway in 12 months by signing up for the VIP program. That equals 15 trips per month.
Posted by hoff_daman (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 3:37 p.m. (Suggest removal)
I try to avoid the Greenway because of the expense. When the overpasses are completed on 7 and 28, I believe their revenue will be hurt when commuters jump on 7 and 28 again. I find that adjusting my time going and coming home from work in Chantilly helps as well.
Posted by kmelchiorre (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 10:40 p.m. (Suggest removal)
The state needs to connect Gloucester Parkway with Nokes Blvd, this would help reduce traffic on Waxpool/Rt 28 for the Ashburn folks.
Posted by fiveoh (anonymous) on July 6, 2009 at 11:42 p.m. (Suggest removal)
Both the Greenway and the Toll Road in lieu of real transportation planning and meaningful road building have become vital area backbones and should no longer be toll roads at all. But the current climate of raising funds (taxes really, unless you are a member of the Virgina legislature) has doomed any efforts to convert these roads to the infrastructure ( no toll ) status that area commuters and businesses deserve.
Posted by jrg2 (anonymous) on July 7, 2009 at 9:06 a.m. (Suggest removal)
If local roads were made even 10% more free-flowing, it would just result in even more West Virginians using our roadways, and possibly would result in more & more people moving out of Nova just to evade high taxes.
Put up a huge toll gate and charge West Virginia drivers as they enter our roads.
I live approx. 30 minutes from the border, and in the morning 2 out of 3 cars have WV plates ...
Posted by OhTheHumanity (anonymous) on July 7, 2009 at 10:47 a.m. (Suggest removal)
Unless you make less than 35K chances are you pay more state income taxes in WV. Sales tax is also higher in WV. Yes, real estate tax is cheaper because of the lower values, but the majority of the county taxes go straight to the school system like any other county anyway. Not the roads. Many people who come from WV and work in VA also spend their money in VA.
Posted by mazman128 (anonymous) on July 8, 2009 at 11:09 a.m. (Suggest removal)
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