Fun on LBJ TeXpress tonight…
Posted by scatmanjack6120@reddit | Dallas | View on Reddit | 101 comments
This was just the EB Half from DNT to 75… didn’t catch the price from 35 to DNT
thisonelife83@reddit
Exploitation.
They installed the lanes with a goal of moving a minimum of 50 mph. What happened when they opened was they increased the price dramatically when lanes slowed on the main 635 highway. Even if there was no traffic on the TexPress — they surged prices to exploit drivers in slow traffic. They ignored their mandate to exploit traffic congestion and accidents.
I_am_the_7th_letter@reddit
Don’t forget— they essentially converted 636/LBJ into a giant overpass so now for those few freezes we get, you’re at even more risk.
UnknownQTY@reddit
Huh?
They do exactly what they’re designed to do and the pricing has always reflected the “demand” on the main lanes. The slower the main lanes, the higher the express.
It’s the mostly purely capitalist thing in transportation. While that’s probably not particularly moral, it is exceedingly transparent.
James-the-Bond-one@reddit
But profit is being maximized at the expense of occupancy. They leave the tool lanes so empty, I'm always driving them at more than 70 MPH.
If they let more people in, still guaranteeing the minimum promised speed of 50 MPH, there would be two clear benefits:
PossibilityOk9430@reddit
So owners make less money, and toll users opt into a slower rate of travel and more traffic, all to benefit non-toll users? The purpose of a toll is for those paying to go somewhere faster. You’re driving more than 70 because the speed limit is 75
James-the-Bond-one@reddit
I frequently drive at 90 because it's so empty. But yeah, you got a point. I was thinking of benefiting everybody, but the incentives aren't there.
mccaigbro69@reddit
I don’t see the problem with the system. If you value the saved time it should be an easy ‘opportunity cost’ scenario for the individual to assess.
I paid $21 for 183/820Express going west one time and it was easily worth it while I was passing barely stop and go traffic.
UnknownQTY@reddit
Yep. Sometimes I have places to be. Sometimes I wanna listen to the whole podcast and let my ACC take care of the stop and go.
It could be worse, it could be the same price, all the time, and you have no other realistic choice like the DNT or most of the NYC bridges and tunnels.
Griffle78@reddit
Yes, when I entered it was normal price. Then I sat my ass in the exit waiting for Coit probably as long as the folks who didn’t get this lovely surprise.
Kodiak_Wylde@reddit
My brother and I were just talking about this. I got a bill from NTTA. I gave him my car bc his was totaled in a hit and run in Dallas and I work from home. I opened it and it was like $45.73. okay not too bad, told my brother to pay it. He lost the toll tag, no biggie. I go to pay it online, it jumped $20 from the 1 hour opened the bill. I went ahead and paid so they can't add more on. Literally said highway robbery. Then he told me how 635 does "dynamic pricing". Also when I was paying, it's managed by Chase. It all makes sense now.
James-the-Bond-one@reddit
What? That's some weird shit. The dynamic pricing is charged when you're driving on it, not during payment.
Kodiak_Wylde@reddit
No you're miss understanding. He mentioned about the dynamic pricing just in conversation. Not that he drove on 635. He said he never drives on it for this reason
James-the-Bond-one@reddit
Got it now. Yeah, it's a trap for the procrastinator in me.
FMLUsernameTaken@reddit
Stop taking toll roads. If you are giving them money you are part of the problem.
PossibilityOk9430@reddit
Weird, paying and cruising 80 mph during peak rush hour feels like a non-problem for me
BranSolo7460@reddit
They do it because we collectively let them.
Leningrad_DrugStore@reddit
I’ve been fighting the good fight for years now, but I just got a letter in the mail from DPS the other day saying I got a citation for unpaid tolls. Oh well.
Snobolski@reddit
Yeah but gas tax is low, so we win! Right?
crewsctrl@reddit
No income tax! You just have to pay to drive to and from work.
Ticklemextreme@reddit
Don’t forget the absolute insane property tax rate especially east Dallas
Revolutionary_Bee251@reddit
Ship sailed years ago when these roads were being planned...Texans don't care, they love bad economic policies
metatrevor@reddit
Not enough ceo’s getting murdered these days. We LOVE the rat race so much we’d rather kill each other :D
YogurtclosetLow6427@reddit
How is this legal?
PossibilityOk9430@reddit
Supply and demand?
longhairPapaBear@reddit
What a scam!
PossibilityOk9430@reddit
The voluntary roads you don’t have to take are a scam?
GingerFly@reddit
Toll roads are optional.
xinstinctive@reddit
Isn't that the point of dynamic tolling? The price goes up as high as it can while the lane is full, and the emptier it is, the lower the price goes. So that the people who value it most are the ones who use it. And those who don't find it valuable at a given price point don't use it.
Doing it dynamically should spread the cars and reduce traffic as much as possible.
PossibilityOk9430@reddit
Whoa whoa, careful with all this logic. We must unite and accuse the voluntary lanes with posted prices of extorting us!
RipBright1@reddit
What is it typically?
scatmanjack6120@reddit (OP)
$5.35 or $5.85
VCTRYDTX@reddit
Did they do this on purpose due to the weather today? Is the city actually targeting their locals when conditions change for the worst?
PossibilityOk9430@reddit
Yes, supply and demand applies.
scatmanjack6120@reddit (OP)
Both LBJ and TeExpress were stop and go parking lots tonight… I have never seen the price increase before… (let alone 3x the going rate…)
Brave-Statement-8810@reddit
There is a long term contract, it is demand based to make sure the toll lanes always move >50mph. More traffic, more $$$ to take the fast lanes. Nobody has to take the express lanes on this, unlike the DNT. So it’s not a forced charge, it’s optional. This pays for the roads since they were funded by a private company instead of taxpayer $. I’m not saying I agree with it, but it’s like a 50 year contract that was inked a long time ago.
TheReverend5@reddit
Well yes, it’s Texas. This state government exists to exploit vulnerable populations as much as possible.
shwampchicken@reddit
No one should ever take the express lanes. As long as people pay they’ll keep charging and charging
PossibilityOk9430@reddit
Yep and my time is worth more, so I pay and get places quicker in less traffic
ryosuke-@reddit
That’s why I never pay.
cfbswami@reddit
How people are SO confused by this is too funny....
Nobody here in Texas wants to admit what we can't build our own roads, because we're so kick ass...
The simple truth is CINTRA agreed to build the toll roads, basically for nothing. Their part is a contract to collect the tolls for 52 YEARS or so. THE MONEY GOES TO THEM - NOT TEXAS OR DALLAS OR FORT WORTH.
NTTA simply collects the tolls, of course TXdot technically 'owns them' - because a fucking company in Spain can't. That would look really bad...
Here we dumb Texans believe whatever we're told, most I know still think these tolls , (TexPress) are just a dollar or two. Few even check their monthly statement.
GeekyTexan@reddit
Not "for nothing".
The standard for toll roads is that the company pays for about 33%, and use a loan (cosigned by taxpayers) for another 33%.
Taxpayers pay for 33%, plus donate the land, which no toll road company would be able to come up with if it were not for government helping them.
And it's the most expensive way to build a road. It needs everything a normal road has, plus a bunch of additional stuff to help track who is using it.
James-the-Bond-one@reddit
And they built it in record time (ahead of schedule, IIRC), without stopping traffic in one of the busiest freeways around that had to be completely torn apart.
funwithfrogs@reddit
It was $42 going to Fort Worth from the airport...
dashing_eyes@reddit
Bruh my past 2 month accumulated toll bill is over $1800 how the fcuk am I suppose to pay this. These are a total of my daily travel from Burleson to Addison just 1 way up thats it. Why in the world are we paying so much in godamn tolls.
mccaigbro69@reddit
I drive tolls all day like at least 2x week for work, like up and down Bush, Tollway, 121, 635/183 express, etc…never had a monthly bill close to a G.
dashing_eyes@reddit
Bro I have no clue how the hell it is that high. Like 2 yrs ago I used to work at the same location and my bill never went past 500
James-the-Bond-one@reddit
Go over the statements or feed them to an AI, and you will quickly find out what segments to avoid.
Altruistic_Guess3098@reddit
Why do you keep using the toll road? Why did you let it get that high?
I hate toll roads but you're the only one to blame for your situation
dashing_eyes@reddit
I know man, I guess I am just trying to justify myself in somehow paying that much. It just fcuking hurts
James-the-Bond-one@reddit
Pain is a great motivator.
Ok-Mixture8132@reddit
Bah, amateur numbers. I’ve seen 25+ on 183/820
Revolutionary_Bee251@reddit
Most insane rush hour highway segment in DFW
WoodGrain817@reddit
Absolutely crazy over there
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
I hate the traffic along that stretch. I used to regularly commute between Mockingbird Lane and west Fort Worth. Pleaded for death.
Ok-Mixture8132@reddit
Oof, that’s an horrific commute
Level-Level-8604@reddit
Insider tip: there is actually a freeway that runs adjacent to/over top of this toll road so you never actually have to pay this toll!
James-the-Bond-one@reddit
That freeway doesn't run adjacent to this toll road — it crawls.
jaydee288@reddit
Highway robbery...literally
TechnicolorViper@reddit
Freeway robbery… ironically
ChosynLabs@reddit
Ironically literally robbery wayfree
WagstaffLibrarian@reddit
Instructions unclear, rocking out to Freebird.
hot_rod_kimble@reddit
Back in my day, even the rich had to sit in traffic.
Kuchufli@reddit
I don't know who "owns" the toll roads, but I remember back in California some of the tolls were owned by private companies and they had a "No compete" clause with the state, so the state couldn't fix the freeway or add lanes because it would compete with the tolls. Insane! I wonder if there is something similar here.
Sejbag@reddit
All of the tolls with variable pricing in DFW are operated by third party companies to my understanding
pauliep13@reddit
From what I remember, it’s a European company.
Bodwest9@reddit
Sort of - the obj express is a p3 (pub, private partnership) with cintra a sunspot Ferrovial the Spanish infrastructure company. So…
xomox2012@reddit
Not exactly. NTTA is a government not for profit. TexPress on the other hand is a partnership between TX and various Euro companies, most notably Cintra.
Casbro11@reddit
I thought NTTA was privately owned as well?
TransportationEng@reddit
TxDOT owns them and leases the right to a private concessionaire. NTTA is contracted to collect the money and has no other stake in it.
xomox2012@reddit
They are pseudo government. Ie managed via a not-for-profit, government-created tolling agency that is owned and operated locally by a political subdivision of the state of Texas. The idea was that the tolls were to build the road and then the road would become free which obviously never happened. A sucker and their money…
Now the tolls remain fee based as they have shifted the goalpost to ‘maintaining the roads’ and expanding the program elsewhere. There is already a government budget item for maintenance to begin with and shouldn’t the new roads fund themselves until paid for?
WoodGrain817@reddit
NTTA needs to skedaddle
ImOldGregg_77@reddit
jesus....
christ.....
BigDoosh@reddit
You don’t have to do it
affectionatvag@reddit
Ntta is da devil
KennyDROmega@reddit
Didn't go into the office today because of weather concerns, and felt quite silly for a lot of the day.
Less so now.
austinsutt@reddit
Man I wish I could let rain keep me from work. I’d get laughed at if I called in because of rain.
KennyDROmega@reddit
Not going into the office doesn’t mean I didn’t work.
Clown45@reddit
Thank you sir may I have another!
TechnicolorViper@reddit
On April 30th, I saw the toll hit $24. I didn’t take the toll road, and I only had to sit through about two minutes of traffic.
Edg-R@reddit
I paid $24 the other day, I normally avoid tolls altogether but I couldn’t this time.
loves2ride1@reddit
I pay this daily. Price of doing business. Go to the east coast and pay what we were for gas taxes state tax. And don’t forget yearly car taxes and housing and homeowners you’ll gladly pay Texas prices.
SimpleVegetable5715@reddit
At what point are people finding this worth it to avoid traffic?
I_SmellFuckeryAfoot@reddit
rich people problems
TeknoBlast@reddit
That's simply bullshit.
jsboftx1983@reddit
Y’all, I am done with toll roads nationwide and express lanes.
rChewbacca@reddit
This is a tough one. During a stand still traffic jam, if it charged $5 the toll lane would be pretty much just as slow. The point of the variable change is to keep the toll road at 50mph
Don’t get me wrong, as long as I pay taxes I am furious that ANY road has a toll but under our current system… it is what it is. That is the only way to keep the toll road fast.
StealthyBlkInvestor@reddit
Criminal
JRLDH@reddit
I rarely take the express lanes because there’s a free alternative right next to them.
But when I absolutely NEED to get somewhere fast I’m glad that they are priced so high and don’t turn into another slow moving traffic mess. See DNT.
If that was another freeway or cheap like the DNT then people would clog it and there would be no way to avoid heavy traffic.
dallassoxfan@reddit
You have a choice. Go to the top deck. It’s free up there.
iBizzBee@reddit
'Every single time we hit a girls' school with a Tomahawk missile, a Raytheon executive makes a profit.' - Graham Platner
Same holds true for the lack of funding for our roads while our tax dollars are literally set on fire thousands of miles away.
RepulsiveInterview44@reddit
Damn, was there a wreck or something to account for that surge?
aeroluv327@reddit
It was $5.80 from 35 to DNT (that's the section I did this evening). I saw the $18 as I was getting off on Hillcrest! Literal highway robbery.
sband3@reddit
That road has already been paid for by the millions of taxpayers every year. We shouldn’t have to continue paying for it
Kvmabis@reddit
I think there was a video of the original tolls were supposed to stop charging at a certain yr when they made the money back it took to construct it 😂 they fucked us
Dyert@reddit
I jumped into the comments expecting it to be a mistake/typo and it was a joke. I was wrong
LostinIKEA512@reddit
Thank Rick Perry
PondersOverYonder@reddit
Adios MoFos
Jernbek35@reddit
Makes me jealous of sport bikes that hide their plate and fly through these tolls.
valpo033@reddit
So don’t take it
TexasBaconMan@reddit
Fuck
rabidwolf86@reddit
Goddamm 🫨