High I-66 Tolls Motivate Man To Start Carpooling Effort

VIENNA, VA—With the new Interstate 66 tolls inside the Beltway reported as high as $40 one way, Northern Virginia drivers are scrambling to find ways to avoid the tolls. Tolls went into effect for solo drivers Dec. 4, running Monday-Friday 5:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m. for all eastbound lanes and 3 p.m.-7 p.m. westbound. One man has an alternative, and it's not packing other roads.

Kalai Kandasamy is the brains behind Sluglines, a website and app designed to coordinate free carpooling on DC and Virginia's congested roads. The term "slugging" speaks for itself, originating from the slow crawl along Interstate 95 during rush hour. His platform has been around awhile serving frustrated 95 and 395 drivers, but the slugline for I-66 is new. The tolling system on 66 draw a contrast with 95 and 495, which offer express and regular lanes.

"I am really upset about tolling and how high it can go," Kandasamy told NBC Washington about the decision to expand to the I-66 corridor.

Sluglines' flagship location is the Vienna Metro Station, where residents can park and meet for the carpooling ride in the south parking lot. Then, a volunteer driver takes riders on I-66, and viola—they avoid the tolls. Rides typically happen during peak rush hour times to Foggy Bottom Metro station in the morning and vice versa in the afternoon. Other Sluglines locations are starting up in Herndon, Centreville, Manassas and Gainesville.

Carpoolers can use the HOT lanes on 66 for free with an E-Z Pass set to HOV-2. Meanwhile single drivers are charged by passing under E-Z pass detectors on the road. Those traveling without an E-Z pass must pay a fine within six days by entering their license plate on 66expresslanes.org. Toll prices can change every few minutes, calculated to ensure the average speed remains at 55 mph. Drivers can check real-time toll prices here.

Meanwhile, politicians of both parties have criticized the steep tolls. Republican members of the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission plan to introduce a resolution Thursday requesting state officials lower and reconfigure the tolls, as well as limit the tolling periods. And newly-elected Democratic legislator Danica Roem of Manassas told WTOP she "can’t make a case for the highest toll in the nation." She has been discussing strategies with other lawmakers to tackle the tolls.

Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne said although the tolls are higher than residents expected, they're meant to change commuter habits and get more people, not cars, through the corridor. "No one has to pay a toll," he said, according to The Washington Post.

The idea of Slugline following exactly what transportation officials strived for by introducing tolls inside the Beltway: finding alternatives to solo driving. But anything is better than potentially paying up to $40 for a 10-mile stretch into DC, right?

Image via Virginia Department of Transportation