Express lane popularity waning - South Florida Business Journal:

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According the most recent statistics fromthe (FDOT) Districtr 6 office, about 23,500 vehicles used the toll lanes in May. “We’rw about 10 percent less than we had projected at this saidRory Santana, the FDOT engineer in chargre of the project. he said, “I’m not unhappy with the results we’rer having at all.” Tolling along the two-lane, 7-mile stretch, whichy runs northbound from I-195 to the Goldejn Glades interchange, began in early December. Totaol express lane traffic from Dec. 5 througb Jan. 3 was 516,000 vehicles. For May, traffic fell to somewhere inthe mid-400,000s, Santanw said.
Revenue from the however, rose to $438,000 in May from $380,0090 in January. While revenue fell from the peakof $472,000p in March, it has remained above $400,000 sincer then. Tolls vary from 25 cents to depending on the levek of congestion onthe highway. Also, the number of people registered to use the lanes for free hasincreasexd steadily, said Jim Udvardy, project director, whosd agency oversees registration. About 4,400 individuals are registered, he said. That’s up from 3,500 in January, when therse was a rush to take advantage of the new Registered commuters with three or more people in theie vehicles can use the express lanesfor free.
The same appliesd to registered hybrid vehiclesand motorcycles. “Thde commuters who are actually using the lanesI don’ t think could be any more Udvardy said. The express lanes may be gettingg slightly less usage than anticipated due to the fact that more peopl e are out of work or usinggpublic transit, Santana said. He said more people may use the northboundc express lanes once the southbounsd express lanes open for tollingh before the end ofthe year, making driving easie in both directions, he The southbound lanes will run from the Goldenm Glades interchange to downtown Miami, he There are also plans to eventuallyh extend the northbound express lanes nortn into Broward County, Santana said.
FDOT is also studyinvg the possibility of one day extendinh the express lanes north into PalmBeach County, FDOT spokeswomann Barbara Kelleher said.