State officials have underestimated how much people hate the crap out of sitting in jammed up traffic on I-95.
So much so that they are now looking to propose raising the maximum toll rate from $1 to $1.50 a mile.
The initial idea for charging a toll on the express lanes was to reduce traffic in those lanes to keep traffic moving along. People would rather not pay a toll and would stick to the regular lane, thus reducing bottle neck traffic in the express lane, officials thought.
State officials don't commute on the I-95 much, we take it.
Officials base the cost of express lane tolls on how many cars there are in the lane every 15 minutes.
The Florida Department of Transportation also wants to increase the rate to drive from State Road 112 and the Golden Glades interchange from 25 cents to 50 cents.
They say the reason for the proposed hikes is not only to keep traffic moving, but to also charge what the state feels is a reasonable rate to avoid crowding and slow moving traffic.
And things are already complicated enough with the construction of more lanes from the Golden Glades to Broward Boulevard in Fort Lauderdale, which likely won't be ready until 2014.
And as traffic gets more congested, and as as the school year begins, officials expect more and more commuters to be willing to pay whatever it takes to get moving along.
"What that tells us is that a lot of folks are accepting the express lanes concept and are using them more frequently," said Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti, executive director of Florida's Turnpike.
According to a 2012 survey, almost a third of those polled said they use the express lanes two to four times a week.
So, a buck fifty? Five dollars? A budget busting monthly fee?
It may not matter when it comes to the nightmarish gridlock awfulness that I-95 can be sometimes.
South Florida commuters ain't care.
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