Who invented the toll booth?
Seriously. And I apologize ahead of time for any obscene & foul language. Not to mention my frequent reference to something being ‘retarded’. It’s not that I have a prejudice against people, things, or objects that have mental disabilities… I just think that some idea’s can really be retarded in the sense that they are not qualified enough to be considered. They’re childish and dumb.
Ok, on with the toll booth’s
Requirements need to change
It’s not necessarily the engineers who built them, but rather the guy who thought it would be a good idea
. Toll booth’s in and of themselves, are, retarded.
Time is money
Whoever thought that in one of the busiest city in the world (San Francisco), with just about the worst (car) traffic in the world, and in fact the most congested area where just about the entire world is merging together for what seems to be a giant parking lot of cars…yes I’m talking about the entrance to the bay bridge going north on the 880…they stop EVERYBODY just to pay a louzy $3 <explicitive> dollars.
Seriously, wtf? As if things weren’t bad enough. The fact that traffic is backed up five miles prior to the boothes has become normal just makes me sick to my stomache mad angry.
Come on now, think of something else. Make us pay more taxes. I don’t care. Whom ever retartded person(s) thought that there is a need to charge each and every person that crosses a bridge must pay a fee obviously did not keep in mind the simple philosophy that time is money
. Hello? I’d throw down a jackson if it meant not having to wait in traffic for two hours.
Fast Track my Ass
This was by far one of the worst solutions to the toll booth problem. First off, fast track is no more less or expensive than the normal toll. It just means that you pay your bill through mail. Second of all, you can only pull off to the side to get in your little fast track lane about 100 feet before the actual booth. This of course, doesn’t help when you’re five miles back sitting in a lonley car with sweat dripping down your back with nobody to talk to because the entire world is on their cell phone which has caused your cell phone service to be busy (more about this -shame on you cingular-). No, this is not good at all. Fast Track is a false sense of hope and also, a retarded idea.
Possible Solutions
I’m not an engineer. Well, not a physical large city type-o-engineer. But here are some of my thoughts.
- Take our picture: We have the technology. Send us the bill later. Let us sign up for direct deposit. I’ll make a separate account called
poll booth @$$ raping
. - Make everyone sign up for some
Track
: We’ll put up stickers on our car. Perhaps a little bar scanner type things like at the grocery store. Seriously, just make it a law. I’m willing to obey it. - Raise Taxes: Nuke the Booth
That’s all I have to say about this.
August 22nd, 2005 at 9:08 am
I assume fast track is like the SunPass or EPass for the Florida toll roads. These consist of a little white transmitter box that you stick to your windshield that allows you to not stop to pay tolls. I think those types of systems are the only real hope for speeding up tolls. In Orlando, they’ve really caught on. You can go through any lane to pay with your EPass and about 1/3 to 1/2 of the lanes are EPass only… On one of the exits (toward UCF) they’ve even detoured off an entire section of road for EPass only. There’s no toll lanes, just a big metal beam above the road that has the sensors to make your EPass beep.
Of course none of that matters anymore since we moved out of Florida. South Carolina has a similar system, but I haven’t signed up for a “Palmetto Pass” yet. I’d like to see a national standard system for toll roads. The receiver should be built in to every car sold and toll booths should be eliminated altogether
August 22nd, 2005 at 11:30 am
I love toll booths. Gives me a chance to look at neat cars and let other people enjoy my neat car.
> with just about the worst (car) traffic in the world
I’d say top 20, maybe. I’m sure there are cities in China and Japan that would make bay area traffic look like a sunday afternoon drive.
You don’t take the Bay Bridge to work do you? That’s the long way if you’re coming from Sacra (or anywhere east of the bay bridge).
August 22nd, 2005 at 12:49 pm
No. I don’t take that way normally. I was on my way to Stinson Beach.
On the other hand, who in their right mind loves toll booths?
August 22nd, 2005 at 1:44 pm
> who in their right mind loves toll booths?
The people who collect the money at the end of the day. $3 * 270,000 cars per day is a nice little chunk of change.
Stinson Beach, so you took the scenic route eh? ;)
August 22nd, 2005 at 6:37 pm
alright. So they make roughly 810k a day. The thing cost 71 million. It took them approximately 88 days to get their money back. Wtf?
August 23rd, 2005 at 8:58 am
I hear ya Dust. The whole idea is bad. I have been out there and know what a mess it is. Ever since they opened the Cornado Bridge in San Diego everything seems to run smoother. Even out here in New Orleans it’s a pain in the neck but from what I see, San Fran is enough for you to want to get out of the car and jump OFF the bridge. :)
August 26th, 2005 at 10:05 am
Third paragraph, second sentence under “Time is Money” heading:
“Whom ever retartded person(s)…”
Isn’t it ironic (in the Alanis Morisette definition thereof) that you misspelled “retarded”?
Rants have a way of killing the proof-reader is all of us.
August 26th, 2005 at 11:26 am
ha! Tell me about it! When I went for my visit to So. Cal, they had a brand new freeway where I had never thought I would ever see a freeway; and I just had to get on and then off again quickly. It cost me .50cents to go through Tustin Ranch.
wtf indeed!
August 26th, 2005 at 3:56 pm
My solution to the Bay Bridge: Ride a motorcycle. It’s legal to split lanes in CA, and you’re always a carpool…so it’s fast and free.
Sometimes it’s cold and wet, though. :-)