When our freeways were built, we were told that there would be special express lanes for those commuters who would carry more than one passenger. The reasons given for building these lanes by UDOT was to reduce traffic congestion and air pollution. As it turned out, not enough people were using these lanes, and these lanes were not even being used when traffic was jammed up.
UDOT blew it in creating these lanes, and to save face and to create an income out of their mistake came up with the idea of selling passes to those who could afford them. Somehow this doesn't seem right.
It seems as if those who have the money can buy special privileges on our highways. What's next, selling passes to those who can afford it to be allowed to go 10 miles over the speed limit? What this says is, if you have money, you can have more of a right to pollute than those who don't.
We all paid for these freeways. Selling passes to allow commuters with only one in the car to use these lanes is not right. These lanes should be open to all no matter how many are in the car.
Martin J. Burton
Salt Lake City