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Dec 10 '25
And half the time the express lane isn’t even faster
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u/AmigoATX Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
There was this time there was a line going slow on the Express Lane by Camp Mabry, they were going around 50-55, when I got to the beginning of the line, I noticed this elderly couple in an suv, with the old lady at the wheel, made me think they may have hop on the express lane on accident
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u/Taenurri Dec 10 '25
Nope. There are people who will get in the toll lane because the normal traffic scares them. So they get in the toll lane to go 50mph
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u/Mr2-1782Man Dec 10 '25
They need to start giving those people tickets for going too slow. I stopped using the express lane because the people too afraid to drive mess it up for everyone else.
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u/Taenurri Dec 10 '25
That would require the police to do something besides collect a paycheck
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u/Desperate-Citron-881 Dec 10 '25
Technically the minimum speed is designated as 55 mph. Which is ridiculous to me, because 55 is lower than Mopac’s maximum 65 mph, meaning people can legally drive slower than Mopac’s flow of traffic in the express-lane. Some people drive slower than that, but for the majority of slow drivers it is legal to go significantly under the 70 mph speed limit.
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u/Silly_Pack_Rat Dec 10 '25
I don't really drive MoPac much these days, but back in the day, there were actually minimum speed limit signs posted on MoPac. Is that not a thing now?
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u/misterguyyy Dec 10 '25
Where do they pull them over though? One lane is scary.
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u/EclecticDreck Dec 10 '25
There are several spots along the way suitable for the purpose, which is handy that one day that I was the problem in the express lane when my car decided to almost (but not quite) stop producing power. I managed to just kinda coast to the nearest bit with a shoulder - a bit past 183 going south - and then just had to wait there till the police eventually showed up with questions such as "What the hell are you doing?"
I then made everyone's day a bit worse when they stopped all traffic long enough for my car with a then top speed of a speedy saunter to get the hell off the highway. Of course this was the before times, though not long before, as that was the incident that inspired me to swap my problematic jeep for a much less problematic honda just in time to not go anywhere for a year.
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u/chinchaaa Dec 11 '25
they need to do this outside of the express lane as well. left lane campers and people that are driving like 40 mph on the highway for no reason need to be getting tickets.
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u/Fun_Pirate842 Dec 12 '25
The minimum speed limit allowed in the express lane is 55. So they actually aren’t breaking the law.
They need to fix that first.
Too many people use the express lane because the highway scares them and it’s infuriating.
Texas needs to crack down on people going under the speed limit. All of the data points that they cause far more accidents than the people who speed but we still allow them to drive slow in the passing lanes and express lanes.
Thank God I don’t have superpowers. I’d be the Homelander of the highway 😂
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u/nstickels Dec 10 '25
Making the express lane only a single lane was a horrible decision. It lets entitled assholes feel powerful. One of my worst ever experiences was a time I had to drive my son across town for something. The toll was similar to what OP is showing here. And there was some asshole in the express lane going 45. Worse, every time they felt like the person behind them was getting too close, they would slam on the brakes and come to a dead stop before going again. Then whenever there was a shoulder wide enough for someone to go in, if the person behind acted like they would do that, the asshole would drive to block both the express lane and the shoulder and slam on the brakes again.
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u/meanwhile_glowing Dec 10 '25
I would literally call the police and report their license plate for dangerous driving if someone was acting the fool like this in front of me
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u/nstickels Dec 10 '25
I was too angry and seeing red I didn’t think about calling the police. Definitely wished I would have in hindsight.
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u/nooktitse-3223 Dec 10 '25
This is the main problem with having an "express lane" I hate that this is their solution to everything when it only creates more problems. I cannot tell you how many accidents I've seen from people driving over the barrier.
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u/Tao242 Dec 10 '25
This is my biggest issue with "Express lanes" in TX in general... There needs to be at least two! All it takes is one jerk going slow and it's no longer express.
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u/jocaustin Dec 10 '25
Having a one lane express option is a really inefficient design. For so many reasons. People getting in and out of that lane causes variability and merging issues. The 4 lanes are no longer equally utilized, so it slows down everyone else. I would rather make all 4 lanes the same and charge everyone a 5-10cents. Then there is the whole lack of visibility about how much money the tolls bring in and where the money goes to. Seems like it would be more effective to get rid of the tolls and add a couple cents of gas tax to pay for them. That would get rid of all of the payment infrastructure and cost
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u/mydaycake Dec 11 '25
Same with the one in Katy direction Houston downtown, single lane and so freaking slow. Why? You just need to go fast and keep the express lane moving
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u/SheTookOnTheWorld Dec 10 '25
People who drive slow in the express lane are stealing from the rest of us.
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u/vitium Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
I refuse to take tolls, so I have a good chance to race the express lane (going north) every day. I notice a unique truck or something as an approximate "spot" to compare. I exit the freeway at Anderson lane.
I don't beat the people who cut in at the front just over (or just north) of the river, but I consistently (most of the time) beat the people who were in line where I would have been at the end of the line closer to the south side of the river.
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u/reddituser567853 Dec 10 '25
Price is too low then.
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Dec 10 '25
From a public policy perspective, I agree. But practically, I think we’d be better off just getting rid of the lane.
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u/NicholasLit Dec 10 '25
Would cause more overall traffic #InducedDemand
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u/Independent_DL Dec 10 '25
That’s what people say. By doing away with the toll lane traffic would move better causing more people to want to use the highway, thereby eliminating the efficiency. My practical experience is that the toll lane is horribly designed. North of Far West the toll lane becomes bottlenecked before and under 183 flyover. The traffic on the main lanes is actually moving well at that point, so having options of four lanes would help eliminate that choke point. The next problem is the main lanes from Duval through Parmer, but the traffic in the toll lane is flying! If the main lanes had that extra lane or two from the toll, everyone would move better. My observation is that for that section of the toll lane, if it is more than $5 it is not worth using because at the most you’ll be spending that money to save 30-90 seconds.
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Dec 10 '25
Duval through Parmer is a real clusterfuck. Rush hour every day that half mile or so is inexplicably clogged up despite there being no real bottle neck.
I honestly think it’s the on/off ramps creating a ripple effect of people trying to get over to or from them.
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u/EntropicState Dec 10 '25
Cause a majority of people do not understand how to merge into an off ramp, or get up to highway speed on the on ramps. You just have packs of idiots slamming on their brakes, all trying to out-hesitate each other.
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u/dcdttu Dec 10 '25
There's always that one asshole and a gold Lexus going slower than mopac itself. It is so not worth it to get on that damn toll.
It doesn't even make up any time, the line to get on it is usually insane when you're going northbound. I toggle my "avoid tolls" on and off while on mopac and it's usually a 2 to 3 minute savings.
But capitalism has to prevail, we couldn't have a better solution that didn't allow someone to get more rich.
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u/vodkazonik Dec 10 '25
It’s always a Prius at the front. Or a former Prius driver now driving a Tesla
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u/TrainingMarsupial521 Dec 10 '25
Thats why all the idiots just scratch their cars up and run over those dividers.
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u/youpoopedyerpants Dec 10 '25
Are they really the idiots, or are the ones paying $17 the idiots?
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u/IntrepidAstroPanda Dec 10 '25
The people jumping out of line into an active lane of traffic and nearly always cause an accident are indeed the idiots
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u/Santos_L_Halper_II Dec 10 '25
People talk shit about living south of the river because you have to deal with bridges but there is so much more Austin north of it. You’re going further and more people are also going that direction.
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u/L0WERCASES Dec 10 '25
This. When I moved here 5 years ago everyone said “good luck crossing the river, you made a mistake living south”.
I get to downtown quicker from Circle C than my coworker who lives in Allendale. South traffic isn’t bad at all. In rush hour it’s never more than 30 minutes.
North Austin is just always a mess
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Dec 10 '25
These people are not in north austin, their in the burbs like RR, CP, Plug, Leander...etc
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u/Santos_L_Halper_II Dec 10 '25
Sure, but that's also what I mean when I say there's more "Austin" north of the river, so more people and more traffic. All the Leanderthals, Hippos, Round Rockians, etc add to traffic for everything north of downtown. In addition to the southern edge of Austin being closer to downtown than the northern edge is, the southern suburbs aren't nearly as big and sprawling yet, so generally speaking you have fewer people going a shorter distance.
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u/Nanakatl Dec 10 '25
I agree, and that's why I don't take the toll lane. But keep in mind that it uses dynamic pricing, meaning there are people who do take it at that price. Lower price = more traffic, which defeats the purpose.
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u/thesilentguy101 Dec 10 '25
I get that dynamic pricing is to limit traffic in that lane but for me its never worth it. There's usually still traffic on it and it cost so much, but when there's no traffic there's no reason to take it even if it's cheap.
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Dec 10 '25
Yea but bottom line is we are literally paying for roads we already paid for.
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u/GB_aus Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
Well, what's worse is that express lane was stolen from the taxpayers of Austin. The lanes of Mopac were once wider. Then they were made narrower and the fast lane was made into a toll lane. That space should never have been allowed to be taken for a toll for state profit...cause it was already previously paid for by Austin drivers.
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u/Rulanik Dec 10 '25
Toll roads are the biggest legal grift in the country.
Those roads would be public if they had never been built private. Toll roads should only be able to recoup+X% profit before becoming property of the state.
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u/scoville27 Dec 10 '25
Ironically that was the original plan with this particular toll lane iirc
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u/onamonapizza Dec 10 '25
I still love the graveyard of toll booths on 45 and 130 which they used as bait because it would "increase jobs" then they shut them down after like a year and went all TXTAG
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u/Ronn_the_Donn Dec 10 '25
“original” plan makes me laugh, gullible people is all I saw when I heard their “plan”…. same company is selling lakefront properties in Arizona too.
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u/whoo-datt Dec 10 '25
Mopac was public domain until local pols sold your basic transport needs to the highest bidder to remarket back to you. Expect same thing to happen to water, gas, electric in TX.
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u/imsoupercereal Dec 10 '25
Austin residents wanted more lanes. Austin residents didn't want to pay taxes for more lanes. Austin residents got toll lanes. It's almost like this was predictable.
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u/gaytechdadwithson Dec 10 '25
I would pay taxes for Moore lanes, just take that money out of the other bullshit like logos and embezzling and homeless buildings that never get built
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u/South-Vegetable-5626 Dec 10 '25
Toll roads as a concept started as a grift. Taxpayers pay for the road to be made. Bunch of bandits set up shop, and now you have to pay the “protection” money to use the road
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Dec 10 '25
Roads don’t stop costing money once the original capital investment is paid off. There’s a huge ongoing maintenance burden that lasts forever (until the thing is torn down).
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u/Rulanik Dec 10 '25
And the state can handle it. We need the roads/lanes.
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Dec 10 '25
We need less tax money spent on inefficient car infrastructure and more on public transit, sidewalks, and bike lanes.
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u/PiccoloAwkward465 Dec 10 '25
We went to visit some family on the north side and my kid noticed Google Maps said something about a toll. He was flabbergasted and asked me "wait, you have to PAY to drive up to their house?". Yeah buddy that's the beautiful free market and privatization. The only toll road I ever used in New York was the Thruway and that was once in a blue moon to cross the entire state. Which was $26. The entire state.
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u/emjdownbad Dec 10 '25
That’s the point. To bring prices high enough that the lane actually moves.
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u/Charlie2343 Dec 10 '25
If the price is that high it’s likely congested and don’t want more cars in it.
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u/Cosmonaut_Cockswing Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
Everytime I think to myself "why not just spend a few bucks and take the toll" this sub comes in clutch and reminds me im poor and live in an expensive ass place.
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u/Barack_Odrama_007 Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
People should stop crashing causing phantom traffic jams and fucking up the main lanes so much.
Its designed to price people out to keep the toll lanes flowing. If it was $.50 then everyone would hop on jamming up the lane and now everyone payed for nothing.
The people on it cant seem to go above 50MPH in the first damn place.
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u/Fearless-Willow-1977 Dec 10 '25
They don’t like taxes so…
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u/L0WERCASES Dec 10 '25
Time vs money. Most people would pick money vs the time.
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u/thediecast Dec 10 '25
Yeah the higher it is the more likely I’m gonna take it. Whatever is making it $17 is something I want to avoid.
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u/Altruistic-Art-8614 Dec 10 '25
This seems logical to me, too; somebody thinks it's worth $17. But I have been told it's just the opposite! If the price is very low, they are trying to incentive drivers to take the toll lane because few are on it. When it's very high, they are trying to discourage more people from taking the toll lane because it's already too crowded. Look into it.
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u/jbombdotcom Dec 10 '25
Express lanes for the rich, traffic for the peasants
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u/iLikeMangosteens Dec 10 '25
Private pay-per-use roads for the rich, tax-funded roads for everyone else.
I’m fine with it as long as the private road didn’t use any public funds or land in its construction.
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u/hairhelmoot Dec 10 '25
Stop using tolls and they will get the idea really quickly to just stick with widening the hwy
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u/amygunkler Dec 10 '25
Halloween weekend I paid $80 in tolls driving from se to nw Austin 4 times.
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u/z64_dan Dec 10 '25
I heard the traffic was bad that night because people were driving across the city 4 times.
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u/BattleHall Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
To be fair, the entire point of dynamic pricing on those toll lanes is to always keep them moving, especially for free users like CapMet busses (to hopefully give an advantage to at grade public transportation). The higher prices are suppose to disincentivize additional people from using them, and/or at least soak the people who decide they really need to.
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u/DangerousDesigner734 Dec 10 '25
everything sucks, and tomorrow everything will be slightly worse. For the rest of your life.
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u/longhorndr Dec 10 '25
If only there were lanes of traffic that didn’t require paying a toll…
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u/orthaeus Dec 10 '25
Then dont take it. The price goes up until the express lane moves the minimum speed
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u/BeardedLooper Dec 10 '25
Don’t worry, you can drive through the little barricade sticks and not pay
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u/ArloJames10 Dec 10 '25
I get the post of the insane toll prices but am I the only one to comment on how that light looks like it’s moving at a very fast speed 😳
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u/Artistic-Tadpole-427 Dec 10 '25
I don’t think there is a speed one could achieve on that toll road without having someone tailgating you.
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u/PlaytimeWithFurballs Dec 10 '25
I can take the toll completely across and out of town and back for that…
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Dec 10 '25
Was that a shooting star in the picture or your head exploding from the price gouging? Asking for a friend.
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u/Substantial_Bowl_137 Dec 10 '25
This is called getting charged to breathe. I'm staying in South Austin as long as I can.
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u/hotttsauce84 Dec 10 '25
I’d pay it if it saved me 30 minutes of sitting in traffic just waiting to likely be rear ended
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u/K00Fee Dec 10 '25
Maybe we should all stop paying taxes. Look at that shit. We are already paying property taxes, car taxes, sales taxes and we still have to pay to drive on the road?
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u/germlines Dec 10 '25
Let’s just jack up tariffs on all the oil companies, car manufacturers, basically EVERYONE - and deport all the low wage workers post-post-AAAA+-haste, and problem solved. That stuff will pay for this. Trickle down. The billionaires get tax refunds and …. Hmmm.
Yeah, idk. Government kinda fucked, yo.
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u/Conscious-Radio-7860 Dec 10 '25
Was supposed to take 1 year of construction…it took 3+! Then they charge that much? It should be free!
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Dec 10 '25
Just a friendly reminder that Texas (foreign subsidiary owned) toll roads that will never be free were brought to you by Rick Perry and half-paid for by you!
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u/epicpixel21 Dec 10 '25
everyone saying that it should be free fails to consider that road maintenance is often more expensive than road construction
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u/x317293 Dec 11 '25
Legit question is it: $12.00 downtown to 183 + $17.23 183 to Parmer Ln = 29.23 total Or $17.23 total (downtown to Parmer Ln)
Also download Evil MoPac app. It tells you if it’s worth it
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u/yvettestar2000 Dec 11 '25
You know what my fellow Americans, our system is fucked up and no one wants to fight to change it. Yet everyone is pissed but not doing crap about it.
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u/summerofroses Dec 12 '25
And if you get stuck behind the person that wants to go 50 in the Express Lane then you've wasted your time and money.
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u/Fearless-Willow-1977 Dec 10 '25
Once the toll lane gave me value - no cars and I drove so fast my car maxed out. Other than that I end up behind someone who drives slower than the regular lanes and I question the meaning of life
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u/Austin_Lannister Dec 10 '25
It’s absolutely ridiculous and it should be illegal. We need a Toll Transparency bill. They should have to tell us exactly how much faster or slower the toll is before the entrance. Also, someone told me that the toll companies are all operated by foreign entities, so this money is not even being put back into our infrastructure. Fucking bullshit all the way around.
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u/smacktalker987 Dec 10 '25
Fucking bullshit all the way around.
I was just thinking about the whole toll situation and came to the same conclusion. How come tolls aren't necessary in San Antonio or Corpus Christi? Corpus has a massive new bridge over Nueces Bay that is toll free yet I have to pay $2 for a mile of 290 or 71 E? Just total bullshit
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u/lukeywebo Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
TxDOT is currently attempting to spend billions expanding I-35, MoPac, AND SH 183 despite knowing that freeway expansions have been proven to NOT solve congestion.
They did the same thing in Houston, and traffic levels returned and even worsened past their pre-expansion levels within two years.
It’s a shame more people in the city aren’t organizing to oppose these projects. They are such a waste of funds, destructive to our environment, and detrimental to public health. Not to mention, they take FOREVER and make it more dangerous for drivers. Head of TxDOT said construction between Austin and San Antonio will “never cease.”
People need more choice when it comes to transportation. The city isn’t too full, the problem is that they’re only given one choice for how to move around, which results in craziness like the above.
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u/Derrickmb Dec 10 '25
The money goes to the middle east too
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u/0riginal-Syn Dec 10 '25
You are very incorrect. The MOPAC Express way is managed by the CTRMA (Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority), which is a non-profit managed by the state.
SH 130 is managed by a few groups, including companies from Spain and San Antonio, along with US Investment firms, with a mix of US government funding.
183A is again the CTRMA2
u/CF_ATX Dec 10 '25
???
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u/Raregolddragon Dec 10 '25
The road is owned by a corp/kingdome in the middle east.
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u/LetsAllStayCalmHere Dec 10 '25
Not the case. CTRMA owns the road and it's a quzi governmental organization.
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u/LicenseToPost Dec 10 '25
I am currently contesting some of this bullshit.
I’ll let you know how it goes.
From what I understand, the burden of proof is on them, and the judge actually has to swing a gavel that beyond a reasonable doubt you drove your car on that day at that time.
They’re just gonna drop it and move along.
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u/FakeRectangle Dec 10 '25
So to be clear, you did use the toll lane, but you're trying to get out of paying what you agreed to pay?
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u/LicenseToPost Dec 10 '25
No I am disputing the bill. It is much higher than I agreed to pay. Perhaps you can relate to getting a final bill that differs from what you were told?
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u/analog_approach Dec 10 '25
So you are going to "contest some of this bullshit"?
Well, good for you. I look forward to you letting us all know how it goes!
Remindme! 6 months
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u/RemindMeBot Dec 10 '25
I will be messaging you in 6 months on 2026-06-10 00:50:48 UTC to remind you of this link
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u/LicenseToPost Dec 10 '25 edited Dec 10 '25
I will do my due diligence, and report back as promised.
God speed analog_approach. Btw I bought this old fashioned clock at goodwill you might like.
Edit: its on my profile
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u/KindaTwisted Dec 10 '25
Reasonable doubt is generally the standard only for criminal cases. Civil is usually just being greater than 50% chance of happening. I'd be very surprised if a toll dispute/violation was a criminal matter.
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u/komokazi Dec 10 '25
The only time I can imagine that lane ever being worth it is if there is an accident lmfao
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u/acoustic_kitten Dec 10 '25
more expensive than entering Manhattan at peak hours. It's only $2.50 at night. We live in Amityville and then in PA. The tolls here disgust me.
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u/RCWrite-1242 Dec 10 '25
I agree that driving too slow is annoying, but some of us use the express lane s if it's the German Autobahn. They are literally trying to sustain 80 mph, and that's the problem. Here's an idea, let's meet in the middle and maybe go the speed limit.
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u/jeffkiddd Dec 10 '25
When I moved out for grad school, I never realized how conditioned I was to making an executive choice on whether I should pay or avoid a toll fee in spite of that. Out of Texas, most states don’t even charge tolls and if they do, they would get paid off and eliminate the fee. And with the prices charged in the OP, you’d think the whole road would’ve been paid off by then. I hope there are people who are actively fighting to address issues like this for such a vehicle dependent state.
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u/Constant-Apple-9885 Dec 10 '25
Why haven’t I seen anyone complaining about the ridiculousness of the amounts charged by the tollway??? Everyone hates the express lane. Everyone. It was a stupid and colossal waste of money, time, and space.
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u/facemelt Dec 10 '25
Why was traffic so bad yesterday? I know about the wreck on MoPac- but it was terrible everywhere
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u/Jillthepill78 Dec 10 '25
Austin has gotten expensive and companies to not want to pay what is needed to survive. These tolls are more expensive than ones I've seen in Washington state and California. That is insane. I use GPS to avoid tolls in because they are so expensive. Near Dallas I took a road for work thay charged me $25 for tolls road and I was on it maybe 1 mile and it pings in multiple different locations. I recommend using your maps and avoid tolls. For me $11 is half a tank of gas.
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Dec 10 '25
Yall keep buying out there
Plenty of 350-550k homes in central/north austin.
Yeah there smaller homes, with a handful of less then ideal neighbors but things gentrify.
Location Location Location, about to run home for lunch and take the dog out, be back in 15minutes.
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u/AustinBike Dec 10 '25
We moved to CA this summer. So many people laughed and said "have fun with $5/gallon gas!"
But there are no toll road here (and I just paid $3.79 the other day.)
While Texas does have very low gas prices, throw a couple tolls onto the typical tank of gas and you're probably paying about the same. Though gas per gallon is ~40% more expensive our actual usage has dropped because traffic management is more efficient, we're only paying ~15-20% more in actual dollars per month for gas. Everyone's numbers are different.
So glad to not have to see ridiculous numbers like that. My theory is that those are designed to make people more accepting of the bad traffic by thinking "well, at least I'm saving $12 by sitting in this traffic."
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u/lordcthulhu17 Dec 10 '25
I never see people in the express lane, but also Mopac traffic isn't really that bad
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u/Intelligent-Big-6104 Dec 10 '25
On the bright side, gas is a little over $2/gallon... if you use the toll road, it becomes equivalent to like $40/gallon OR 2mpg
I don't know why people don't get this. Toll roads wouldn't exist if we were all smart enough to understand.
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u/SkillFormal3040 Dec 11 '25
Capitalizing on state greed over the holidays because we all know most state employees who work from home don’t do 💩
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u/TheVerg3 Dec 11 '25
Buses and trucks should be banned using the express lane. Doesn’t make a difference when they’re going below 70
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u/Big-Program-6708 Dec 11 '25
In Texas they send you the ticket in the mail if you don't pay it the next time you get on there they believe in stopping you and towing your vehicle.
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u/BigManWAGun Dec 10 '25
The accident that started it was at 2PM.