The I-77 Tholl Roads: Radio Transmitters in Commuter Cars?

payupBoy, this story about the HOT Lanes / Toll Roads keeps getting, um, *better.*

We know that Thom Tillis, Pat McCrory and the rest of the CharMeckGOP “mafia” have been singing the praises of High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes as a way to pay for road maintenance and construction.  Speaker Pro Tem Skip Stam has also joined the chorus. 

A Spanish firm — that has had all kinds of troubles with previous similar projects — is being awarded a 50 year contract for managing the HOT lanes on I-77 in Mecklenburg County. At least two more projects like this are slated for Mecklenburg, and the state is talking about implementing this kind of setup in other parts of the state.

How is this all going to work?  Well, I read a recent story on the I-77 project in a Mecklenburg County-based news web site, and this nugget caught my eye: bb

[…] Tolls would be charged using electronic radio transmitters in commuters’ cars. The tolls would not be mandatory – drivers could opt to stay in general purpose lanes and continue to ride for free. And toll lanes would be free for cars with multiple occupants. […]

Show of hands:  How many people out there would be comfortable allowing The State of North Carolina AND its foreign sub-contractor to install an “electronic radio transmitter” in their car?   Anyone?  Anyone?  Bueller?

<crickets>