The state Department of Public Safety patrol cars parked along I-85 Saturday to monitor the just-opened High Occupancy Tolls lanes were as idle as the lonely Maytag repairman.
The HOT lanes were empty. Why bother paying to travel when traffic in the half-dozen free lanes was running at 70 to 80 mph?
At breakfast spots at the highway exits, however, drivers were full of opinions.
"I think it's a great idea because it's a way to pay for the infrastructure," said Wayne Hartman of Newnan, who frequently travels on I-85 during sales trips to the Carolinas. "You use it, you pay."
Others criticized the pay-as-you-go lane, calling it unhelpful and unfair for average drivers in tough economic times.
Georgians paid taxes to build the lanes, said Crystal Simmons of Duluth.
"But now they are charging us again," she said, "and we have to pay a cost per mile to use it."
It will cost 10 to 90 cents per mile to travel in the lanes, with higher costs assigned during heavier traffic.
The high-tech monitoring system will charge users and officers will check the number of riders in a car. Car pools of three or more people can use the HOT lanes for free, but it will force two-person car pools back into the regular lanes of traffic unless they pay the toll.
The State Road and Tollway Authority expects the lanes to begin filling Monday morning, as motorists begin paying to leapfrog the gridlock that typically clogs the commuting corridor. The SRTA has issued more than 72,000 of the electronic cards that give drivers that privilege.
Malika Reed Wilkins, the director of marketing for the SRTA, said the equipment worked well Saturday. There was a reason the lanes were opened on the weekend rather than a workday.
"We are taking this weekend to gear up for commuting traffic next week," she said. "That morning and afternoon, we will be looking very closely at the operation."
Drivers will also be looking.
David Welty of Norcross expects to see more accidents. The HOT lanes are far left in the direction of travel. People who travel in them will have to cross as many as five lanes of traffic to exit, always a dangerous proposition during rush hour.
"I don't think it's going to help very much," he said.
Eileen Sanford of Tucker predicted there would be confusion and trouble for those passing through the area who are not familiar with how the system is supposed to operate. She does not like the new lanes.
"The people who have these kinds of ideas are the people who have money," she said. "They can go and come and not be bothered with the rest of us on the road."
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