A State Corporation Commission senior hearing examiner recommends the agency deny a proposed toll hike on the Dulles Greenway that would increase the toll to $8.10 during peak hours.
Hearing examiner Michael Thomas said in his 159-page report that “TRIP II [Toll Road Investors Partnership II] failed to prove by a preponderance of the evidence that its proposed toll increases are reasonable to the user in relation to the benefit obtained.”
A 2021 state law made regulations governing the Dulles Greenway more stringent.
Toll Road Investors Partnership II, the operators of the 14-mile-long toll road between Dulles International Airport and Leesburg, asked for a 40 percent hike in peak morning and afternoon tolls and a 22 percent increase during the off-peak hours.
The maximum peak toll for a car under the proposal would be $8.10 during the morning and evening commutes and $6.40 in the off-peak hours, according to documents filed in 2023 with the SCC. The current maximum during peak hours stands at $5.80.
Thomas wrote in his May 15 recommendation that raising tolls would “materially discourage use of the Greenway.”
“There has been no evidentiary showing in this case that the qualitative benefits outweigh the qualitative costs of using the Greenway,” Thomas wrote.
His findings are similar to what SCC staffers wrote in a 400-page report in January.
Loudoun Supports SCC Findings
Loudoun County asked to be part of the case and opposed the price increase. The county provided an analysis that said drivers who would no longer use the toll road would offset any increased revenue from the tolls. Instead, the county said its public roads would have increased congestion as a result.
County supervisors voiced support for Thomas’ report.
“This thoughtful and detailed 159-page report acknowledges the voice of Loudoun County residents who have vehemently opposed higher tolls on the Greenway,” said Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall, in a statement. “Members of the Board of Supervisors, senior leaders in Loudoun County, and the people of Loudoun turned out to ensure the hearing examiner heard directly from the people who would be impacted by the proposed toll increases. The decision now lies in the hands of the commission.”
Supervisor Matthew F. Letourneau, who represents the Dulles District, said, “The hearing examiner’s report brings us one step closer to rejecting the Greenway’s ridiculous rate increases.”
The parties involved in the Dulles Greenway have until June 5 to submit comments to Thomas before the case goes to the three-member SCC this summer. A final decision is expected later in the year.
Feature image by bo.kvk/stock.adobe.com
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