Let's assume that overall, this does not make the road any more or less efficient ( i.e. the same # of product, i.e. people and goods, still pass through the highway stretch per hour ).
For those whose $time_saved_in_traffic > $40, they now have a more economical option.
Imagine a business that bills out labor at $100/hr and offers to pay the $40 toll + $10 extra per day if the employee can and is willing to bill another 30 minutes. Employee is better off ( they effectively spend the same amount of time "at work" plus and extra $10 and likely slightly less gas money ). Employer bills out an extra $50, assuming 20% of that is markup over labor cost, this is an extra $10 in their pocket. The government gets an extra $40 (minus whatever the base toll is) to reinvest elsewhere.
The downside is that the remaining lanes ( those who cannot justify the cost of the fastlane ), will end up paying more in slightly longer commute times if the remaining lanes are now more congested.
What society should be paying attention to is how the efficiency of the road overall improves.
If there is open ( i.e. wasted ) capacity in the HOV lane, opening HOV lane to more traffic will improve efficiency in the road overall.
If the additional revenue can be reinvested to improve efficiency, this should improve things for everyone overall.
If there are no ( or negative ) efficiency gains, then those forced to ride in the mainstream lanes will bear the net cost.
tl;dr; Focus on improving the overall efficiency of the road.
For those whose $time_saved_in_traffic > $40, they now have a more economical option.
Imagine a business that bills out labor at $100/hr and offers to pay the $40 toll + $10 extra per day if the employee can and is willing to bill another 30 minutes. Employee is better off ( they effectively spend the same amount of time "at work" plus and extra $10 and likely slightly less gas money ). Employer bills out an extra $50, assuming 20% of that is markup over labor cost, this is an extra $10 in their pocket. The government gets an extra $40 (minus whatever the base toll is) to reinvest elsewhere.
The downside is that the remaining lanes ( those who cannot justify the cost of the fastlane ), will end up paying more in slightly longer commute times if the remaining lanes are now more congested.
What society should be paying attention to is how the efficiency of the road overall improves.
If there is open ( i.e. wasted ) capacity in the HOV lane, opening HOV lane to more traffic will improve efficiency in the road overall.
If the additional revenue can be reinvested to improve efficiency, this should improve things for everyone overall.
If there are no ( or negative ) efficiency gains, then those forced to ride in the mainstream lanes will bear the net cost.
tl;dr; Focus on improving the overall efficiency of the road.