The day after the premier suggested that all municipalities may have to consider road tolls and higher taxes to pay for better roads, bridges and transit, the provincial finance minister is out with a new idea.

Charles Sousa is suggesting the idea of drivers paying a fee to use the less busy HOV lane, assuming they don’t already have two or more people in the car.

Many people have likely been in the situation, stuck bumper-to-bumper in rush hour traffic with nowhere to go, while meanwhile the HOV lane on the left is moving smoothly.

So would those people who are riding alone be willing to pay an extra fee to get in the left lane? Sousa says that’s something the Liberal government is contemplating.

“Those lanes are available to those who wish to pay for it, they work in other jurisdictions, it’s something for consideration,” Sousa said.

“You don’t have to use them if you don’t want to, but should you want to and you’re single in the car, maybe there’s an opportunity there to revenue source some of that initiative as well.”

The money would be used to improve transit and for road repairs.

PC Leader Tim Hudak, meanwhile, says he is not a fan of the idea.