I-95 HOT Lanes aka "Toll road" (home, assess)

[The Dissenter]

Originally Posted by ChristineVA

What botehrs me about the I95 project is that they have effectively removed two lanes of usable road permanently to the general population. Sure, from 6-9AM and 3:30-whatever time in the evening, only a select group of the people can use those lanes; however, at all other times, two lanes of traffic are available for use in a given direction. Anyone can use them. And if you don't think that those two lanes make a big difference on weekends in the summer in the direction that those two lanes are flowing, all you have to do is look to the other side and see the difference.

That said, now anyone can ride those lanes during rush hour; provided you are flush enough with cash to do it. I saw someone on TV complaining about this that it's really something that favors people who making more money. The rest of the people get to sit in gridlock. I can tell you that I am at a point in my life that I will pay whatever to bypass the traffic but there was a time I could not have done that. I really don't like that aspect of the HOT lanes.

At least on 495, they got 2 extra lanes out of it and didn't impact their regular lanes. In that particular case, I see the reasoning for the HOT lanes. But on I95, they just "took" our lanes.

^ This here.

[Grsz11]

Originally Posted by The Dissenter

^ This here.

Was the Commonwealth compensated for the sell of the public lanes to a private entity?

[farplaner]

Originally Posted by Grsz11

even if you only carpool, you are still paying $1/month for the EZ Pass

As far as I understand, the $1 is waived if you only carpool and never use the ez pass for anything else.

https://www.495expresslanes.com/faqs

How much does E-ZPass cost?

In Virginia, the standard E-ZPass has a monthly fee of $0.50. New customers must pay $35 in pre-paid tolls when opening an E-ZPass account. If you got a standard E-ZPass before July 9, 2012, you will not pay a monthly fee until you replace your existing E-ZPass or add a new one to your account. The Virginia E-ZPass Flex has a monthly fee of $1. New customers must pay $35 in pre-paid tolls when opening an E-ZPass account. The monthly fee is waived during the months you use your Flex transponder exclusively for HOV-3 on the Express Lanes. You will be charged the fee during the months you use the Flex on another toll facility, in the non-HOV mode on the Express Lanes or if the transponder is unused. For more information and to sign up, please visit the Virginia E-ZPass website.

[johnsonkk]

Originally Posted by tongyang

As far as I understand, the $1 is waived if you only carpool and never use the ez pass for anything else.

https://www.495expresslanes.com/faqs

I thought the ez pass transmitter still cost $5 / month, even if it was switched to HOV at all times.

[Grsz11]

Originally Posted by tongyang

As far as I understand, the $1 is waived if you only carpool and never use the ez pass for anything else.

https://www.495expresslanes.com/faqs

Ok, but if you are only using it for HOV, the $35 you prepaid is being held by VDOT.

[boyd888]

As of now, from mid saturday through sunday, anyone traveling south on regular 495 (from Tyson's Corner) can take the left exit and use the 395 HOV lanes to head north into DC. These new 95 HOT lanes seem to start/end at Edsall Rd though.

I assume this exit will still be opening for people using the lanes during the week. Anyone know if there now be a toll for the ~2 mile of the 95 hot lanes you'd be traveling on? From reading the FAQ it appears as though there will not be, but it isn't 100% clear.

[farplaner]

Originally Posted by johnsonkk

I thought the ez pass transmitter still cost $5 / month, even if it was switched to HOV at all times.

Not sure where the $5 / month came from but here's my account statement. You can see the times where I used the express lanes in HOV mode exclusively I was never charged a maintenance fee for the month.

[NOVA_guy]

I'm probably being overly optimistic but I think it's going to work... or at least I'm hoping. Some days traffic is so bad I'll pay pretty much any amount just to get out of it.

[airjay75]

I really wonder just how high the tolls will get. I won't be surprised in the least for them to be at $20 or $30 during peak times. Who knows? It might even go higher. Since I only really travel 95 for any significant length when going out of town, I would probably be willing to pay $20 or $30 for the few times a year I go if it meant avoiding an hour or more of gridlock. But, I definitely wouldn't pay that on a daily basis. If it went to $40 or $50, I'd probably say I'll put up with an extra hour of traffic.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by airjay75

I really wonder just how high the tolls will get. I won't be surprised in the least for them to be at $20 or $30 during peak times. Who knows? It might even go higher. Since I only really travel 95 for any significant length when going out of town, I would probably be willing to pay $20 or $30 for the few times a year I go if it meant avoiding an hour or more of gridlock. But, I definitely wouldn't pay that on a daily basis. If it went to $40 or $50, I'd probably say I'll put up with an extra hour of traffic.

Do you currently have an EZ Pass transmitter or would you get one? I haven't found the need to get one.