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EZPass Flex

Started by jrouse, May 29, 2012, 03:56:48 PM

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jrouse

Is there anybody on this board from the areas around DC who is planning to get the EZPass Flex transponder for use on the 495 Express Lanes?  I believe this is the first switchable transponder that is being used on the EZPass system.  I'm curious to see whether there will be issues with it being used on other toll facilities in other EZPass states.


1995hoo

I don't plan to get one because I don't anticipate driving on there with three people more than MAYBE once or twice a year at most, but one of my neighbors who has kids says she'll swap her conventional device for one. It should work on any E-ZPass facility regardless of the position of the HOV switch because the HOV switch isn't an "on/off" switch–the device still communicates with the Express Lanes' tolling equipment. It's more in the nature of setting a jumper to tell the system that your vehicle is an HOV and shouldn't be tolled. The system still needs to read your E-ZPass in part for traffic count monitoring (which is relevant in part for purposes of setting the toll rates, among other reasons). So, because the device still communicates with the tolling system regardless of the HOV switch's position, it's supposed to work as normal on any other E-ZPass facility because those facilities simply read the device and disregard the HOV issue. That also resolves the issue some drivers have worried about regarding going from the Dulles Toll Road to the Express Lanes or vice versa–I've seen several comments by people who worry that they'd forget to move the switch back and forth.

I'm still waiting to see what happens with VDOT's proposed E-ZPass fee, as I'm contemplating getting two new ones from Maine or Massachusetts and then cancelling our VDOT account.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

Zmapper

Why did VDOT not do the low-tech approach as seen on I-25 in Denver; stripe a double white line between the HOV and toll lanes for a mile or so and station a police officer there? A fancy transponder is not needed, and HOV's from outside the metro region can still use the HOV lane without having to get a transponder.

1995hoo

Quote from: Zmapper on May 30, 2012, 08:08:35 AM
Why did VDOT not do the low-tech approach as seen on I-25 in Denver; stripe a double white line between the HOV and toll lanes for a mile or so and station a police officer there? A fancy transponder is not needed, and HOV's from outside the metro region can still use the HOV lane without having to get a transponder.

I haven't seen the Denver lanes you mention, so I have no basis for comment there. From what I've read, though, part of the reason for requiring all users to have an E-ZPass is the point I mentioned before about maintaining accurate traffic counts. Apparently there are two aspects to it–the obvious one about needing to know how many vehicles are in the lanes at any one time so as to allow the operators to determine whether to increase or decrease the toll, plus a less-obvious one relating to the percentage of HOV usage. Apparently there's a clause in the contract that says that if HOV usage climbs above a certain percentage of overall Express Lane usage, the Commonwealth has to reimburse the operators for some portion of the unrealized toll revenue. I don't know all the details and so I don't mean for that statement to be understood as a definitive comment on how the deal works, but the existence of some sort of clause like that just makes it that much more important for them to have accurate counts of HOV and non-HOV.
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

kphoger

Quote from: Zmapper on May 30, 2012, 08:08:35 AM
Why did VDOT not do the low-tech approach as seen on I-25 in Denver; stripe a double white line between the HOV and toll lanes for a mile or so and station a police officer there? A fancy transponder is not needed, and HOV's from outside the metro region can still use the HOV lane without having to get a transponder.

That seems like kind of a waste of a police officer, if you ask me.
Keep right except to pass.  Yes.  You.
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Male pronouns, please.

Quote from: Philip K. DickIf you can control the meaning of words, you can control the people who must use them.

1995hoo

I understand that Fluor and Transurban have a deal with the Virginia State Police whereby the two companies are providing funding to allow the hiring of a few additional police officers to be assigned to patrolling the new lanes, although that's about the extent of what I know about it because the deal wasn't finalized when I saw the report. There are some places in the median where cop cars will be able to sit (as I've watched the construction, I've noticed some open space on either side of the toll gantries; the image below is a rendering of the VA-7 interchange and you can see examples of the cutouts just to the north of the Express Lanes exit ramp). I wouldn't be surprised to see them focused more on speeding and on vehicle-size enforcement–the latter referring to the rule prohibiting any vehicles with more than two axles except buses.

"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

jrouse

I think the reason why the 495 Express Lanes don't have a declaration lane for HOVs (like what they have in Denver, the Katy Tollway in Houston and the 91 Express Lanes in California) is a lack of space.  So in order to provide toll free passage, the EZPass Flex is necessary. 

In the case of the 91 Express Toll Lanes here in California, all users must have the FasTrak tag, even though they have a declaration lane for HOVs.  I'm not sure of all the reasons for this, but I do know that during some portions of the day, HOVs must pay a toll.  Riverside County is developing an extension of the toll lanes up to I-15, and originally, they were not going to have a declaration lane at their toll gantry, which would have required users to carry a tag with a switch.  This would have been difficult logistically.  I understand they have now decided to incorporate a declaration lane at the gantry, so it should be a seamless transition from the Orange County portion to the Riverside County portion.



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