I-405 new toll lanes. How was the first day? (Bellevue: house, buy)

[bloom]

Can I just use the lane with 2 or more people in car like before, or will I get a bill in mail ?

[WAIDOR]

I used it this afternoon and loved it. I was driving to Bothell from Tukwila and had to be somewhere in Bothell at 5:15. I left Tukwila at 4:20. When I got to Bellevue traffic started getting heavy on 405 so I entered the express lanes and zipped up to Bothell in very little time. I made it to my destination at 4:57.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by bloom

Can I just use the lane with 2 or more people in car like before, or will I get a bill in mail ?

No. You have to get a Good to Go! Flex Pass and register as a carpool. To gain free access to the lanes, you have to switch the pass to HOV mode. During peak times, you'll need to have three people in a car, but only two people during non-peak.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

No. You have to get a Good to Go! Flex Pass and register as a carpool. To gain free access to the lanes, you have to switch the pass to HOV mode. During peak times, you'll need to have three people in a car, but only two people during non-peak.

Correct, but I heard that this weekend the stores that sell them ran out, as people waited until the last minute. They were hoping to get more by today.

[jm31828]

Yep, all stores in the Bothell area are out of the flex passes with no indication (as of yesterday) on when they will get more.

WSDOT calls yesterday a success, but most of the drivers interviewed on the morning news are calling it a mess. The whole idea was supposed to be to speed up traffic all around- not just in the HOV lane. But traffic even at 6AM was bumper to bumper crawling stop and go yesterday and today, while the HOV lane was almost completely empty. Is that what the state wanted? I think so- to leave the HOV lane wide open for those who want to fork more money over to the state to drive in, the "Lexus Lane" as people have called it.

A big part of the scam is that all of us who would never be in that lane or even on 405 at all unless we had at least 3 people in the car still have to buy a pass AND put at least $30 in the account. Yes, only to drive free in the lane as a carpool you have to fork over $45 that you will never get back! THAT is ridiculous. Why can't I buy the pass and not put any money on the account if I never, ever, ever plan to drive in the HOV lane with less than 3 people in the car? Why do I have to give the state $30 of my hard earned money never to actually be used by me?

[evilcart]

The whole thing is a perfect example of bad management.

1 most people don't understand the system because it has not been explained clearly.

2 Poor support at every level. stores are understaffed and far too few.

3 Phone waits insane.

4 a negative account balance requires a phone call to clear.. ( unbelievably stupid and wastes massive amounts of time)

5 nobody should be required to pay a dime or pre fill an account . example a car with 3 people needs to buy a pass and add monies even though they may never face a single charge! it is a free lifetime loan to local gov.

6 Tolling a local highway impacts the lowest income families the most. The very people who cant afford to live close to work are the same people who already contribute the most monies to state road funds through taxation of gas.

7 Tolling a road in an area with a lack of good transport options is abusive. the public are already being underserved and now we have allowed the wealthy to cheat, they get to use the HOV lane in order to avoid traffic, but are not required to have more than 1 person in the car, they are literally buying their way to the front of the line.

This Winner takes all , and screw everyone else America is not what I signed up for and it is not what they taught me in school. Growing up I was told the USA is a leader and everyone has a chance. Truth is the USA has become everything we vowed we would never be. Social mobility is WORSE than the EU. Wealth divide/ gap is the WORSR in the developed world . We have the highest total number of prisoners and the highest per-capita too.

mobility, wealth , prison. Not at all what we planned 200 years ago. Toll roads are designed to allow the wealthy to buy their way out.


I should add I could afford tolls all day every day everywhere I go and never notice the impact, my concerns are for the guys who use the 405 to go earn a min wage.

[CrazyDonkey]

Originally Posted by jm31828

The whole idea was supposed to be to speed up traffic all around- not just in the HOV lane. But traffic even at 6AM was bumper to bumper crawling stop and go yesterday and today, while the HOV lane was almost completely empty.

The whole idea? Show me where WSDOT has ever said that.

I think the general idea is to keep traffic in the general lanes moving, while providing a speedier option for those who choose to pay the toll, organize a 3-person carpool, join a vanpool, or ride a bus. Not everyone who needs a pass has one yet. Carpools need to be registered now, and have at least three people during peak periods.

Most car commuters using the toll lanes don't need to leave at 6am.

[RVD90277]

yes i'll get flamed for this but i kinda like having a multi class system on the roads...pay more for reduced traffic. sounds good.

[Yakscsd]

It was non-eventful. Well except for watching the people who weren't smart enough to understand. Honestly, the whole thing has been blown out of proportion by the media (Surprise). Basic common sense tells you how the system works and if you don't know how a double white line works, you should reconsider your decision to drive.

And the people that waited until the last minute to buy a Flex Pas, Wahhh. They have known for months and had plenty of opportunity to avoid the problems.

While this did put more traffic into the other lanes, it will be great when there is a backup and you can pay to arrive on time. The only part that I wish wasn't the way it is is the increase to 3 instead of 2 for HOV designation.

[Hemlock140]

Originally Posted by CrazyDonkey

The whole idea? Show me where WSDOT has ever said that.

I think the general idea is to keep traffic in the general lanes moving, while providing a speedier option for those who choose to pay the toll, organize a 3-person carpool, join a vanpool, or ride a bus. Not everyone who needs a pass has one yet. Carpools need to be registered now, and have at least three people during peak periods.

Most car commuters using the toll lanes don't need to leave at 6am.

Actually, the federal funds allocated to this project are dependent upon the traffic in those (toll) lanes running at 45mph or more 90% of the commute times. If that fails, the feds will fine the state and or cut off additional highway funds. I don't think anyone really expects traffic to be faster in the general lanes.