ARLINGTON 鈥� New tolls coming to Interstate 66 could force a lot of cheaters to pay up.聽The rush-hour tolls for solo drivers inside the Capital Beltway, which聽are set to begin next year, will be automated聽—聽which means drivers who use the lanes without an E-ZPass Flex switched to HOV mode will automatically get a bill.
鈥淭he default will be, you get charged; the default now is, you don鈥檛 pay,鈥� Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne said Monday聽.
Today, only vehicles with two or more people inside are supposed to use I-66 inside the Beltway in the peak direction during each聽two and a half hour rush-hour period.
The Virginia Department of Transportation estimates that in the lanes at those times are solo drivers.
One driver, who was aware of the current rules, was caught last week using a mannequin as the second “passenger.” Fairfax County said 鈥�.鈥�
鈥淩emember, we did try enforcement, and our state police said to really do it聽…聽it would have caused significant delays and made the commute almost unbearable,鈥� Layne said.
The variable toll will allow solo drivers a legal option to use the lanes during the restricted hours, although it will also require drivers who currently drive on the fringes of the restricted period to meet the HOV requirements or pay up.
鈥淚t鈥檚 a choice,” Layne said. “You don鈥檛 have to use it, but you can use it legally now.”
There are some exceptions under the current rules for and traffic headed to or from Dulles International Airport.聽The new rules will eliminate those exemptions and expand the rush-hour period to four hours.
鈥淗ybrid has always been a temporary exemption on I-66,鈥� Deputy Transportation Secretary Nick Donohue said.聽“These lanes are about moving more people through this region, and one person in a car doesn鈥檛 do that,鈥� he said.
Under the HOV or toll (HOT) lane system 鈥� like the one in place for the I-95 and I-495 Express Lanes 鈥� drivers must switch an E-ZPass Flex into HOV mode in order to ride free.
鈥淥n the other roads where we have converted HOV to HOT, we have seen violation rates drop from around 25 percent to around 1 percent,鈥� Donohue said.
Drivers who would have been considered violators in the past instead are charged on their E-ZPass or get a bill in the mail.
