SR 167 HOT Lane variable toll sign (Washington State)

SR 167 HOT Lanes
Originally uploaded by WSDOT

Caption for the photo:

To use the HOT lanes, solo drivers must have an active Good To Go! account and install the Good To Go! Pass in their vehicle. Toll rates in the HOT lanes average toll between 75¢ and $1.00, although they are able to go as high as $9.00 during heavily congested times.

The SR 167 High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes opened in May 2008 between Renton and Auburn. HOT lanes are HOV lanes (for carpools of two or more, vanpools and buses) that are also open to toll-paying solo drivers, providing a faster, more reliable trip.
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For more information on SR 167 HOT Lanes.

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For all the crap that Arlington County has taken for suing the state over the extension of High Occupancy Toll lanes into Arlington County because this type of facility is seen as inconsistent with the Arlington County Master Transportation Plan, it's very interesting to see that yesterday, VDOT has capitulated, even though the state government is controlled by pro-car Republicans. See "On HOT-Lanes Decision, Everybody Has a View of the Impact" from the Sun-Gazetteand "New HOT lane plan for Virginia's I-95 corridor" from the Washington Post.

Although the Sightline Institute from the Pacific Northwest argues, in "Not So HOT? ," that the benefits from HOT lanes are considerable. The piece explains that the SR 167 HOT lane is a test project, that it isn't earning toll revenue equal to its costs, but that it generates other benefits that are not directly quantified in terms of revenue.

With regard to the DC area, I do agree with Arlington County that the benefits from HOT lanes come at the expense of transit and promoting transit.