A decade of pay lanes on the 10 and 110 freeways in Los Angeles County have pleased millions of riders in a hurry, even as sticklers criticize the loss of “free” ways that are deemed a California legacy, and even as inadvertent ExpressLane users balk over high tolls, fines and fees.
On June 22, the LA Metro board made it easier to use ExpressLanes by eliminating the need for a FasTrak transponder, or the need to sign up your vehicle. Now any motorist can use the lanes without a transponder or a Metro account and simply be billed for a congestion toll plus an $8 processing fee per trip — avoiding penalties.
Those carpoolers with two or more occupants can still use their transponder to signal overhead beacons, and the occasional CHP patrol, that they are riding free and will not be billed for the trip, or cited. Carpool occupancy restrictions apply on each freeway.
An action led by Fourth District Supervisor and LA Metro board member Janice Hahn that was approved June 22 by an 8-0 vote eliminated the $25 penalty charged by Metro each time someone drives in the ExpressLanes without a transponder, even if they did it unknowingly.
The action also means a CHP officer cannot pull someone over for not having the device or not having an account with Metro, a citation that costs $250, according to Hahn’s office.
Hahn, who said this will make the Metro system “less intimidating,” said the impetus was to open the toll lanes to the occasional user, or those visiting Los Angeles.
“I felt some people thought about it at the last minute,” she said at the Metro meeting in June. “Or say someone was on their way to the hospital. Can we help them out? I think we will see more people taking advantage of the ExpressLanes when they need them.”
Exactly 10 years ago, LA Metro received federal dollars to convert a 14-mile stretch of bus and carpool lanes along the 10 Freeway and an 11-mile stretch of the 110 Freeway into pay lanes called…
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