Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

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Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby henwin » Mon Apr 09, 2012 12:39 pm

From the AMA's News & Notes May 2012:

"Arlington, VA: The 495 Express Lanes, High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, are coming to northern Virginia in late 2012. Motorcycles will continue to have free access and won’t need an E-ZPass. Details about the project and free use for all motorcycles can be found at http://www.495expresslanes.com."
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby dcgsrider » Thu Apr 12, 2012 12:41 pm

henwin wrote:From the AMA's News & Notes May 2012:

"Arlington, VA: The 495 Express Lanes, High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, are coming to northern Virginia in late 2012. Motorcycles will continue to have free access and won’t need an E-ZPass. Details about the project and free use for all motorcycles can be found at http://www.495expresslanes.com."

We hashed this over a while back. My question was, and is, what happens if you carry an EZ-Pass to ride the HOT lanes (where you don't pay) and then the Dulles Toll Road (where you do)? Will the system be "smart" enough to realize a motorcycle passed through on the HOT lanes and not charge your account?
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby henwin » Thu Apr 12, 2012 1:40 pm

dcgsrider wrote:
henwin wrote:From the AMA's News & Notes May 2012:

"Arlington, VA: The 495 Express Lanes, High Occupancy Toll (HOT) lanes, are coming to northern Virginia in late 2012. Motorcycles will continue to have free access and won’t need an E-ZPass. Details about the project and free use for all motorcycles can be found at http://www.495expresslanes.com."

We hashed this over a while back. My question was, and is, what happens if you carry an EZ-Pass to ride the HOT lanes (where you don't pay) and then the Dulles Toll Road (where you do)? Will the system be "smart" enough to realize a motorcycle passed through on the HOT lanes and not charge your account?

That's a good question. MY answer is: you'll get charged. The reason I think this, is because (to my knowledge) there is no [-X difference between a motorcycle and a car (for example) transponder and so the toll reader treats you the same as a car #-o .

However if you want the OFFICIAL story, my guess is you'll have to contact someone at VDOT or whomever administers the toll roads in VA. And when you do find out you could post the aswer here.
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby jskene » Fri Apr 13, 2012 7:35 am

The EZ-pass for your motorcycle is registered as such, so EZ-pass knows it's a motorcycle. It would be quite simple for them to not count HOT tolls.
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby Chiba » Fri Apr 13, 2012 9:07 am

jskene wrote:The EZ-pass for your motorcycle is registered as such, so EZ-pass knows it's a motorcycle. It would be quite simple for them to not count HOT tolls.

This :) I had a problem with my EZ-PASS once & called them to ask if I could put my car transponder on my motorcycle. They said yes, but I would get charged at the higher car rate if I did that because the m/c transponder is registered in their system as being used on a motorcycle. I would assume (as Jerry said) that their system can pick out the m/c ones on the appropriate non-charged roads.
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby radon222 » Fri Apr 13, 2012 12:42 pm

Unless of course you have a Maryland EZ-Pass account...which as far as I know doesn't offer a specific MC pass.
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby redman » Fri Apr 13, 2012 3:05 pm

Henwin is correct!

FYI the MD Easy Pass site lists class 8 as Motorcycle
But,if you do the calculations it comes up the same as Class 2 which is a car, pickup truck and van.
What a rip off!
http://www.ezpassmd.com/en/info/toll_calculators.shtml

Just called VA Easy Pass and the MC rate is the same as a car. Customer service says they go by axles.
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby Chiba » Sat Apr 14, 2012 5:01 pm

redman wrote:Just called VA Easy Pass and the MC rate is the same as a car. Customer service says they go by axles.

Well then we're gettin' ripped off - K & R bikes only have 1 axle up front :)
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby henwin » Sat Apr 14, 2012 9:27 pm

T.Wesley wrote:
redman wrote:Just called VA Easy Pass and the MC rate is the same as a car. Customer service says they go by axles.
Well then we're gettin' ripped off - K & R bikes only have 1 axle up front :)

Well we're getting ripped off alright, but not by axles, but by the [-X weight of the vehicle. I'd wager that with the exception of a MB Smart (pretty dumb if you ask me) there aren't too many vehicles which put less wear and tear on a road than a motorcycle and it almost doesn't matter what it weighs...unless it weighs over a ton, and I've never even seen one of those =D> !
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby dcgsrider » Mon Apr 16, 2012 4:29 pm

T.Wesley wrote:
redman wrote:Just called VA Easy Pass and the MC rate is the same as a car. Customer service says they go by axles.

Well then we're gettin' ripped off - K & R bikes only have 1 axle up front :)


Yeah, and strictly (i.e., mechanically) speaking, most cars haven't had a single axle up front since the very earliest days of the "horseless carriage."
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby bdimon » Fri Apr 20, 2012 3:12 pm

henwin wrote:From the AMA's News & Notes May 2012:My question was, and is, what happens if you carry an EZ-Pass to ride the HOT lanes (where you don't pay) and then the Dulles Toll Road (where you do)? Will the system be "smart" enough to realize a motorcycle passed through on the HOT lanes and not charge your account?


Your motorcycle should be carrying a class 136 transponder. Presumably, the system will be smart enough to know not to charge vehicles carrying the class 136. If their system charges motorcycle transponders, we would have to shield our E-ZPass.

They have a switchable transponder for carpoolers.
http://virginiahotlanes.com/beltway/how-hot-lanes-work/faqs.php

If you don't have an E-ZPass, no problem.
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby STATMATT » Fri May 11, 2012 4:40 pm

If I ride a wheelie or a stoppie on the way through the gate, does that count as one or two axels?
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Re: Motorcycles and HOT lanes in VA (WHOA!!!)

Postby howardenichols » Sat Aug 29, 2015 3:40 pm

There is no fees for motorcycles on the HOT lanes. AND there is not need for a transponder since their cameras can recognize motorcycles. So it is a non issue for us
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