Good To Go!
| electronic toll-collection systems | |
| Founded | July 2007 |
| Products | Transponders, Car tags |
| Services | Washington |
| Website | http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/goodtogo/ |
Good To Go! is the electronic toll collection system used by the Washington State Department of Transportation on all current and future toll projects in the state of Washington. Good To Go! customers prepay their tolls into an account, the tolls are then electronically deducted as the customer passes through an electronic toll collection location. The system debuted in July 2007 on the new Tacoma Narrows Bridge and is a part of the high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes on State Route 167, which opened in the spring of 2008. All-electronic tolling began on the SR 520 Bridge on December 29, 2011.[1][2] The Good To Go! system is similar to other electronic tolling technology already in place around the country such as FasTrak in California and E-ZPass in the eastern United States.
Fares
Drivers may set up a pre-paid Good To Go! account, with a pre-paid balance of $30, by purchasing and activating a Good To Go! Pass that affixes to their vehicle. Drivers may choose from among five types of Good To Go! passes depending on their needs. Currently Good To Go! is available for use on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge, the SR 167 High-occupancy toll lanes, the SR 520/Evergreen Point Floating Bridge and on the I-405 HOT lanes. When using the Tacoma Narrows Bridge with Good To Go!, the price for a passenger car $4.50; if paying with cash or a credit card, the toll for a passenger car is $5.50; If using Pay by Mail, the passenger car rate is $6.50.[3] Tolls on SR 167 are variable and must be paid by using Good To Go!. Tolls on the SR 520 bridge are variable depending on time of day.
Operations
Electronic Transaction Consultants Corp. (ETCC) operates the Good To Go! statewide customer service center. TransCore operates toll booth and camera equipment on the Tacoma Narrows Bridge and Telvent manages the toll collection system on the SR 520 Bridge.
Toll collection systems currently in Washington
Tacoma Narrows Bridge tolls
The toll collection system in place for the Tacoma Narrows Bridge has standard toll booth collection lanes as well as three electronic toll lanes that allow for tolls to be deducted from a prepaid account at reduced cost. One of these lanes is for High Occupancy Vehicles only and vehicles in this lane must have a Good To Go! account when crossing the toll plaza through the electronic toll lanes.
Every car that travels through the Good To Go! electronic toll lanes is automatically photographed. If a vehicle passes through the electronic toll lanes without a transponder or Good To Go! account, the "Pay by Mail" toll will be charged to the registered owner of the vehicle via the license plate information per the Washington State Department of Licensing. In the case of a malfunctioning transponder for a Good To Go! account holder, the toll charge will be posted to the account associated with that license plate number.
SR 520 floating bridge
On December 29, 2011, tolling started on the SR 520 floating bridge. The revenue generated from the tolls will help pay for the replacement bridge. All tolling is done automatically with no tollbooths. Tolling for people without Good to Go! passes is done by license plate and will either be deducted from their Good to Go! account along with a processing fee, or billed by mail at extra cost if they have not established an account.[4] G2G allows users to purchase RFID "passes" for their vehicles and charges a fee to those without the RFID chips to cover the increased billing costs.
SR 167 HOT (High Occupancy Toll) Lanes
This four-year pilot project on SR 167 is testing a new congestion management tool in Washington, allowing solo drivers to pay an electronic toll for use of the carpool lanes, without having to stop.
Toll rates fluctuate with the level of congestion to ensure that traffic in the HOT lane flows at least 45 mph, even when the regular lanes are congested.
The project launched in May 2008. A single HOT lane in each direction runs along nine miles of State Route 167 between Renton and Auburn in King County. Carpools of two people or more, transit, vanpools and motorcycles may still use the HOT as a regular HOV lane free of the HOT toll. If vehicles with the Good to Go Pass have two or more occupants, the pass must be covered up by a shield or their account will be deducted for the toll.
I-405 HOT Lanes
WSDOT is currently building sections of HOT lanes for I-405. Tolls between Bellevue and Lynnwood started on September 27, 2015.[5][6][7] The final proposal includes toll lanes for the entire length of I-405. [8]
References
- ↑ "Tolling starts December 29 on the SR 520 Bridge". Retrieved 10 December 2011.
- ↑ Lindblom, Mike (December 31, 2011). "40,000 motorists avoid 520 tolling". The Seattle Times (Seattle, WA). Retrieved June 4, 2012.
- ↑ "Tacoma Narrows Bridge Toll Rates". WSDOT. Retrieved 2014-07-17.
- ↑ "Tolling starts in December on the SR 520 Bridge". WSDOT. Retrieved 29 August 2011.
- ↑ Bush, Evan (September 28, 2015). "I-405 tolling, day 1: Troopers, commuters respond". The Seattle Times (Seattle, WA). Retrieved October 15, 2015.
- ↑ "I-405 - NE 6th to I-5 Widening and Express Toll Lanes". Washington State Department of Transportation.
- ↑ "When Does the New 405 Toll Start?". Robert Williams.
- ↑ "I-405 40-mile system overview". Washington State Department of Transportation.