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As of Monday, Dec. 5, carpoolers will be required to have at least three - not two people in their vehicle, with an E-ZPass Flex transponder switched to "HOV On” mode to bypass the tolls in those lanes, otherwise, motorists will have to pay a toll that will vary, depending on the flow of traffic.
The new requirement will be in effect across the entire I-66 corridor in Northern Virginia from Haymarket to the DC line.
The express lanes opened outside the beltway earlier this year. Initially, though initially, carpoolers only needed two passengers to use the lanes for free. The “HOV-3" requirement is the same as HOV requirements on express lanes around Northern Virginia.
According to the Virginia Department of Transportation, “The HOV-3+ requirement on I-66 Express Lanes is consistent with HOV requirements on the other express lanes in Northern Virginia.
“(It) supports a regional policy and goal to increase the occupancy requirements on HOV lanes in the region to HOV-3 in order to reduce the number of vehicle miles traveled and comply with the federal Clean Air Act Amendment of 1990.”
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