ATLANTA,None — With a unanimous vote, the State Road and Tollway Authority slashed the tolls on Interstate 85 HOT lanes to as little as one cent per mile.
But, the penny price is only available during off-peak hours.
SRTA said the off-peak hours are weekdays 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., evenings from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. and weekends starting Friday night at 8 p.m. until 6 a.m. on Mondays.
"That doesn't mean all of those times it will drop to one cent per mile. That will be our typical operation," SRTA Director Gena Evans said.
SRTA will fluctuate rates between one penny and 0.9 cents a mile during peak hours, depending on traffic.
Since mid-December, toll rates during the morning commute have peaked consistently at $4.10, due to high volume.
http://bcove.me/1e7m7k5e
So what will the penny off peak achieve?
"Get more traffic in those HOT lanes, during those off-peak hours," Evans said during Thursday's board meeting.
Evans said overall traffic volume in the HOT lanes is way below the average when the lanes were HOV.
But, whether or not drivers will pay a penny to use a lane, if the one next to it is just as fast and free, remains to be seen.
"That's their choice; isn't it nice to have choice," said Gov. Nathan Deal.
Meanwhile Deal said this is just one more tweak as the state tries to make HOT lanes a viable option for Metro Atlanta commuters.
"For us to be able to achieve the kind of relief of congestion in the metro area, we're probably going to have to consider additional toll projects," Deal said.
SRTA also announced that it will offer live cameras on PeachPass.com, allowing drivers to log on to see live rates to give them an idea of to give them an idea of the HOT lane cost ahead of time.
HOT lane users can now also use an app developed by SRTA to manage their Peach Pass accounts.
WSBTV
