Virginia Launches E-ZPass Flex for Use on 495 Express Lanes

July 25, 2012 4:59 pmBy: Fairfax News

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) today formally launched E-ZPass Flex, a new E-ZPass transponder that is able to switch between toll-free and toll-paying travel on the 495 Express Lanes scheduled to open by the end of this year.

Because the 495 Express Lanes will be all-electronic, with no manned toll booths, every vehicle in the lanes will need an E-ZPass transponder.

Though every standard E-ZPass transponder will work in the Express Lanes, only the E-ZPass Flex transponder enables drivers to use a manual switch on the transponder to select between toll-paying mode and HOV mode. Drivers with three or more people in the car and an E-ZPass Flex transponder switched to the HOV mode will be able to use the 495 Express Lanes toll free.

“When it comes to reaching important destinations in Virginia, travelers now have choices,” said VDOT Chief Deputy Commissioner Charlie Kilpatrick. “Travelers can take the bus or Metro, drivers can take the 495 Express Lanes or Capital Beltway general purpose lanes, and with the flip of a switch on the E-ZPass Flex and two passengers, choose to carpool toll-free on the Capital Beltway.”

You can obtain an E-ZPass Flex the following ways:

· Sign-up online: Visit http://www.ezpassva.com.

· Call toll-free: Call E-ZPass Virginia at 1-877-762-7824.

· Visit an E-ZPass Service Center or DMV: The Northern Virginia Service Center is located at 610 Herndon Parkway, Suite 900, Herndon, VA 20170. You can also obtain a transponder at the Tysons Corner DMV at 1968 Gallows Road, Vienna VA 22182.

· Go to AAA and retailers: AAA Mid-Atlantic offers Flex and standard transponders in several locations in Northern Virginia. Go to http://www.ezpassva.com for a list of locations. Transponders will soon be available at Wegmans locations.

The E-ZPass Flex reflects a growing number of new transportation options available to Northern Virginia travelers. The Dulles Metrorail will open in 2013 with new stations in Tysons Corner. And, as part of the 495 Express Lanes project scheduled to open before the end of the year, Capital Beltway travelers will have first-ever HOV access. In addition, the faster, more predictable travel available via the 495 Express Lanes will enable regular public transportation routes along the Beltway corridor – another first.

Comments

More Top Stories

Top Stories Vienna
Vienna Farmers Market Is Moving

Starting May 4, the Vienna Saturday Farmers’ Market is moving a few blocks and relocating to the Faith Baptist Church parking lots, 301 Center Street South, located next to the Vienna Police Department and across from the Vienna Volunteer Fire Department. The Farmers’ Market will open on May 4, 2013, and will run continuously on Saturdays through October 26, from 8 a.m. to 12 p.m., in the Faith Baptist Church parking lots. The Optimist Club of Greater Vienna operates and [...]

Read more →
Politics Top Stories
Connolly Claims Postal Service Lacks Authority to Cut Saturday Deliveries, But Others Beg to Differ

With great fanfare, Congressman Gerald E. Connolly, (D-Va.) today released a statement from the Government Accountability Office saying the claim by the Postmaster General that the U.S. Postal Service has the right to cut its mail delivery schedule from six-to-five days “rests upon a faulty USPS premise.” There is no legislative authority from Congress allowing the change, said Connolly, who represents a Northern Virginia district packed with government employees. “The GAO legal opinion clearly rejects the Postal Service’s attempt to circumvent the [...]

Read more →
Loudoun Police & Crime Top Stories
Caleb Gordley’s Parents Forgive the Neighbor Who Shot Their Son

Caleb Gordley’s parents say they have forgiven the neighbor who shot and killed their 16-year-old son in a tragic mishap in Sterling last weekend. The Gordleys say they understand why Donald West Wilder II shot Caleb, who had sneaked out of his home to go to a party Saturday night. When he returned early the next morning, Calel entered Wilder’s home through a window, apparently thinking it was his. Wilder confronted Caleb in his home and shot him. “I just [...]

Read more →
Education Top Stories
School Board Gets Discipline Recommendations

Following months of study, meetings, and debate, the Fairfax County School Board’s Ad Hoc Committee on the Student Rights & Responsibilities (SR&R) will issue its recommendations to the board in a special session tonight (March 20, 2013) at 6pm. Significant changes to student discipline practices could occur if the School Board adopts the committee’s wide-ranging suggestions. A total of 50 approved recommendations are included in the community committee’s report. Chief among these are positions FZTR Fairfax Zero Tolerance Reform has advocated for over [...]

Read more →
Politics Top Stories
The Washington Examiner Jettisons Local News

For awhile there, everybody was fighting to get into local news. Now it seems that everybody’s fighting to get out of it. The latest to fold its tent is The Washington Examiner, which said today it is dropping local news coverage, cutting 87 jobs and changing into a weekly magazine and daily website focused on political news. The Manassas News & Messenger was booted by its Berkshire Hathaway owners late last year and a recent Pew study finds news in general being [...]

Read more →
Great Falls Top Stories Transportation
Great Falls White Oak Tree Must Go, VDOT Declares

It may seem like a lot of commotion over a tree but these aren’t just any trees. For months, the Virginia Department of Transportation, county officials and Great Fall residents have been debating the future — if any — of two stately white oak trees at the corner of Georgetown Pike and Walker Road. The ax is finally falling. VDOT says that, weather permitting, on March 19 it will remove one of the two trees and trim the other one. The tree [...]

Read more →
Health Politics Top Stories
An Unseen Effect of Sequestration: Dirtier Air

Amidst all the talk about sequestration’s effect on the military and intelligence budgets, one subject crucial to the region’s health, if not its economy, has been overlooked, according to the Lung Association of Virginia, which is quoting a White House report that estimates Virginia will lose about $2,997,000 in environmental funding to ensure clean water and air quality, as well as prevent pollution from pesticides and hazardous waste. “The sequester is a big hit to public health. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is [...]

Read more →
Floods & Natural Disasters Top Stories
Like Its Namesake, Snowquester Arrives on Time, Batters Fairfax

UPDATED: 9 AM Thursday And so with a slight whimper, Snowquester began to melt and life returned to normal. County government and courts are open on a regular schedule today, buses and trains are running. Fairfax schools open two hours late. UPDATED: 1 PM Like the ax-wielding budget cuts after which it is named, the storm Snowquester arrived right on schedule and went to work upsetting normal patterns of life in the Fairfax area. Light snowfall began Tuesday night but [...]

Read more →