HOT lane traffic moving smoothly

Traffic moved smoothly this morning in the car-pool lane of Highway 167 between Auburn and Renton, where solo drivers can buy their way in by paying a variable toll.

Between 5 a.m. and 10 a.m., 339 drivers paid to enter the lane, in fairly light traffic, said Craig Stone, urban corridors administrator for the state Department of Transportation. The tolls, which increase as traffic worsens, reached $2.25, northbound at 277th Street at 7:15 a.m., but Stone said no one used it when it got to that rate. The most anyone paid, he said, was $2. The least anyone paid this morning was 50 cents, while the average paid was $1.04.

Tolls are expected to hit $5 at busy times, and can climb as high as $9.

Stone said about 10 percent of the Highway 167 drivers used the HOV lane and saved an average of five minutes. The savings peaked at 15-minutes around 7 a.m.

The special high-occupancy or toll (HOT) lane is supposed to have room for about 600 solo drivers in the busiest hour, but demand is nowhere near that high.

"Being a new system, people are waiting and seeing, and not jumping to buy in," said Patty Rubstello, project manager for the DOT

Under the new system, solo drivers can move out of the general lanes and into in the faster car-pool lane along the nine-mile corridor.

Buses and car pools of two or more occupants can continue to use the HOT lanes for free.

Stone said there were some glitches this morning. Some motorists were looking for a toll booth, while others were mystified by the double-striped lines that they weren't supposed to cross. Drivers can enter and exit the lane only in a few areas with dotted white lines, a system intended to reduce frequent weaving and merging, but Stone said some motorists thought that applied only to the solo drivers and didn't apply to those who had two or more people in the car.

About 9,600 motorists signed up in advance with a prepaid account. A transponder in the car makes automatic deductions, like a debit card.

Trooper Curt Boyle of the Washington State Patrol said there have been "numerous tickets issued" this morning for violators driving in HOT lanes. The fine is $124.

"I've written two [citations] myself," Boyle said. "The people knew what they did. It wasn't a question of confusion."

Boyle said he expects violations to taper off later this week.

More than 60 drivers were pulled over during the weekend, said Rubstello.

Despite a "perfect storm" of traffic snarls on opening day Saturday, officials said the system worked well. Torrents of rain, a police chase, a collision and construction on Interstate 405 combined to create slowdowns. Rubstello said the DOT was pleased with how well the technology worked.

Traffic got so bad, so suddenly, that the toll system converted the lane to car-pool only. Later, state troopers waved general traffic into the HOT lane for free, in response to a major backup, she said.

During the weekend, 215 people paid tolls that varied from 50 cents to $1.75, said Stone.

If the four-year test is successful, the state will likely use congestion pricing on other highways.