Southern California HOV lanes in Cali.....

[hsmamato2]

....lesson learned.... so we had a van with 7 people in it,and just assumed we could drive in the carpool lane (like in normal states lol) ..... ummm,not! After we got the extra charge from our car rental company...(wth?!?) we learned that you have to have a special pass apparently to drive in these lanes,or cameras auto capture and ticket you! just sharing fro others to learn from...

 

[DLgal]

Um...No that's not true. Are you sure you didn't take a toll road? Otherwise, call your rental company. HOV in CA is 2 or more per car. I use it every day in Orange county and I have no stickers on my car...

 

[ImDMous]

You must have taken the toll road or there's been a mistake. We use the car pool lanes all the time with no pass. If you are alone in the car you can get a pass. Did you call them and explain that you had 7 people in your car and were not a single?

 

[usnuzuloose]

They most likely used the toll not the HOV lane. What freeway did you use to get on that lane?

 

[Disney Dad ADL]

In Northern California, there are some paid express lanes that are free for carpoolers, however you still need a FastPass (actually a "FastPass Flex" that has a little switch on it where you can designate how many people are in your car). I'm not aware of any like that in Southern California, but I haven't driven every single highway down there. It's possible you went into that sort of lane.

 

[usnuzuloose]

There is a toll lane off the 91.

 

[hsmamato2]

hmmmmm I called the renal # and asked about the charge, they said it was for a toll- we didn't drive thru anything resembling a toll area, do they have those arches over the highway like southern florida,that collect tolls? agent said it was HOV violation...I believe it was between Griffith Park and LAX,somewhere in there

 

[ImDMous]

The toll roads around here are cashless tolls, no plazas or anything, you pay the toll on the internet after you drive it by putting in you license plate, the time you went through etc. I'm not familiar with that part of LA, more south and OC for me, but my guess is you used one of those without realizing it.

 

[StageTek]

Seems you may have taken the 110 South. The Toll Lanes are marked but for those drivers accustom to Toll Plaza's they can be mistaken for standard traffic signs. There are so few in the Los Angeles area even locals get caught by them.

 

[bcla]

HOV in California is mostly two in a vehicle. Some places it's three (or two in a two-seat vehicle), like the Bay Bridge, Golden Gate Bridge, or I-80 from the Carquinez Bridge to the Bay Bridge. Carpools are no longer free on Bay Area bridges, and any FasTrak transponder will work. All the FasTrak systems in California are more or less usable on Bay Area bridges or any place where a basic toll is charged. They can also be used to pay for parking at San Francisco International Airport.

It's complicated. There are some so-called "Express Lanes" throughout California. How to use them varies. The ones I'm most familiar with operate based on single drivers needing to carry a FasTrak transponder. Any vehicle meeting the HOV requirement (usually two) can simply ride in the lane. They recommend storing any transponder in a metalized Mylar bag so that the toll to use the Express Lane isn't automatically charged. The ones I've used also go to HOV only when the traffic is bad enough.

There are some HOV lanes where they have variations, where a certain type of FasTrak transponder is mandatory to use the lane. They use transponders with a switch to select the number of people in the vehicle. This is the one used in LA County:

Here's how they describe it:

https://www.metroexpresslanes.net/en/about/howit.shtml

SOLO DRIVERS on the I-110 and I-10 with a FasTrak® transponder now have the choice to pay a toll to use the ExpressLanes.

CARPOOLS AND VANPOOLS can use the ExpressLanes toll-free with a FasTrak® Flex transponder.

The I-110 and I-10 Metro ExpressLanes regulations will be enforced by the California Highway Patrol using visual and electronic means. Watch the Rules of the Road video.

Vehicles displaying a DMV issued white or green Clean Air Vehicle decal can use the ExpressLanes toll-free with a switchable FasTrak Flex set to 3 (3+ person carpool).​

 

[bcla]

Seems you may have taken the 110 South. The Toll Lanes are marked but for those drivers accustom to Toll Plaza's they can be mistaken for standard traffic signs. There are so few in the Los Angeles area even locals get caught by them.

It has to be a Metro Expresslanes FasTrak flex transponder with the 1/2/3 switch. I'm not sure if the Bay Area FasTrak flex version is interchangeable. It looks like it's made the same. Or for some reason 1 for the Metro version is in the center position.

OK, I looked it up, and it sounds like they'll work.

 

[bcla]

Just one more for clarification:

https://www.metroexpresslanes.net/en/faq/violations.shtml

I was carpooling, why did I receive a violation?

All vehicles (including carpoolers) traveling in the ExpressLanes are required to have a transponder. If you used the ExpressLanes without a transponder, a photograph of your vehicle license plate was taken and a violation notice was sent to the registered owner. To avoid having future violations issued, we suggest that you open a FasTrak® account and have the toll amount paid to your account. Carpoolers should have a FasTrak Flex to receive a toll free trip.​