The state on Thursday approved a rock-bottom toll rate for the I-85 HOT lanes outside of rush hour.
The rate will go as low as 1 cent per mile from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and after 8 p.m. on weekdays and during weekends. That's down from a floor of 10 cents per mile.
The HOT lane is an optional toll lane installed on the former HOV lane on I-85 from the Perimeter to Old Peachtree Road. The toll price rises and falls with congestion in the main lanes, aiming to keep toll traffic always at 45 mph or greater.
The old range was from 10 cents to 90 cents per mile; the new range is from 1 cent to 90 cents per mile. Drivers pay by setting up a Peach Pass account and sticking an electronic tag in the windshield.
The lane had a rocky beginning, with drivers in the regular lanes enduring epic traffic jams as the formerly jammed HOV lane found comparatively few takers. Two-person car pools can no longer use the lane for free, so they joined the traffic in the regular lanes.
The State Road and Tollway Authority lowered its formulas and toll rates dropped, though they have since risen again as traffic increased. According to SRTA Director Gena Evans, use of the HOT lanes has risen to full capacity in the mornings, and is heavy in the afternoon.
Some drivers said they got Peach Passes under protest, because they had little choice in the absence of an HOV lane. Some others said they liked the idea.
Some state legislators this week responded to the outcry and criticized the lane in budget hearings, or called for a moratorium on HOT lanes.
The SRTA board, chaired by Gov. Nathan Deal, made the decision about the off-peak toll rate Thursday, and the rate immediately dropped.
"It gives us more use of the toll, the HOT lane," said Deal. "It will bring the usage of that road back up, hopefully, to comparable levels" from before.
Deal said he would not have chosen to put the HOT lane on an existing lane, but he inherited the project after it was already under way, and he was glad more people were using it.
The authority made other announcements as well:
- Peach Pass holders now will be able to adjust their account status using smartphones if they get a mobile app called "Peach Pass GO." Since car pools of three people or more can ride free, a driver who picks up a third person must adjust his or her account before setting out in order not to pay the toll. Drivers will be required to certify each time that they're not driving at the time they're doing the adjustment, since that would be illegal.
- Drivers can soon log onto the Internet (www.peachpass.com) to view the toll road signs and the toll rates they display.
- The state plans to open a new temporary southbound access point near Boggs Road at the end of the month, weather permitting. Permanent points are coming but take more time.
- In early February, the state will install Peach Pass signs at the Ga. 400 toll plaza, to emphasize that drivers there can use the same passes as they do on I-85.
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