Transurban, a key player in public-private partnerships bringing HOT lanes to Northern Virginia, has revealed more details about the technology that it would use to regulate access. Multi-band infrared sensors installed near toll gantries would count the number of passengers in a car by detecting reflections from human skin. Cars with three or more passengers could use the tolls for free.
An article in the Manassas Journal-Messenger provides other interesting details of how the proposed HOT lanes embedded in Interstates 95 and 295 would work.
The Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act of 2005 requires operators of high occupancy toll facilities to keep traffic moving. If average speeds dip below 45 mph, Transurban would have to improve efficiency. … And that could require the company to improve interchanges, or even restrict toll-paying customers from entering the express lanes on certain access points.
