I-394 MnPASS Express Lanes

The I-394 MnPASS lanes use congestion pricing to offer a faster trip for commuters traveling between downtown Minneapolis and western suburbs.

• Category

  Autos & Vehicles

[Lee Munnich]

The I-394 HOV lanes were never open to the general public. They were designed to give buses and carpools priority. The MnPASS lanes allow the HOV lanes to be used more efficiently and have reduced congestion on the general purpose lanes as well.

[Lee Munnich]

MnPASS can't tell if you are carpooling. Law enforcement officers observe whether two or more people are in the car. If you are driving alone and don't have a transponder, you will be pulled over and given a ticket.

Violations have actually dropped by about 50% since MnPASS was put in effect now that drivers have a legal way of using the express lane when they aren't carpooling. And additional enforcement has also helped.

[carolann dejarlais]

I got a ticket today for using the lane this morning, the ticket is $125 but i was instructed to go to courthouse of the city i was ticketed in and ask to have it not be reported to my insurance company or my driving record. sounded like a plan right? well its not, it cost me $225 . but if i get a ticket for any reason parking, snow days..ect it voids the agreement that i paid it goes on my driving record d to my insurace company....

[azedfurness]

Its so easy! Pay money AGAIN on a regular basis to use highways built with public funds and fuel taxes for everyone to use originally. Traffic would not have the severe congestion like it does if there were real problem solving solutions employed, like removing the HOV infrastructure and making available two or three more lanes for each direction of travel. But that would not generate any direct revenue, or benefit any specific special interest, so I guess we are SOL. What say you Munnich?

[wazatna]

The crime here is that these lanes were open to the general public when first designed. It was only after the bus nazis decided to siphon a lane off to keep buses on schedule that congestion really became a problem. The majority suffered for the few.

How people can contently pay AGAIN for a lane they already paid for via taxes is beyond me - and then to be robbed at higher dollar amounts because of the congestion the HOV lane created to begin with.

[Ray OfMinneapolis]

What? How can MnPASS tell if your car pooling?

"I felt like a prisoner of the highway" nice acting.

Thanks for the information anyway, Lee. I like how Google Earth was used.