News Release

(St.Paul, Minn) – Minnesota’s Department of Transportation set April 11 as the date to open its new MnPASS Customer Service Center. At that time, Mn/DOT will begin taking orders for MnPASS transponders from solo drivers who want to use the new MnPASS express service.

The agency has also announced an incentive program for early subscribers. Drivers who sign up for Mn/PASS between April 11, 2005 and May 8, 2005 will receive a $25 credit on their MnPASS accounts to apply to tolls. That credit must be used by June 30, 2005.

When the MnPASS lanes on I-394 open in mid-May 2005, the Twin Cities will join a growing number of metropolitan areas employing new strategies and technology to better use existing roadways. Express lanes like the ones on I-394 are already being used in areas such as Southern California and Texas, and are on the drawing boards in several other states.

MnPASS will give solo drivers a new commuting choice—a convenient “express” service to save time. This first application of MnPASS is on I-394, where Mn/DOT will convert the old carpool lanes to MnPASS Express Lanes. New MnPASS signs and an electronic fee-collection system are now being installed and in May, just before the new express lanes open, the roadway will get new lane stripes to clearly mark entrances and exits. Once open, the new lanes will operate 24 hours a day.

To use MnPASS, drivers need to open a prepaid account with their credit or debit card and then install a small electronic device called a transponder to the inside of their vehicle’s windshield. Commuters can sign up online, by calling a toll-free number or in person to the MnPASS Customer Service Center in the MnDOT building at the intersection of Hwy 100 and Duluth Street in Golden Valley.

MnPASS allows transponder subscribers to use the express lanes any time they choose for a fee. Transit buses, carpools and motorcycles can continue to use the lanes at no charge.

The fee will vary according to the volume of traffic measured by electronic sensors imbedded in the express lanes. This design ensures that traffic in the express lanes continues to flow at about 50 to 55 mph. The average rush hour fee is expected to vary between $1 and $4. The fees will be posted on overhead signs prior to the entrance points.

Two fee levels are planned: When traveling east on I-394 from the suburbs, a fee will be charged to any vehicle entering the MnPASS lanes west of Hwy 100 and exiting prior to, or at, Hwy 100. A second, higher fee will be charged to any vehicle entering the MnPASS lanes at, or west of, Hwy 100 and exiting at I-94 or downtown Minneapolis. The reverse will apply when traveling west from Minneapolis.

MnPASS will be easy to use, according to Mn/DOT officials. On the I-394 west of Hwy 100, the MnPASS lane will be separated from regular lanes by double white lines. It is illegal to cross these lines. Drivers can safely merge into the MnPASS lane at clearly designated “MnPASS Only” entry points along I-394. MnPASS users, motorcycles and carpools may enter and exit the MnPASS lanes only at designated points.

When traveling in the MnPASS lane, an overhead antenna reads the MnPASS transponder, and the posted fee is automatically deducted from the prepaid MnPASS account. The fee that drivers see displayed on the overhead electronic sign just before they enter the MnPASS lane will apply to their entire trip on the lanes and will not change no matter how many times the display changes during that trip.

The operation will be fully electronic—no booths, no slowing down or stopping to drop coins.
For more information, visit www.mnpass.org, or email questions to mnpass@mnpass.org.

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