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- Chris Krueger
651-366-4263
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Minnesota Department of
Transportation
Office of Communications
395 John Ireland Blvd.
Mail Stop 150
St. Paul, MN 55155-1899
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I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes $25 New Account Promotion Ending Soon
Sign Up Before October 31st for $25 In Free Toll Credits
SAINT PAUL, Minn. - Time is running out for customers to take advantage of the Minnesota Department of Transportation’s MnPASS Express Lanes promotion offering $25 in free tolls to customers who sign up by midnight October 31. Also ending October 31 is the offer of $20 worth of bus or train rides to new MnPASS subscribers who purchase a $20 Go-To Card, a transit pass valid on all regional buses and trains.
“We have had an overwhelming response to the $25 in free tolls which were initiated in celebration of the I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes opening last month,” said Nick Thompson, project manager with Mn/DOT. “The MnPASS account is good for solo drivers who wish to use the Express Lanes on either the I-35W or the I-394, so we urge commuters to sign up soon to reap these dollar saving rewards before time runs out.”
More than 3,200 MnPASS transponders have been distributed to new I-35W customers and almost 1,100 transponders to new I-394 customers as a result of Mn/DOT’s promotion. Opening a new MnPASS prepaid account is easy and takes less than 10 minutes. Customers simply go to www.mnpass.net or call the MnPASS Customer Service Center at 1-866-EZ-RIDE4 (1-866-397-4334). Within a few days after opening the account, customers receive a MnPASS Welcome Kit in the mail with easy instructions on how to install the MnPASS transponder in a vehicle and $25 in free toll credits is deposited into the MnPASS account. Customers also receive an e-mail with details on to get a Go-To Card, which is a transit pass valid on all regional buses and trains. With the purchase of a $20 Go-To Card from Metro Transit, customers receive $20 worth of fares free.
Thompson said about 5 percent of those opening transponder accounts are also taking advantage of the transit offer.
The $25 in free MnPASS toll credits promotion is good for new accounts opened by October 31, 2009, and cannot be applied to customers who have closed an account in the last six months. This promotion does not apply to transponders added to existing MnPASS accounts. The $25 in free tolls is limited to one per household, not per transponder.
The MnPASS Express Lanes offer motorists improved access to reliable travel in the busy I-35W and I-394 corridors. Solo motorists with a valid MnPASS account can choose to pay a toll to access the Express Lanes; carpools with two or more occupants, motorcycles and transit buses can use the Express Lanes free of charge.
The new I-35W MnPASS Express Lanes include two segments: from Highway 13 in Burnsville to I-494 and from I-494 to downtown Minneapolis. On the segment from I-494 to downtown, transit vehicles, carpools and MnPASS customers are able to use a converted shoulder lane north of 42nd Street during certain times when traffic is congested. Electronic signs will alert drivers when the shoulder is open or closed.
I-35W MnPASS is part of a coordinated effort by Mn/DOT and the Urban Partnership Agreement to manage increasing traffic on I-35W, Highway 77/Cedar Avenue and in downtown Minneapolis. Through a combination of transit, road pricing, technology and telecommuting, project partners anticipate that commuters will experience more transportation choices, less traffic congestion and reduced commute times on some of Minnesota’s busiest roads.
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