Express Lane rates going up for off-hours
Just months after raising rush-hour prices to nearly $10, operators of the 91 Express Lanes are raising some off-hour prices on the toll lanes that run down the center of the congested Riverside Freeway.
The new fares begin Sunday.
The Orange County Transportation Authority refers to the sliding toll fees as congestion-based pricing -- as traffic grows thicker, prices climb. The idea is that the higher price will discourage some motorists from using the lanes, thus thinning traffic.
After the last rate hike in April, OCTA suggested that commuters could save money if they changed their work hours and hit the highway earlier in the day.
Now that off-peak period is being affected. For example, commuters heading east between 3 and 4 p.m. on Tuesdays will see rates go to $4.70 from $3.95. On Fridays between 2 and 3 p.m., rates will go to $5.10 from $4.35.
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