4 of 5 drivers don’t have passes as 520 Bridge tolls approach

With the all-electronic 520 Bridge tolling starting on Thursday, transportation officials said four out of five bridge drivers still don’t have the recommended $5 Good to Go! pass.

The Washington State Department of Transportation is urging drivers to buy the transponders that allow drivers to be automatically billed.

The number of active Good to Go! accounts is now at 133,000, with 650 activated on Christmas Day.   A total of 215,000 passes have been sold so far, but four out of five drivers still don’t have one.

If you buy a pass at Costco, Fred Meyer, QFC or Safeway, you'll need to go online to activate your account -- this is the step a lot of people are forgetting. You'll also need to pre-pay about $30. Passes are also available at walk-in centers or mobile units, or online.

• FAQ: 520 Bridge tolls

Drivers without the passes will be charged an additional $1.50 per trip, identified  by their license plate and billed via mail.

WSDOT said the real test of how the tolls with impact roads will be on Jan. 3, when drivers are back at work and students are in school.

Officials said they expect Interstate 90 traffic to increase around 20 percent, but won’t get a true snapshot of how traffic patterns have changed until about six months later.

WSDOT says in spite of the elaborate tolling and billing system they’ve set up, an average of about 80 cars per day will get past the sensors without a toll being collected.