80 percent of SR 520 Bridge commuters don't have tolling passes yet

With days to go until tolling begins on the State Route 520 Bridge on December 29, only about 20 percent of vehicles crossing the State Route 520 Bridge have Good To Go! passes installed, the Washington State Department of Transportation said Tuesday.

WSDOT’s tolling equipment is already installed, which has allowed the agency to see how many drivers are carrying active passes. Of the 20 percent, which accounts for about 17,000 vehicles, only 15 percent of those drivers have active passes installed, WSDOT said. About 100,000 cars take the 520 Bridge each day.

In an email to KIRO 7, the agency said that drivers with inactive Good To Go! passes will be billed an extra $1.50 through the mail for each bridge crossing.

As for those who haven't bought Good To Go! passes yet, WSDOT said that while drivers can buy them online, they're better off at this point purchasing a pass in stores. Costco, Fred Meyer, QFC and Safeway all sell them.

"We're at T-minus nine days (as of Tuesday). If it takes five days to mail out a transponder, there are not many days left for shopping, you might say," said Craig Stone, the state's tolling director.

Asked by KIRO 7's Graham Johnson whether he was surprised people have waited so long to buy passes, Stone said something similar happened in 2007 when tolls started on the Narrows Bridge. The weekend before, the number of cars with passes jumped from 20 percent to 70 percent.

Since tolling starts December 29, and since so many people are off for the holidays, the first real test of the new system will be the morning commute on Tuesday, January 3. 

Tolls on the bridge will vary depending on the time of day and what form of payment drivers use. Good To Go! pass holders will receive a $1.50 discount on each bridge crossing compared to drivers without the passes, who will have their license plates automatically photographed upon crossing and will be billed through the mail.

More information is available on WSDOT’s website: http://www.wsdot.wa.gov/Tolling/520/