We can tell you all about the benefits of riding the more than 45 miles of our Express Lanes, but it’s best if you test drive them for yourself. Before hitting the road, here are several perks of driving with us:
All you need is three or more people in your car with your E-ZPass® Flex set to HOV mode. Not to mention, motorcycles ride toll-free and don’t need an E-ZPass®.
Get where you need to go faster and safer on our Lanes. Enjoy a more predictable trip knowing you’ll be moving at highway speeds.
Help isn’t far behind with our Express Assist safety service patrol. It’s our way of lending a helping hand if you run into some bumps while driving on the Express Lanes. You can count on Express Assist to arrive on average in less than 10 minutes to help you out.
We’ve made improvements along the Beltway, I-395 and I-95 to pave the way for easier driving with more exit options for our customers. View all of your interchange options when driving the Express Lanes.
The Express Lanes give drivers the option for quicker traveling. While this comes with a price tag (unless you qualify for free travel – more on that under “Travel for free”), it also manages free-flowing travel. This is made possible by our dynamic pricing system.
That means we’re able to maintain free-flowing travel by basing toll prices on the number of cars on the road. Don’t forget, we have many entry and exit points, so you can make the call on how long you’d like to travel along the Express Lanes.
We’ll keep you in the loop on the rates of the road with overhead signs. And even before hitting the road, you can plug your entry and exit points into the Express Lanes mobile app or on our Map your trip page for an approximate cost of your trip.
Hop in the pool, the driving is great. Whether you’re slugging or in a vanpool or carpool, all you need is 3 or more people to drive the Express Lanes for free. If you have a headcount of 3 or more in your car, you can ride the Express Lanes for free at any time with your E-ZPass® Flex set to HOV ON.
You should only set your E-ZPass® to HOV ON if you have 3 or more people in your car. Claiming to be HOV when you're not can increase toll prices for drivers who are paying and playing fair.
If you don't have 3 in the car you have to pay a toll. Depending on the type of E-ZPass® Flex you have, set your Flex so HOV ON is covered or the line connects to HOV OFF.
Virginia State Police troopers can issue tickets of up to $1,000 to drivers who say they are HOV when they are not. Or, camera technology on the Lanes can spot HOV trips and make sure there are at least 3 people in your car. If there aren’t, charges can apply.
If you exit the 395 Express Lanes at the Pentagon or Pentagon City to drop off carpool passengers, you can get back on the Lanes at Eads Street and go to D.C. for free, even if it’s just you in the car. But, you have to get right back on the Lanes and remember to put your Flex in toll mode so a Virginia State Police trooper doesn’t stop you.
The Seminary Road south ramp on the 395 Express Lanes is HOV-only at all times but you need an E-ZPass Flex -- so carpoolers, enjoy the road anytime.
Buses already equipped with an E-ZPass® welcome passengers on board for the price of a standard bus fare.
You don’t need an E-ZPass® to take a trip with us, but if you already have one in place on your motorcycle, we still won’t charge you a toll.
Seeing purple signs? That means you’re heading in the direction of our Express Lanes. The purple signs with the E-ZPass® logo and "EXPRESS ONLY" share:
The 95 and 395 Express Lanes have multiple pricing zones and decision points for drivers. The pricing signs before a 95 and 395 Express Lanes entrance show the cost to travel to a maximum of three upcoming exits. When you enter the 95 or 395 Express Lanes, you lock in your toll rate until you see another pricing sign along your drive. When you see a new 95 or 395 Express Lanes sign, you can decide if you want to pay the toll to keep on traveling or exit onto the regular lanes.
You will see pricing signs before all entrances to the 495 Express Lanes. The signs show current toll prices for up to three 495 Express Lanes exits from where you enter. Here’s the signage breakdown:
The 95 and 395 Express Lanes are reversible. That means cars will be able to drive in either direction depending on the day and time of day.
A simple way to remember which direction our Lanes are heading? They go with the traffic flow during the morning and evening commutes. They point north in the morning to help many of our customers heading into D.C. and then point south in the evening for their return trips.
Before heading out on the reversible 95 and 395 Express Lanes, here’s what you need to know:
We’re working on the 95 Express Lanes at night so we don’t hold up drivers traveling at peak times. During these late hours, gate transition times will temporarily increase. We’ll return to a normal gate transition schedule as we wrap up construction.
The 495, 95 and 395 Express Lanes run around the clock. Because the 95 and 395 Express Lanes are reversible, the northbound and southbound directions follow an approximate schedule.
We sometimes make temporary changes to the schedule for holidays, area events, or incidents. Check out the 95 and 395 Express Lanes status bar above to get the current direction or follow our Twitter account @VAExpressLanes to check for any changes.
Weekdays:
Saturday:
Sunday: