WTOP Answer Desk: E-ZPass options

WASHINGTON – With Virginia’s new Beltway Express Lanes due to open a week from Saturday, WTOP’s Answer Desk answers to your questions about E-ZPass.

If you have a Virginia E-ZPass that was purchased before the Express Lanes option was announced, will it cost anything?

“If you’ve had an E-ZPass for years and years you will not incur a monthly fee,” says Virginia Department of Transportation’s Tamara Rollison.

And while seasoned E-ZPass users won’t be charged, new users will pay 50 cents a month for the regular pass and $1 for the car pool E-ZPass Flex.

“We also have seen definitely an uptick in the sign up of E-ZPasses, both the Flex and also the standard as well,” says Rollison.

New E-ZPasses will require an initial $35 toll bank. Express Lanes can’t be used without a pass.

My Virginia E-ZPass hasn’t been used for a long time, and is now labeled inactive, why? And what can I do?

Rollison says passes become inactive when they aren’t used for a year.

To reactive, customers can contact E-ZPass, go to a customer service center or go online to ensure their account is in good standing.

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WTOP’s Hank Silverberg contributed to this report. Follow Hank and WTOP on Twitter.