Q. I recently read your column titled, “Here’s how to get a transponder for the 405 Express Lanes — and other tollways.” In your answer, you state: “The ones the size of a large bandage that go on front windshields in specific spots, such (as) in the lower corners, are free.” But the price information for transponders at 405expresslanes.com shows you have to lay down money for all of the plans. As you can see, there are no free transponders listed. Where are the free transponders of which you speak?
– Bryan Haynes, Anaheim
A. Have you ever seen those furniture sales, Bryan, when you buy a couch, an easy chair and a TV – and the ottoman is free?
Well, the sticker transponders are indeed free, but if you get one through the 405 Express Lanes you will pay out more than the actual tolls, which, frankly, Honk was unaware of until you and Tony Glinskas of Huntington Beach pointed this out. The exception is for those who don’t have to pay tolls, such as motorcyclists and carpoolers, although they also have to set aside a pot of money.
To sign up for that tollway, which opened Dec. 1 in Orange County, there are three options;
— The Standard Plan, which has a $2 monthly fee
— The Convenience Plan, with no monthly fee but a $100 enrollment charge
— The Special Access Plan, which is for those who qualify for free travel, such as motorcyclists, carpoolers and drivers with certain veteran license plates
Now, as you pointed out, Bryan, the 405 Express Lanes requires all three options to set aside funds – $40 to $50, via cash or a credit or a debit card, from which any toll would be drawn. When you surpass that amount, the next chunk of dough will automatically be taken from, say, your bank account or tacked onto your credit card.
Each government that oversees a tollway can decide how to charge users. In this case, the Orange County Transportation Authority board made the call.
Honk asked a spokesman for that agency, Joel Zlotnik, about the extra fees.
“The account types are the same as (those for) the 91 Express Lanes, OCTA’s other express lanes operation,” he said in an email. “The account fees cover administrative costs including credit-card processing, toll-transaction processing, statement generation, customer-service-center operations and other administrative functions.”
First-time enrollees get a free week on the 405 Express Lanes, and a second free week, as well, if members of the Automobile Club of Southern California, Zlotnik said.
Now, the OCTA could have, of course, chosen to just include any needed charges onto the actual tolls and not assessed the other fees.
But, fine readers, you can avoid those extra fees by getting your free sticker transponder from a different public agency, such as from the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which operate the 73, 133, 241 and 261 toll roads.
The TCA charges an extra fee only if the driver wants a monthly paper invoice.
In California, there are two basic transponders, the sticker one, and the switchable version ($15 from the OCTA, and $20 from the TCA) that provides free travel or a discount when carpooling on some tollways.
Your tolls will be on your bill from whatever agency you signed up with.
For example, the Honk family has four sticker transponders from the TCA and doesn’t want a paper invoice – so no extra fee for driving on the 405 or elsewhere.
But each agency can offer its own discounts and deals, so all interested motorists really should look around at the options and see what works best for them.
To ask Honk questions, reach him at honk@ocregister.com. He only answers those that are published. To see Honk online: ocregister.com/tag/honk. X, formerly Twitter: @OCRegisterHonk
