New rules are coming to the State Route 237 Express Lane corridor, and other express lane corridors in the future. At its December 6 meeting, the VTA Board approved a new toll ordinance which will allow VTA to collect toll violation penalties and fees using video enforcement on SR 237 Express Lanes.
 
Currently, the Silicon Valley Express Lanes rely solely on manual enforcement by the California Highway Patrol (CHP) with fines collected going to the State. By next summer, video surveillance will be a new feature on the expanded SR 237 Express Lanes, allowing FasTrak® to catch cheaters with license plate reader technology, similar to the technology already in use on Bay Area bridges.
 
Along with the VTA board approval of the toll ordinance comes new tolling rules for Clean Air Vehicles (CAVs). Currently, solo-driving CAVs with DMV-issued decals are considered eligible to use the carpool lanes or express lanes for free. With the new rules, CAVs will be charged half the toll amount if driving solo.
 
All vehicles in the express lanes will be required to have an active FasTrak® account and will need to indicate the number of people in the car using the switchable transponder. This requirement applies to all eligible users: carpoolers, toll-paying solo drivers, CAVs, motorcycles and buses. Carpoolers and motorcyclists will still get to use the express lanes for free by placing the switchable transponder in the 2 or 3 position.
 
The new rules will become effective in summer 2019, when the SR 237 Express Lane Phase 2 opens, extending the lanes from their current entry/exit points in North San Jose to Mathilda Avenue in Sunnyvale. For more information and to open a FasTrak® account, visit www.bayareafastrak.org/
 
CAV Decals Program

Separate from VTA’s Board decision, the State will change the decal program starting January 1, 2019, which will apply to all Express Lanes. Green and white stickers will no longer be valid and not all vehicles qualify for the new sticker. This DMV webpage provides a list of sticker-eligible vehicles. You can refer to the California Air Resources Board for more information on the clean air vehicle program.