High-Occupancy Toll Lanes Pilot Coming to the QEW in 2016

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A High-Occupancy Toll, or HOT, lane pilot project will begin on a section of the QEW between Trafalgar Road in Oakville and Guelph Line in Burlington in summer 2016, the Ontario Ministry of Transportation announced.

The pilot is the first step of Ontario’s plan to implement HOT lanes throughout the region. In this pilot project, existing High-Occupancy Vehicle (HOV) lanes on the QEW will be converted to HOT lanes. Carpools of two or more occupants will still be able to use the QEW HOT lanes for free, while single occupant drivers will now have the option to purchase a permit to use them. A limited number of permits will be available to allow single occupant drivers to use the HOT lanes during the pilot.

Commercial vehicles are not expressly prohibited from HOV lanes, however, there are current HOV weigh and length restrictions that basically do exclude anything over 6.5 meters long with a gross weight of 4,500 kg or less. It’s not expected this new HOT plan will change that rule.

Click here for more information regarding rules and polices governing HOV lanes.

Click on Ontario’s Plan for High-Occupancy Toll Lanes for more the pilot. And click here for a full implementation timeline for the QEW and Hwy 427 projects.

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