Passes & Canyons Blog

When Colorado opened its first high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes it was easy: if you were on a motorcycle you could use them and you did not have to pay. There was a brief period of confusion when they said even a motorcycle needed a transponder but thanks to the efforts of groups like ABATE of Colorado that requirement was eliminated.

In the meantime, though, there has been a proliferation of roads that are tolled in one way or another and because I was personally so confused over which ones I could ride on a bike I just quit using any of them. I decided it was time to clear up this fog, so that’s what I’ll do as best I can here.

One of the clearest bits of information is found in that image here of a portion of a chart found at https://www.codot.gov/programs/expresslanes/using-the-lanes. Basically, what this is saying is that all of the express lanes on I-25 and the lanes on US 36 to Boulder are free to motorcycles at all times. And they’re also saying that the express lanes on I-70 into the mountains are tolled no matter what vehicle you are in or on. E-470, of course, is a toll road for everyone.

Another good resource is this CDOT page: https://www.codot.gov/programs/expresslanes. On this page, in a section called WHERE EXPRESS LANES ARE, AND WHERE THEY’LL BE, there are links to maps showing you exactly what roads they’re talking about. I mean, heck, do you know what road they mean when they talk about the I-25 South Gap Project? I didn’t.

There is also a downloadable fact sheet here: https://www.codot.gov/programs/expresslanes/assets/motorcycles-express-lanes-fact-sheet.pdf

This is especially good except there seems to be a discrepancy. Here’s the map on the first page of this PDF.

See down there on C-470, where it’s blue. The legend says “ExpressToll account, pass and toll balance required to avoid higher license plate toll charges for motorcycles.” But the chart says C-470 is free for motorcycles. And on this page specifically about C-470 it says “Motorcyclists can use the Express Lanes for free without a pass.”

So I’m a bit confused, although I tend to suspect the map is wrong and you can ride C-470 with no issues. If anyone can confirm or refute this conclusively PLEASE let me know. Thanks.

I hope this clears most of this up for any of you who, like me, was unclear before. I guess I’ll start using the express lanes again.

Biker Quote for Today

All my friends have life goals . . . and I just want to go faster.

I got a note the other day from William, at Iron Buffalo Motorcycle Training.

Hello Ken

Just something you might ad to your post as no one thought of it until after the fact…
There are a growing number of 3-wheel riders out there that seem to get ignored.

Straight from CDOT:
“Here is the official definition of what is a motorcycle, including a 3-wheeler:

(55) “Motorcycle” means a motor vehicle that uses handlebars or any other device connected to the front wheel to steer and that is designed to travel on not more than three wheels in contact with the ground; except that the term does not include a farm tractor, autocycle, low-speed electric vehicle, or low-power scooter.”

So in case anyone was unsure, yes, three-wheelers do count as motorcycles in using HOV lanes without needing a transponder. Although I’m curious. It mentions “autocycles” as not being considered motorcycles. Autocycles is the term that is more and more in use around the country to describe all these various three-wheelers that are not out and out motorcycles, i.e., two-wheels one behind the other.

Counting three-wheelers as motorcycles skews crash statistics because these things just handle differently, have different problems, and crash differently, at least in some instances. So what happens in the future if Colorado decides to rewrite its legislation to create an autocycle category that would include trikes? I do suspect, however, that bikes with sidecars will always continue to be considered motorcycles, even though they do have three wheels.

So this latest success at getting procedures changed so motorcycles don’t get ticketed/fined for using HOV lanes without transponders was very much a topic of discussion at Sunday’s ABATE District 10 meeting. It turns out the fix to the computer system was not as simple as you might think it would have been.

According to Bruce Downs, the system now has the ability to distinguish motorcycles by the size of their front tires. For the first 90 days they’re doing a side-by-side comparison with the computer making the ID and a person making the ID. The idea is to be sure the computer is identifying bikes successfully. If it’s working sufficiently well it will go completely by computer after the 90 days.

And there is back-up. Before any dunning statements are mailed, a human views each one, and if a motorcycle has slipped past, that person will remove them.

Beyond that, there is always the possibility of a screw-up. Nothing and nobody is perfect. Carol Downs told of someone they know who received a letter demanding payment and it turned out when she protested that the license plate number had been read incorrectly and the vehicle in question was a car belonging to someone else entirely. So the bottom line is, you’re free to use any HOV lane on your bike and if you get a bill, don’t just pay it, protest it. It will be dismissed.

Biker Quote for Today

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I can’t change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know when to just go riding.

I got a bit more information on the push to exempt motorcycles from needing transponders to ride in HOV lanes without paying fees or having to get a transponder. The intent is clear and undisputed but the problem stems from not getting input from the public when the system was designed.

Carol Downs went with her husband, Bruce, and Stump to see how the systems of cameras and tracking works that enables the new system of toll lanes. Everyone had assumed up to that time that it would be simple to just recognize a motorcycle and send that file to the trash, with no dunning notice sent to the owner of that license plate.

Not so easy, Carol told me. While it easy enough to recognize a motorcycle from the photos, the photos feed through to the people charged with issuing the fee statements from the entire system with no way for them to tell if this rider is in the HOV lane on I-25 or on the E-470 toll road. If you’re on the toll road you have to pay a toll, no matter what kind of vehicle you’re in/on. If you’re in an HOV lane you don’t. But if they can’t tell what road you’re on they can’t just trash your file, unless they are willing to let some riders use the toll lanes for free. And maybe until they get this fixed that is exactly what they should do.

Funny how easy it could have been if there had been public input. ABATE would surely have gone to any hearing and raised the very same issue that was raised after the fact. And the software could have been designed from the very beginning to deal with this situation.

In the meantime, ABATE has been assured that any rider who wrongly receives notice of a fee to be paid can have that fee canceled. And in fact, one rider, who is not an ABATE member, contacted ABATE about this very thing and when ABATE spoke to the tracking company that fee was dropped. Not that the person who called decided to join ABATE to show their support for this kind of action, or even bothered to say thanks, but the group was looking for just that sort of situation in order to push the matter.

And then Larry Montgomery, the ABATE metro region coordinator, told me he deliberately rode his bike in the HOV lane its full length up I-25 just to see if he would get a letter in the mail. To date he has not.

In the meantime, the High-Performance Transportation Enterprise, which operates the tolling system, can’t get started on redesigning their software until they get the go-ahead from the Colorado Department of Transportation. And CDOT is entangled in all sorts of bureaucratic issues so there’s no telling when that will happen. But go ahead, ride in the HOV lanes. And if they send you a fee statement, give them a call and tell them to cancel it.

Biker Quote for Today

Motorcyclist: A person willing to take a container of flammable liquid, place it on top of a hot moving engine, and then put the whole lot between their legs.

You may be wondering why the whole issue of motorcycles currently needing transponders to ride free in HOV lanes has slipped from sight. I certainly was. The last I had heard (and passed along) was that various legislators had taken a big interest in the subject and were applying big pressure on the Colorado Department of Transportation (CDOT) to rectify the situation, now.

So when I have a question I ask. I emailed Stump, the legislative liaison for ABATE of Colorado, with this query:

Hey Stump, I’m wondering whatever became of the effort to get this HOV lane thing changed. Last I heard the rep or senator–can’t remember which–was pressing CDOT and/or the company to make immediate changes. Where has that gone? Thanks for the update.

And I promptly received this reply:

Hi Ken,

Bruce and I have been in contact with E470, the agency that monitors the tolls and must make the changes. We actually had a tour of the facility to better understand the entire process. E470 is waiting for the “OK – Go Ahead” from CDOT before they can make the changes. Then it should only take a couple of weeks, per the person who will actually make the computer changes. It’s actually a pretty involved process as we learned form our tour. Bruce has been in contact with the executive director of CDOT inquiring what’s taking so long and we expect another update shortly. I’ll keep you updated. Thanks for your concern.

Stump

Now you know as much as I do. I’m sure we’re all curious how quickly CDOT will move.

Biker Quote for Today

Happiness keeps you sweet, long rides keep you strong, sorrow keeps you human, life keeps you humble, riding keeps you growing. But motorcycles keep you going.

Stump is the lobbyist at the state capitol for ABATE of Colorado and he has been busy. It looks as though this whole issue with motorcycles being required to have transponders to use HOV lanes will be resolved soon. I’m just going to paste in Stump’s latest email on the topic.
___________________________________

This week was another busy week down at the Capitol. HB16-123 (HOV / Transponders) is more involved than I originally thought. The part of concern to us, motorcycles needing transponders, is the easy part. Everyone involved, CDOT, HPTE, Senators, and even opponents of the bill at the Senate Transportation Committee Hearing, understand that motorcycles are HOV per Federal Regulations. The discussion now is, “How do we go about giving motorcycles “free access” to the HOV lanes?”

The rest of the bill about switchable transponders is a lot more complicated. The bill was scheduled for 2nd reading on the Senate floor on Tuesday, 2/23. It got laid over to Thursday, 2/25. I talked to a few Senators on Wednesday, 2/24, to get a feel for the bill. I’ve heard in the past that a bill is sometimes laid over if the sponsor feels he doesn’t have enough votes to carry the bill. That morning there was also a meeting with CDOT, HPTE, and a few Senators. After much discussion, a compromise was offered by CDOT, but not accepted by the sponsor. (I wasn’t at the meeting so I don’t know the exact offer). Wednesday afternoon, I did have a meeting with Senator Todd, Scott Spendlove (lobbyist for HPTE & E-470), and Andy K. (lobbyist for CDOT). While a lot of the discussion was about the bill, all of us agreed that motorcycles shouldn’t need transponders. Scott said he would take the issue directly to the Director of HPTE and work on a solution. Sen. Todd emphatically stated she wants this done ASAP and if it isn’t handled soon and SB16-123 gets killed, she would sponsor a bill specifically about motorcycles not needing transponders.

So on Thursday, 2/25, the bill was read on the Senate floor. Senators Lundberg, Jones, and Neville gave some very strong arguments in support of the bill. (The bill wants to get rid of the switchable transponders and go back to how the HOV / HOT lanes operated before July 22, 2015). Senators Todd and Heath opposed the bill. After much discussion and confusion about the ramifications of the bill, it was voted to lay over the bill till Tuesday, 3/1. There’s a meeting on Monday, 2/29, with the same people that met Wednesday morning. Since the motorcycle’s issue seems to be separate and already agreed upon, I wasn’t invited to the meeting. I’m sure there will be more compromises offered. FYI, I talked to Andy on Thursday and he said he’d send me an e-mail to the effect that CDOT is working on a solution to the motorcycle / transponder issue. (I haven’t gotten it yet).

There’s other bills happening but I just wanted to bring you up to date on SB16-123. I’ll let you know what happens next week and if we need to contact our Representatives.

Stump

Biker Quote for Today

The only date I need has two wheels, can be full on under $10, always goes all the way, and definitely screams on top.

A 4-1 favorable vote bodes well for an effort to resolve the issue of motorcyclists being assessed fees and fines for using high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes in Colorado. Federal law mandates that motorcycles are always considered HOV but current practice here requires that you have a transponder on your bike or else you will receive a bill in the mail.

Senate Bill 16-123 was passed out of the Senate Transportation Committee Thursday and will move to the Senate Committee of the Whole. The only no vote, from Sen. Nancy Todd, was cast with the statement that if the bill had only addressed the motorcycle issue it would also have been a yes. As it is, the bill, introduced by Sen. Kevin Lundberg, calls for any vehicle that is permitted in an HOV lane be permitted without being required to have a transponder.

Testimony opposing this bill was based primarily on the practical challenges of using a single lane for HOV, rapid transit (buses), and tolled traffic (HOT). Representatives from the Denver Regional Council of Governments, Boulder/Boulder County, and the High-Performance Transportation Enterprise, which operates the tolling system, expressed concern about loss of revenues to pay for the new lanes on US 36 and suggested if the bill passes the ultimate result will be the elimination of HOV lanes entirely.

Alone among them, Matthew Applebaum, representing the interests of Boulder, suggested that the issue might be resolved by not requiring people signing up for transponders who express no intention of using the toll lanes to make the current $35 deposit to cover any fees incurred. He said the $15 for the transponder would be saved in one trip on the Boulder Turnpike and so did not suggest offering the transponders for free.

Motorcycles already can get transponders for free but they still have to give a credit card or bank account and have the $35 deposit drawn.

Bruce Downs, state coordinator for ABATE of Colorado, argued that even free transponders for motorcycles is not sufficient because it does not eliminate the situation where, for instance, an out-of-state rider might use the HOV lane and find an unpleasant surprise in their mailbox afterward. He said Virginia has addressed this issue by installing cameras that are capable of distinguishing motorcycles and ignoring them.

Deb “Tiger” Chandler, who represents the US Defenders and the Coalition of Independent Riders, asked why the motorcycling community had not been included in discussions leading up to this new system long before it was put into place.

Sen. Lundberg acknowledged that as the bill continues its path through the legislature it is likely that amendments will be made and those amendments could resolve some of the valid concerns of those currently opposing the bill.

This bill is still a long way from becoming a law but the response in the Senate Transportation Committee suggests that motorcyclists can reasonably hope for resolution of the issue that concerns them, even if that resolution is not found in this particular bill.

Biker Quote for Today

Ride as though you are invisible, not invincible.