The vendor handling the tolling fees for the HOV lanes on Interstate 405 going through Kirkland starting this fall is the same vendor WSDOT has for the 520 bridge tolling.

Electronic Transaction Consultants (ETC) currently processes tolling transactions for the 520 bridge, as well as handling the lane systems for the State Route 167 hotlane.

ETC’s handling of public tolls has met with criticism in recent years. In 2012, they agreed to compensate the state for $6.4 million due to delays on the tolling.

In January, both ETC and WSDOT were hit with a class-action lawsuit over billing for the Good to Go Pass, claiming that ETC failed to notify drivers of toll bills by taking advantage of WAC 468-305-130, which says a bill “may be sent” to the vehicle owner but does not require it.

The lawsuit alleged that the policy is “an intentional act by the WSDOT to dodge the fundamental constitutional protections of notice and due process.”

WSDOT Director of Cooperations Patty Rubstello said that the delays with the 520 tolling were due to the fact that ETC was implementing the tolling process for the first time. Now that it has been done before, they don’t anticipate any delays with I-405.

“It just took more time for them to develop that functionality,” she said. “Since that functionality exists now, we don’t think it will be an issue.”

Rubstello stated that the class-action lawsuit is still ongoing but hasn’t led to any changes for I-405 tolling.

“Everything we’re looking at is in concert with how we’re implementing tolling on our other facilities and taking the necessary steps to test everything out so that when we go live everything works,” she said.

The Washington State Transportation Commission (WSTC) voted in March to set the toll rates for I-405 after deciding whether or not to implement a toll on the existing carpool lane from State Route 522 to Interstate 5, along with two lanes between Northeast 6th Street in Bellevue and SR 522 in Bothell, a total of 17 miles.

At the moment, they are testing the system used for the toll lanes to ensure that it can read license plates correctly, according to WSDOT Toll Communications Jennifer Rash. Rubstello also said that they are testing to ensure that the tolls will process on a Good to Go Pass account successfully. The system determines the toll price drivers pay when they enter the lane based on the traffic flow, with a minimum of 75 cents and a maximum of $10. WSDOT claims 90 percent of tolls will be less than $4.

“We’re just making sure it’s (the system) updating,” she said. “Right now what you see looks like gibberish on the signs, letters and numbers, but for our toll engineers it translates into something.”

The decision to toll the lanes drew large criticism by attendees during the public meetings, including private citizens who commute on I-405 as well as local city officials. One of their criticisms was WSDOT’s decision to have exemptions for carpools with three or more people during peak hours, as opposed to two. Peak hours are between 5-9 a.m. and 3-7 p.m. Other exemptions include vanpools, buses and motorcyclists.

To use the express toll lanes without an additional fee, drivers must have a Good To Go! account and a Flex Pass. Carpools will also have to get a transponder to place in the vehicle. Washington State Patrol officers will enforce the three-person carpool rule.

Another criticism leveled at the proposal was that tolling the HOV lanes would lead to spillover traffic in cities such as Kirkland, Kenmore and Bothell, where drivers would go to avoid both the bad traffic as well as the toll.

Rash said that while WSDOT has concerns about spillover, traffic on I-405 is already slow. She added that they don’t believe the new toll is comparable to traffic issues caused by tolling the Interstate 520 Bridge, where people have to pay the toll to take the bridge or use State Route 522 through Bothell and Kenmore. On I-405, she said, drivers can still use the other remaining lanes on I-405 and not have to pay.

“I think if people feel like they have an option….they will take the express toll lane,” she said. “It’s obviously going to be an adjustment for drivers. We might see some diversion initially… I think it’ll be a shorter time of adjustment than that of the bridge because people couldn’t cross the bridge without paying the toll.”

It is possible tolling could be removed if the system is not able to cover operation costs in the next two years, at which WSDOT would evaluate whether to remove it, according to Rash.

The actual date for when tolling will begin is expected to be announced sometime next month.