There seems to be a lot confusion regarding the 110 Freeway carpool lanes that are esentially toll lanes now. I refer to them as the Smug Lane, because I laugh at the simpletons and lemmings wallowing in traffic for no reason. Let me help.
1. Order a transponder from Metro ExpressLanes. It pre-loads $40 onto your account.
2. Set your new transponder to 2 or 3 riders (whichever is free). NEVER, EVER set it to 1 rider.
3. Enjoy the Smug Lane for free.
There are a few warnings that I should put on this fool-proof system. Currently the only way for you to get caught is for a cop to be following you, for him to recognize that you are indeed alone, then wait to see how many blue lights flash just after your car drives past the cameras pictured above. If the cop sees that your car made more than 1 blue flash, THEN & ONLY THEN will he know if you are cheating the system. So switch it if you are being tailgated by a cop, otherwise fight The Man.
Only after using it a few times did I realized how unenforceable this toggle switch on your transponder truly is. So after a year of driving alone in the traffic-free Smug Lane, I still have $38 pre-loaded onto my transponder. I wonder if I will be able to recoup that money when LADOT pulls the plug on the whole thing for creating even more traffic (which it has). On the other hand, I bet the politicians are too horny for the extra revenue stream to ever actually get rid of it.
EDIT - Supposedly the system has a $3 maintenance fee if you do not use it 4 times per month, so maybe this isn't for people who never use the 110 or 105 freeways.
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