Good to Go, stylized as ''GoodToGo!'', is the

electronic toll collection Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or Road pricing, toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing Tol ...

program managed by the

Washington State Department of Transportation The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

on all current toll and future projects in the U.S. state of

Washington Washington most commonly refers to: * George Washington (1732–1799), the first president of the United States * Washington (state), a state in the Pacific Northwest of the United States * Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States ** A ...

. Regular Good to Go customers may set up an account from which tolls are automically deducted. Vehicles that are not linked to an account are photographed and a toll bill is sent to the registered owner by

U.S. mail The United States Postal Service (USPS), also known as the Post Office, U.S. Mail, or simply the Postal Service, is an independent agency of the executive branch of the United States federal government responsible for providing postal servi ...

(at a higher toll rate). The system debuted in July 2007 on the eastbound span of the

Tacoma Narrows Bridge The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of twin bridges, twin suspension bridges that span the Tacoma Narrows strait of Puget Sound in Pierce County, Washington, Pierce County, Washington (state), Washington. The bridges connect the city of Tacom ...

and has since expanded to include

high-occupancy toll A high-occupancy toll lane (HOT lane) is a type of traffic lane or roadway that is available to high-occupancy vehicles and other exempt vehicles without charge; other vehicles are required to pay a road pricing, variable fee that is adjusted in ...

(HOT) lanes on State Route 167 and Interstate 405, as well as the

Evergreen Point Floating Bridge The Evergreen Point Floating Bridge, also known as the 520 Bridge and officially the Governor Albert D. Rosellini Bridge, is a floating bridge that carries Washington State Route 520 across Lake Washington from Seattle to its eastern suburbs ...

on State Route 520, and the State Route 99 tunnel in

Seattle Seattle ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Washington and in the Pacific Northwest region of North America. With a population of 780,995 in 2024, it is the 18th-most populous city in the United States. The city is the cou ...

. The Good to Go program is similar to other electronic tolling around the country such as FasTrak in California and

E-ZPass E-ZPass Interagency Group (E-ZPass Group trade name and E-ZPass product brand) is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the eastern half of the United States. The group itself is composed of ...

in the eastern United States.

Fares

Drivers may set up a pre-paid, or pay as you go Good to Go account. The pre-paid account requires a starting balance of $30. Other types of accounts exist for fleet management or for paying with cash, but those must be set up manually. The account setup also requires either purchasing and activating a Good to Go Pass that is affixed to a vehicle, or by registering the license plate. Drivers may select from multiple pass types such as sticker, declarable occupancy (Flex), motorcycle, or license plate passes. For pre-paid accounts charges are made to the account balance, and when the balance is low or insufficient, the account is replenished. For pay as you go accounts deductions occur in batches. Good to Go is available for use on the following highways and facilities: *

on SR 16 (eastbound only) * High-occupancy toll lanes on SR 167 from Auburn to Renton *

on SR 520 * High-occupancy toll lanes on I-405 from

Bellevue Bellevue means "beautiful view" in French. Bellevue or Belle Vue may refer to: Places Australia * Bellevue, Queensland * Bellevue, Western Australia * Bellevue Hill, New South Wales Canada * Bellevue, Alberta * Bellevue, Newfoundlan ...

Lynnwood Lynnwood is a city in Snohomish County, Washington, United States. The city is part of the Seattle metropolitan area and is located north of Seattle and south of Everett, near the junction of Interstate 5 and Interstate 405. It is the four ...

* State Route 99 tunnel on SR 99 in

Tolls on all highways except the Tacoma Narrows Bridge are variable, depending on the time of day. For HOT lane systems (also known as express toll lanes), tolls are set within a minimum and maximum value, and vary based on current traffic conditions.

Operations

ETAN Tolling operates the Good to Go! customer service systems, and Shimmick staffs the call centers with personnel. WSDOT completed a major overhaul of the system in July 2021. Some of the changes included the elimination of a required $30 pre-paid account, and the ability to pay a negative balance online. The changeover, which included a two-week system blackout, was scheduled to take place in June but was postponed by a month due to errors found in final tests. Some of the system's cameras are unable to handle long stretches of sub-freezing temperatures. In January 2024, the HOT lanes on I-405 and SR 167 were temporarily converted into HOV-only lanes while their cameras and sensors were turned off.

History

Tacoma Narrows Bridge

The toll collection system in place for the

, which carries State Route 16 between the

Kitsap Peninsula The Kitsap Peninsula () lies west of Seattle across Puget Sound, in Washington state in the Pacific Northwest. Hood Canal separates the peninsula from the Olympic Peninsula on its west side. The peninsula, a.k.a. "Kitsap", encompasses all of Kits ...

and

Tacoma Tacoma ( ) is the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. A port city, it is situated along Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, southwest of Bellevue, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, northwest of Mount ...

, has standard toll booth collection lanes as well as three electronic toll lanes that allow for tolls to be deducted from a prepaid account. Vehicles in this lane must have a Good to Go account when crossing the toll plaza through the electronic toll lanes, or they will receive a bill in the mail. Only the eastbound span, built in 2007, is tolled; westbound traffic on the older bridge is not tolled. Every car that travels through the Good to Go electronic toll lanes is automatically photographed. If a vehicle passes through the electronic toll lanes without a transponder or Good to Go account, the "Pay by Mail" toll will be charged to the registered owner of the vehicle via the license plate information per the

Washington State Department of Licensing The Washington State Department of Licensing (DOL) is a department of the Washington (state), Washington state government that administers motor vehicle registration, vehicle and vessel registration and issues Driver's licenses in the United Stat ...

. In the case of a malfunctioning transponder, the toll charge will be posted to the account associated with that license plate number. The Tacoma Narrows Bridge is the only facility with physical toll booths.

SR 520 floating bridge

On December 29, 2011, tolling started on the original SR 520 floating bridge, which ran between

and the Eastside suburbs. The revenue generated from the tolls is used to help pay for the replacement bridge, also tolled, which opened in 2016. All tolling is electronic with no tollbooths. Tolling for people without Good to Go passes is done by license plate, and customer are sent the "Pay by Mail" toll rate, which includes a processing and mail fee.

SR 167 HOT (High Occupancy Toll) Lanes

The pilot project on State Route 167 was launched in 2008 to test a new congestion management tool in Washington, allowing solo drivers to pay an electronic toll for use of existing high-occupancy vehicle lanes, without having to stop. It consists of a single HOT lane in each direction running along State Route 167 between Renton and Auburn in King County. Carpools of two people or more, transit, vanpools and motorcycles may still use the HOT as a regular HOV lane, free of charge but will need the transponder as it is the only way to communicate that you are an HOV vehicle: all vehicles without a transponder are tolled even with multiple people in the car. If vehicles have two or more occupants and do not have a declarable occupancy (Flex) pass, the transponder must be covered by a metallic object or they will be charged a toll. The pilot project was extended through June 2013 by the state legislature in 2011. In 2016 the HOT lane was extended south to Algona. The intent of the project was to utilize and manage the excess capacity in the HOV lane to improve traffic throughput in adjacent lanes. Toll rates vary based on the level of congestion to ensure that traffic in the HOT lane speed are at least 45 mph, even when the regular lanes are congested.

I-405 HOT Lanes

WSDOT The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT or WashDOT, both ) is a governmental agency that constructs, maintains, and regulates the use of transportation infrastructure in the U.S. state of Washington (state), Washington. Establi ...

operates high occupancy toll lanes (HOT lanes) on Interstate 405, the main bypass around

. The HOT lanes between

and

opened on September 27, 2015, and included the construction of an auxiliary lane between Bothell and Bellevue. WSDOT is in development of a system of HOT lanes on the entire length of I-405 and nearby SR 167, with the southern half from Bellevue to Renton scheduled to be completed in 2024. A direct flyover ramp in Renton between the HOT lanes on I-405 and SR 167 began construction in 2016 and was opened four months ahead of schedule on February 21, 2019.

SR 99 Tunnel

The State Route 99 Tunnel, like the State Route 520 floating bridge, operates exclusively with

open road tolling Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of tollbooths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major ...

; those without a Good to Go transponder and account are charged a higher rate via license plate tolling. Tolling commenced for the State Route 99 tunnel on November 9, 2019.

Performance

WSDOT's toll collection system replacement project was delayed by more than two years due to missed deadlines and other issues with a vendor, according to an audit conducted by the state auditor. According to the audit, the project had exceeded its budget by $13 million and was pushed back several times due to issues adjusting to state requirements and software systems.

References

{{reflist

External links

''Good To Go!'' websiteETAN Tolling

Shimmick
Electronic toll collection Transportation in Washington (state)