UDOT, UHP launch campaign to boost understanding of express lane use
Jun 17, 2026, 11:11 AM
SALT LAKE CITY – The Utah Highway Patrol and Utah Department of Transportation are teaming up for a new campaign aimed at educating drivers about how to legally use Utah’s express lanes and encouraging more people to sign up for a transponder.
“One of the biggest misconceptions we hear is that the express lane is only for carpools,” said John Gleason, UDOT public relations director. “The reality is anyone can use it with a transponder.”
Carpools with two or more occupants can continue to use the lanes for free.
Buses and motorcycles are also allowed, along with vehicles equipped with an Express Pass transponder set to toll mode and linked to an account with a positive balance.
Utah’s express lane system currently supports nearly 30,000 active transponders and recorded more than 1.6 million trips during the 2025 fiscal year, according to UDOT.
Transportation officials say the lanes play a key role in moving more people through some of the state’s most congested corridors.
During peak commute times, express lanes carry up to 72% more people than adjacent general-purpose lanes, and drivers typically travel about 10 mph faster.
To keep the system functioning properly, officials are reminding drivers to follow the rules.
“We have noticed an increase in the number of crashes involving vehicles in the HOV lane,” said UHP trooper Braxton Barlow. “Just with traffic coming to a stop, somebody jumps over the double white lines and hits the back of another car. Or a car in the HOV lane is going a lot faster thinking that nobody can cross over those double white lines, and all of a sudden a car comes over and they crash into the back of them thinking that nobody can cross them.”
As part of the campaign, UHP troopers will focus on education and enforcement along the Wasatch Front through mid-July as part of a grant through the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, which allows for more troopers to sign up for overtime as part of the enforcement efforts.
