WSDOT Ending '764-HERO' HOV Violator Reporting Hotline

SEATTLE — Washington's hotline for drivers to report HOV lane violators and ferry line cutters will be a thing of the past by Wednesday as state transportation officials take the program offline after 37 years.

The Washington State Department of Transportation launched the HERO Program in 1984, encouraging drivers to "self-enforce" HOV lane rules on freeways in King, Pierce and Snohomish counties by calling 877-764-HERO. The program added an option to report vehicles that cut ferry queues in 2010. The hotline number is posted under HOV signs around the region.

According to WSDOT, the program was designed to help drivers learn about the rules and benefits of properly utilizing HOV lanes when they were fairly new to Western Washington, and reported violators were mailed educational materials. Now, the hotline has outlived its usefulness, but enforcement measures will not change, officials said.

"The program has served its purpose because most travelers are familiar with how HOV lanes and ferry queuing operates," WSDOT wrote Tuesday. "Enforcement of violations is a function of the Washington State Patrol. WSP will continue to issue tickets for lane violations and ferry line cutting after the program's end, based on historic data about trouble areas."

In the coming months, transportation crews will begin removing the 764-HERO signs posted across Puget Sound. The number itself will stay active into November, informing callers of the change, but reporting will no longer be possible. WSDOT plans to move the $120,000 allotted in its budget to operate the program to help support other traffic operations and safety improvements, the agency said.