Orange County is home to a layered transportation system, there’s toll roads, interstates, express lanes and more. Here, drivers have many options when it comes to getting to their destination. As you drive, you may see signs for toll roads, express lanes and carpool lanes. But what’s the difference?
General Purpose Lanes
General purpose lanes are the standard freeway lanes open to all vehicles, regardless of occupancy. These lanes form the backbone of California’s highway system and provide a consistent, baseline, no-cost option of commuters.
Orange County is home to many different highways with general purpose lanes, Interstates 5 and 405 and State Routes 55 and 57 to name a few.
They are funded through traditional public sources such as state and federal transportation funding, gas taxes and local transportation sales taxes. Because they are open to all drivers at no direct cost, general purpose lanes typically experience the highest levels of congestion during peak travel periods.
Carpool Lanes
High-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lanes, often called carpool or diamond lanes, are special highway lanes reserved for vehicles with multiple occupants, typically 2+ or 3+, as well as buses and motorcycles. These lanes aim to reduce congestion, improve travel time reliability and lower emissions by encouraging carpooling.
Like general purpose lanes, they are funded through traditional public transportation funding sources. In some high-demand corridors, congested HOV lanes have been converted to express lanes to better manage traffic flow.
Express Lanes
Express lanes, also known as high-occupancy toll (HOT) lanes, are toll lanes utilized within an existing freeway corridor. Unlike toll roads, they operate alongside free general-purpose lanes.
They typically use dynamic pricing, meaning tolls fluctuate based on real-time traffic conditions to offer a faster, more reliable travel time.
In Orange County you’ll find two different express lanes:
- 405 Express Lanes, operated by the Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA)
- 91 Express Lanes, operated by OCTA and the Riverside County Transportation Commission (RCTC)
Generally, express lanes are funded through a combination of public transportation funding and toll revenue.
Toll Roads
Toll roads are public or private roadways that require drivers to pay a fee to use. In California, toll facilities collect toll electronically and FasTrak® is the technology used statewide to pay tolls on every tolled bridge, express lane and road.
In Orange County there are four public toll roads, State Routes 73, 133, 241 and 261 operated collectively as The Toll Roads by the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA). These highways were built in the 1990s parallel to existing routes to help relieve the congestion caused by rapid population growth.
At the time they were built, there were limited tax dollars available to fund large transportation projects. Instead of relying on traditional funding sources, TCA took a new approach: using non-recourse toll revenues bonds backed by tolls and development impact fees—not taxpayer dollars.
To pay tolls for The Toll Roads or sign up for a FasTrak account, visit TheTollRoads.com.
Why Transportation Options Matter
Each of these roadway types play a distinct role in Orange County’s transportation network.
The Toll Roads were built to run parallel to some of the region’s most congested corridors, providing drivers with a reliable alternative. Even drivers who choose not to use The Toll Roads benefit from their presence: by redirecting an average of 256,000 daily transactions, they help reduce tariff demand on nearby free routes.
Together, toll roads, express lanes, HOV lanes and general-purpose lanes create a layered system that offers flexibility, allowing drivers to balance cost, occupancy and travel time depending on their needs.
In a region like Orange County, transportation options aren’t just convenient—they’re essential.
The Toll Roads Blog 