WASHINGTON — Peak toll rates on Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway could be $9 for solo drivers if vehicles with two people in them are allowed to drive free, under a proposal the Virginia Department of Transportation is considering.

VDOT is projecting that it will cost $9 in the evening and $7 in the morning for solo drivers if the High Occupancy Toll lanes if vehicles with two or more people are are allowed to drive for free.

If only vehicles with three or more people are allowed to drive for free, VDOT projects the tolls  would be $8 between the Beltway and D.C. in the morning and $3 in the evening.

The rate for a reverse commute inside the Beltway would be $1 for both HOT-2 and HOT-3.

The tolls would not go into effect for a few years. It has yet to be determined whether the express lanes, where the tolls change based on the amount of traffic, would be for two or three people in a vehicle.

Word of the I-66 tolls inside the Beltway come as the Commonwealth Transportation Board decided Virginia can move ahead with a separate, but related $2 billion plan to upgrade I-66 outside the Beltway.

Virginia Transportation Secretary Aubrey Layne says the rates for dynamic tolling are estimates at this point.

“We’re not being driven by the maximum revenue. We’re being driven by getting the maximum people through there,”  Layne tells WTOP.

“The tolls would be for the entire trip,” he says. “Most people won’t go the whole way (from the Capital Beltway past Arlington). We understand that tolling is impactful on people in terms of their monetary consideration.”

Editor’s Note: This story has been changed to reflect updates to the number of vehicle occupants and charges.