At a time when Hall Area Transit funding is in limbo, Atlanta area commuting options are about to open a little more for Hall County residents.

A Park & Ride lot is scheduled to open in July off Hamilton Mill Road in North Gwinnett and a lot is being expanded off Interstate 985 in Buford, with both offering bus service to Atlanta.

And for those taking their car, a project involving the construction of a toll express lane on Interstate 85 also is nearly completed.

"By giving people more choices, by taking advantage of the managed lane, we're going to make things a little better," said William Mecke, spokesman for the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority. "And every little bit helps."

The improvements are part of a $110 million U.S. Department of Transportation Congestion Reduction Demonstration grant Georgia received in 2008.

The grant is paying for easing traffic on Interstate 85 in DeKalb and Gwinnett counties through transit improvements, innovative technology and variable toll pricing.

The initial phase of the project is the conversion of a 15-mile stretch of high-occupancy vehicle lanes to high occupancy toll lanes from Chamblee-Tucker Road to Old Peachtree Road in Gwinnett.

Under the new system, people with two or more passengers will be able to drive in the HOT lane for free, as is the case now with the HOV lane. People driving solo or with one other passenger will be able to drive in the lane for a toll that's based on the level of I-85 congestion at the time.

All commuters - including those who plan to drive with two or more passengers - will have to sign up for the "Peach Pass," through the State Road and Tollway Authority's website.

The pass, a thin sticker that adheres to a vehicle's windshield, is connected to an account established with the authority and automatically deducts tolls when used on the I-85 Express Lanes or Ga. 400.

It should be available this week or in early July, said Malika Wilkins, the SRTA spokeswoman.

The federal money also is paying for 36 new transit coaches and two new Park & Ride lots, including the one at Hamilton Mill Road near Walmart Supercenter and Interstate 85.

The 900-space lot, about 3 1/2 miles from Hall County, is expected to open July 18. Route 411 will take travelers to the Mall of Georgia and then Midtown Atlanta. Route 413 will take commuters to and from downtown Atlanta, Mecke said.

A Dacula lot opened June 20 taking commuters along Ga. 316 to Atlanta.

"There were about eight people on the first day, which is pretty typical," Mecke said. "It usually takes a little while for people to get to know the coaches are out there and switch over passes if they need to do that with their employers.

"It takes about three years for a route to fully mature its ridership. ... We are hoping to pick up a bunch of folks who aren't using us yet."

Expansion of the lot off I-985 and Ga. 20 in Buford is also nearly finished.

Some 350 spaces are being added to the site, which had 350 initially. Gwinnett County Transit buses currently take commuters from there to downtown Atlanta destinations, including the state Capitol, each morning starting at 5:40.

"It's doing real well. It fills up every day," Mecke said.

An express route service that would connect to Gwinnett Transit at the I-985 exit in Buford has long been mulled, said Phillippa Lewis Moss, director of Gainesville-Hall's Community Service Center, in a January interview.

Funding has been the problem, however.

And now, in trying to fill an $11.5 million budget deficit for 2011-12, the Hall County Board of Commissioners has wrestled with cutting funding to the Community Service Center.

The center is an umbrella agency for several services, including Hall Area Transit.