I miss the option of paying tolls in real time.

[Oaktree]

Without transponder a notice of evasion is sent generated by license plate read with so many days to pay.

Had friends from other states return home to find invoices that by date are past due…
.....
Maybe it’s a California thing and curious if other states still have the option of toll collectors?

Maybe. Before I got an Ezpass, on the occasions I had to drive toll roads I'd get a bill in the mail a couple months later with 30 days to pay. No nasty notice of evasion, I paid the bills promptly so no idea what the next step would be if I didn't pay. N.Y. Thruway, Maine Turnpike and Spaulding Turnpike in N.H.

And it gets worse, they take $75 out of your account to hold, then deduct when you go through until you hit $10. But all the while htey're holding YOUR money. They do that for everyone, and i bet it adds up to millions of unearned dollars.

Must vary by state, I believe it's $30 they keep in reserve here in N.H. It's not a huge imposition. Probably cheaper for the state to administer than to have to process a zillion $1 transactions.

Got the Ezpass a couple years ago to make it easier when we do a road trip. It's valid throughout the northeast, and as far west as Illinois.

They can have their fast pay lanes. But I think they should be required to have at least 1 or 2 lanes that take cash or credit, whether it is an automated machine, or a maned toll booth.

In N.H. we have 2 toll roads...the Everett Turnpike which runs between Nashua & Concord, and the Spaulding Turnpike from Portsmouth to Dover. There are still a couple of cash lanes at the Hooksett tolls, though they're only open limited hours. Not sure on the Spaulding.

I would imagine being a tollbooth attendant would be a sucky job, stuck in a cramped hot-in-summer-freezing-in-winter booth having to breathe exhaust fumes 8 hr/day.

I think it should be unlawful for states or local governments to put tolls on US highways, especially the Interstate highway system.

I believe it is on the interstate system. Any toll roads that are part of that system were already in place, and those roads were incorporated into it.

 

[Carl_NH]

Oaktree - I95 Hampton tolls are electronic now too - they still have a booth I think but as you point out all the others are cashless and no booths anymore.

I like EZ Pass and it works well, but it's the rental car companies that irk me when they charge an admin fee of $5-8 a day, plus tolls - the admin fees are more than the tolls. Was in Toronto recently and tolls on the 407 are 25$ one way plus admin fees too for about 15 miles of highway - canuk $ but still expensive.

 

[oldnslo]

What happens if you don’t live in that state and ignore the bills?

I received a notice in the mail for over due tolls on a leased company car I no longer drove but was still in service so suspect a bill would be mailed to the address on file for the license plate scanned.

I had removed that license from my I-pass account but lease company had not taken ownership. Took sometime to get that squared away.

If remember correctly late fees, etc. where way in excess of tolls and notice stated after xx date would be turned over to collection service.

 

[Torvy]

Maybe. Before I got an Ezpass, on the occasions I had to drive toll roads I'd get a bill in the mail a couple months later with 30 days to pay. No nasty notice of evasion, I paid the bills promptly so no idea what the next step would be if I didn't pay. N.Y. Thruway, Maine Turnpike and Spaulding Turnpike in N.H.


Must vary by state, I believe it's $30 they keep in reserve here in N.H.


I believe it is on the interstate system. Any toll roads that are part of that system were already in place, and those roads were incorporated into it.

The TX reserve is $40, iirc.

I understand they put tolls on interstate highways, I just think that shouldn't be allowed. Our collective tax dollars already paid for those roads.

There are some spots in the DFW area where you get the option of toll lanes or free lanes. Traffic moves much faster on the toll lanes. Worth it at times, especially if you have a trailer and/or hate driving in traffic.

 

[fatjay]

Must vary by state, I believe it's $30 they keep in reserve here in N.H. It's not a huge imposition. Probably cheaper for the state to administer than to have to process a zillion $1 transactions.

Got the Ezpass a couple years ago to make it easier when we do a road trip. It's valid throughout the northeast, and as far west as Illinois.

It used to be $30 and it was slightly annoying. They just recently raised it to $75.

 

[MossRoad]

The last few years bridge tolls, express lanes, etc. moved to transponder toll collection from established accounts. I guess great for commuters?

I’m rarely driving the same vehicle and sometimes I tow which complicates and bridge crossings are few and far between.

Without transponder a notice of evasion is sent generated by license plate read with so many days to pay.

Had friends from other states return home to find invoices that by date are past due…

Not at all friendly welcome home from California.

Twice received invoices in error… misread license plate.

Takes time to contest but always resolved.

Maybe it’s a California thing and curious if other states still have the option of toll collectors?

We have a few toll collectors at busier exits just because there are so many problems with the system and malfunctions that if the gate doesn't open to let you pass, it causes backups.

At night, they aren't manned in person, but you can push a button and talk to a human that will help you out over the speaker.

Overall, I'd rather have the transponder and keep driving VS having to stop and pay manually.

 

[MossRoad]

No misreads is great.

I guess paying an occasional late fee is just accepted as part of living in a digital world with fewer human options to pay in real time.

Nothing against it except it would be a benefit to have one lane that accepts cash… at least for me because I would also have a real time receipt to turn in.

Our transponder works at every lane. They have lanes that are marked cash or pass, even though there's a cash machine at every lane. I think the object is to get people that are using cash or CC to get in one lane so the transponder folks can get through faster.

 

[MossRoad]

What are road tolls?

It's a road with a little house on the side where they make cookies.

 

[MossRoad]

There's a toll bridge over the Ohio river at Jeffersonville and Louisville, I believe, that if you don't have a pass, they mail you a bill based on your license plate scan.

$2.68 with a transponder, $4.02 with a prepaid account but no transponder, and $5.36 for standard toll (no account)

So a week or so later I get a $5.36 bill in the mail.

But there is a way around it if you take the last exit, go down to surface streets, use an old bridge, weave your way through downtown Louisville, and get back up on the highway, bypassing the toll bridge. However, it can be anywhere from 5-30 minutes longer depending on traffic.

 

[GreyhawkUSA30340]

Must vary by state, I believe it's $30 they keep in reserve here in N.H.

Yes, $30, but they do review your usage and if you generally use more than $30/month, or you have a brief period of high usage, then they adjust the amount upward (but at least they notify you). If it was just a brief period of higher usage, they will (eventually) bring the withdrawal amount back down to $30. Also, they only withdraw from your bank if you get below some lower threshold ($10?), so if you're not driving on toll roads regularly, they are not pulling from your bank regularly...

 

[caver]

2022 or '23 I think and I was towing my camper back home to MO and trying a different route around Denver. It was getting close to sunset and I was headed to the Kiowa fairgrounds for cheap overnight camping. Crazy construction and heavy traffic. Suddenly the majority of the traffic exits. I got the impression it was a toll road I was on but assumed they didn't have the toll booths erected. That assumption ended when I got a bill in the mail 6-8 weeks later.

 

[lman]

About 15 years ago we went on a trip and got a transponder. We used it for that trip and after about 6 months we decided we wouldn't use it so I found their office and gave them the transponder and they gave me my money that they were keeping. I got the impression that not many people do that.
We're about 50 miles from a toll road and a 4 lane highway nearby parallels that toll road. Semi truck traffic on our highway has increased dramatically as they avoid the toll road fees

 

[Hughman]

When I lived in the South Bay and drove my kid to college in Sonoma, I figured out how to avoid bridge tolls by driving clockwise around the bay (north through SF and south through the East Bay). I remember the saying "it costs money to get out of Oakland". They only collect the tolls in one direction on the bridges.

 

[CliffordK]

2022 or '23 I think and I was towing my camper back home to MO and trying a different route around Denver. It was getting close to sunset and I was headed to the Kiowa fairgrounds for cheap overnight camping. Crazy construction and heavy traffic. Suddenly the majority of the traffic exits. I got the impression it was a toll road I was on but assumed they didn't have the toll booths erected. That assumption ended when I got a bill in the mail 6-8 weeks later.

The last time I was in Denver (around 2005, even early in the smartphone era), I thought the toll highways were pretty clearly marked. It seemed like at least for the direction I was heading there were always alternatives to the toll highways. But, that may also be an example of the failings of having a parallel toll and free highway system. Perhaps good for those that have money to burn, but the toll highways seemed to be under utilized. A lot of money to spend on very expensive roads that people don't use.

 

[MossRoad]

Here in Northern Indiana they built the toll road in the 50s with the promise that the tolls would pay off the bond for the road, then it would be turned into a freeway.....





They refinanced another bond when that one was paid off, and they leased it to some conglomerate and got a couple billion from that. That conglomerate failed and they leased it again. Then they took most of that money and spent it in other places around the state on other highway projects.

And we still have to pay tolls 75 years later.

 

[ponytug]

The last time I was in Denver (around 2005, even early in the smartphone era), I thought the toll highways were pretty clearly marked. It seemed like at least for the direction I was heading there were always alternatives to the toll highways. But, that may also be an example of the failings of having a parallel toll and free highway system. Perhaps good for those that have money to burn, but the toll highways seemed to be under utilized. A lot of money to spend on very expensive roads that people don't use.

IIRC, that toll road (E-470) was sold as a way to improve speeds and reduce times for (some) commuters, who would be willing to pay to reduce travel times. It really took off when DIA became a reality. They've proactively added extra lanes around Aurora specifically to keep traffic speeds up.

The road has also spawned a wide belt of development, benefiting many of the local governments that planned and executed the road.

I think it is an interesting case study of roads and communities.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ultrarunner]

Maybe. Before I got an Ezpass, on the occasions I had to drive toll roads I'd get a bill in the mail a couple months later with 30 days to pay. No nasty notice of evasion, I paid the bills promptly so no idea what the next step would be if I didn't pay. N.Y. Thruway, Maine Turnpike and Spaulding Turnpike in N.H.


Must vary by state, I believe it's $30 they keep in reserve here in N.H. It's not a huge imposition. Probably cheaper for the state to administer than to have to process a zillion $1 transactions.

Got the Ezpass a couple years ago to make it easier when we do a road trip. It's valid throughout the northeast, and as far west as Illinois.


In N.H. we have 2 toll roads...the Everett Turnpike which runs between Nashua & Concord, and the Spaulding Turnpike from Portsmouth to Dover. There are still a couple of cash lanes at the Hooksett tolls, though they're only open limited hours. Not sure on the Spaulding.

I would imagine being a tollbooth attendant would be a sucky job, stuck in a cramped hot-in-summer-freezing-in-winter booth having to breathe exhaust fumes 8 hr/day.

I believe it is on the interstate system. Any toll roads that are part of that system were already in place, and those roads were incorporated into it.

Last time they had toll booth openings over 3,000 applied for 5 spots…

 

[ultrarunner]

I received a notice in the mail for over due tolls on a leased company car I no longer drove but was still in service so suspect a bill would be mailed to the address on file for the license plate scanned.

I had removed that license from my I-pass account but lease company had not taken ownership. Took sometime to get that squared away.

If remember correctly late fees, etc. where way in excess of tolls and notice stated after xx date would be turned over to collection service.

Same happened to a friend that no longer drove… I went to DMV to do the transfer to new owner and cancelled the Fastrak to tie up loose ends.

She was still getting letters and unpaid tolls… the license plate was on file to her somehow… it said unpaid could lead to registration suspension… but not her car and the car owner was not getting the invoices?

 

[ultrarunner]

When I lived in the South Bay and drove my kid to college in Sonoma, I figured out how to avoid bridge tolls by driving clockwise around the bay (north through SF and south through the East Bay). I remember the saying "it costs money to get out of Oakland". They only collect the tolls in one direction on the bridges.

So true as 5th generation Oakland resident. SF makes for a beautiful sunset view and city lights.

 

[tradosaurus]

What are road tolls?

I had to find the definition of a transponder. Guess they don't use those in Texas.