thetollroads.org - driver beware

[dan88911]

It's time to invent the rolodex license plate.
Didn't 007 have one?

[mattdavis11]

Had a similar experience as stomachmonkey, same dept. One of my vehicles was on loan and had been through several tolls. I gave the borrower the bill, but it didn't get paid. I finally called and the late fees were waived, as well as a rate reduction when I signed up for two transponders.

Worked for me.

We have a fine toll road, near COTA, which was built by a company that now doesn't seem to have the revenue to pay the bill to the state. We might get it for free if the FEDS don't step in.

I don't drive on toll roads and average 200 miles a day, locally.

[Flieger]

Originally Posted by Evans, Marv

I hate toll roads, especially in this state where we pay hefty taxes for roads already. I won't use one unless there is no other way. A toll road was built where I lived south of San Diego some years ago. For the first month or so it was free to use. After that it was 50 cents per mile. I timed using the toll road against an alternate route not using it on a short trip I traveled frequently. The toll road took 5 minutes, while the alternate took 10 minutes. I sure wasn't going to pay fifty cents a minute to save 5 minutes. Others must have declined to use it also, since it went bankrupt in about two years. Construction and operation was contracted out to a private company which collected the tolls and paid a portion to the State and local authorities. When I go near enough to see it, it's still almost deserted.

+1. When I moved to Orange County I was like WTF?

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

Same here and I have to say I have nothing but praise for TXDOT's Tolltag people.
.

+1
I found the matter of paying tolls for rental and out of state cars in Texas quite simple. I'm sure their system can be scammed, but why bother?

[wdfifteen]

Originally Posted by stomachmonkey

LOL, had a friend whose family owned a small supermarket.

Gets a bill for $0.02 one day from one of their long time suppliers. Ignores it.

Next month gets a another bill, same amount. Ignores it.

Next month, same thing so he calls the supplier and says WTH? You've spent 20 x's in postage alone to collect this stupid $0.02, what gives?

Supplier apologizes and tells him they moved to a new service to handle A/R and there is a glitch. Do him a favor and just pay it so it stops.

So friend sends a check for $0.01

Ouch!!

[john70t]

Originally Posted by dan88911

It's time to invent the rolodex license plate.
Didn't 007 have one?

You need same make/model vehicle.
(Facebook already has great facial recognition patents. It works great on cars as well.)

Else, you're whizzing through a checkpoint triggers the wake-up alarm for the bubba sleeping in the Camero on the shoulder an easy five miles up the road.

Also, you'll need an innocent victim to pull that off...
One who will receive the ticket by mail, then spend years fighting a deliberately inadequate system which automatically assumes guilt.


That is how a very-bad-system-to-begin-with is propped up, supported, and sustained for many years.

[porwolf]

I guess I got lucky once, a couple of years ago: Drove on a Sunday with a friend from the 405 south to the 110 north around noon time with light traffic. I was not familiar with that intersection. There is a rather complicated array of lanes with carpool lanes, toll road lanes at that intersection to negotiate. I thought, Sunday, with a passenger I should not b e too concerned. Got a letter in the mail with photograph stating that I used a toll lane and the charge would be like 64 cents. Somehow I did not open the letter early enough. A second letter added a late fee of $25.- with a service telephone number to call.

I called the toll company on the phone. A very nice person answered. I explained my situation and why I possibly ended up in the toll lane by accident. She waved all my fees!

[ZAMIRZ]

I have the FasTrak, and what's annoying is it's $30/month regardless of whether you use it or not. Once you do use it, that $30/month goes toward your toll-road charges, which is fine.

But unless you're a regular commuter or need to use it on like 7 or 8 days at peak times, you're basically paying in without taking full advantage of the pass. I'm going to be moving out of downtown LA and to Santa Monica next month, and will subsequently cancel mine and send the transponder back. But I know there will come a time where I'm sitting in traffic and would have gladly paid the toll to use the FasTrak lanes.

[onewhippedpuppy]

Quote de Gogar

Here, the toll road snaps a pic of your license plate and mails you an invoice. I thought it was weird but it works.

Same here and I have to say I have nothing but praise for TXDOT's Tolltag people.



If you rack up tolls without a tag they are higher than with.



They only send you an invoice when the total is more than a certain amount.



1st one I got I forgot about and got hit with late fees.



Called them up to get a tag and while chatting with the woman she says "oh, no problem, since you are getting the tag we'll drop the late fee and prorate the previous tolls to the Toll tag discount"



Seriously?



Sure



I've had a couple of other occasions to call them and each time it's like a Twilight Zone episode. They are so pleasant, helpful and accommodating you think you are dreaming it all.

They also don't charge tolls to their out of state "guests". Because God forbid a state actually encourage tourism. I was in CA years ago and was on a toll road, totally unaware. I received a small toll charge and $50 penalty from the state several months later. I called to explain that I didn't see a single toll sign, and the helpful reply was "yeah they're not very well marked".

[imcarthur]

I just paid $2.20 for this today. On my last trip to LA, I unknowingly thought it was a commuter lane coming south out of downtown . . .



Ian

[Brando]

If you think that's fun, wait until you sell a car and the new owner drives through the tollroads. Not once, twice, but 8 times.

I sent in the release of liability to the DMV but the new owner did not register the car. Guess who the CA Franchise Tax Board went after?

For the convenience these roads offer it sometimes just barely offsets the problems they cause.

[TerryH]

Originally Posted by ZAMIRZ

I have the FasTrak, and what's annoying is it's $30/month regardless of whether you use it or not. Once you do use it, that $30/month goes toward your toll-road charges, which is fine.

But unless you're a regular commuter or need to use it on like 7 or 8 days at peak times, you're basically paying in without taking full advantage of the pass. I'm going to be moving out of downtown LA and to Santa Monica next month, and will subsequently cancel mine and send the transponder back. But I know there will come a time where I'm sitting in traffic and would have gladly paid the toll to use the FasTrak lanes.

It's not really $30/mo, they just load themselves $30 at a time until it's used and then reload, again and again, when it gets close to $10. You submit CC info at signup.

I occasionally do contract work for Santa Margarita Ford and often test drive their customers cars on the 241 toll road. It's the only time I make use of a FasTrak transponder. I'm not there all that often and if you don't do $25 in toll charges in a billing month, they ding you $2 per month for the privilege of owning the practically now mandatory transponder. If you don't use the toll road, it's $2/mo. If you rack up $24.50, it's $26.50.

Yes, it's a business write-off, but it still irks me a little that there's a monthly fee when not having a transponder is made much more difficult. Impossible for me as I'm not usually driving my car on the toll road.