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Platepay

Started by GeauxLSU, January 05, 2017, 01:40:02 AM

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GeauxLSU

I am a Roadgeek and a Fishgeek and a Tigergeek!


Brandon

"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

hotdogPi

This is more evidence that the OP is not from where he says he is. (We already had some evidence before.)
Clinched, minus I-93 (I'm missing a few miles and my file is incorrect)

Traveled, plus US 13, 44, and 50, and several state routes

I will be in Burlington VT for the eclipse.

Scott5114

Anyone have a link to the article that isn't on a shitty mobile site with 24" tall text?
uncontrollable freak sardine salad chef

Anthony_JK

Quote from: Scott5114 on January 05, 2017, 04:11:28 PM
Anyone have a link to the article that isn't on a shitty mobile site with 24" tall text?

When in doubt, always trust the original link:

http://www.newson6.com/story/34172061/oklahoma-turnpike-authoritys-platepay-system-kicks-off-this-week

rte66man

When you come to a fork in the road... TAKE IT.

                                                               -Yogi Berra

wxfree

ZipCash is a stupid name.  It doesn't convey the meaning of what it does.  It was meant for the local drivers who already know the NTTA system, the former cash payers who can now "zip" by the toll point and get a bill.  If you don't already know what it means, it doesn't explain it.  TxDOT calls the same thing "Pay-by-mail" which is the perfect name, and just about the only one that's even a good name.

EZ Pass will not cover the collection of payment from non-users, which is what Platepay (another stupid name that doesn't tell you what it is) is for.  Arguing about how widespread and outdated the technology is doesn't address the purpose of the new system.
I'd like to buy a vowel, Alex.  What is E?

wxfree

I wish they would just leave the cash payment option as it is.  I'd rather bring a roll of quarters and put them in the basket than deal with bills and billing errors.  People point out that it costs money to deal with cash collection, but that's why the cash price is higher, to cover that cost.  There may be exceptions where providing the extra lanes isn't feasible or the toll booth simply can't handle the traffic, but in most cases having all three options (electronic, mail, and cash) is ideal.  The mail option for those who want it would shorten the lines in the cash lanes for people who want that option.
I'd like to buy a vowel, Alex.  What is E?

Bobby5280

#8
It's very easy to see the motivations behind adopting a license plate payment system for drivers without a compatible toll tag. I'm all in favor of such a system as long as it can work reliably.

I also wonder what OTA would do if someone used a stolen or fake license plate for zooming through the turnpikes. A few years ago I had to clear up such a problem with OTA. Someone in Tulsa had a personalized tag on their vehicle that looked like mine and my PikePass account got hit with a toll violation. OTA immediately took off the charge when I called them.

Un-manned cash payment toll booths are far from having perfect operation.

I had to beg and plead my girlfriend to get a PikePass. She finally did so after enough snafus at the toll gates. We would often drive to OKC using her car since it's more comfortable than my pickup truck. Delays were annoying enough with the manned toll booths. Coming home late at night the staff was gone. Exact change required. The coin baskets would not always count coins correctly. So that would result in an extra 25¢, 50¢ or even 75¢ added to that toll. The bill changers didn't work well either. New dollar bills are lousy in those things. If I didn't run into some issue, odds were we would be stuck behind someone else running into a problem with the coin basket or bill changer. I saw quite a few people just give up and leave, having to take up their toll violation issue with OTA.

It's easy to figure that cutting jobs or "staffing efficiencies" are a big motivation to make toll booth payment on toll roads 100% un-manned.

Obviously there are the big positive reasons for it too. A fully automated toll booth is a lot cheaper to build than a manned toll gate or exact change toll gate with a bunch of lanes. Drivers can go through modern toll gates at full highway speed. They don't have to slow to a stop to pay the toll. There's no risk of creating all sorts of traffic back ups if they don't have all their change in order or if Cletus wants to argue with the toll booth attendant over the toll he should pay for his old truck and junky flat bed trailer. In the 1990's I was in a long jam because of some guy doing exactly that kind of thing. I opened a PikePass account the next day.

GeauxLSU

Last time my dad and me drove from Shreveport to Sapulpa, the buzzer went off at the southern plaza on the Indian Nation Turnpike. He said something to the toll lady and she said not to worry about and to continue on. Dad said he didn't think they even paid any attention to when the buzzer went off. We never got a bill in the mail that I know of.
I am a Roadgeek and a Fishgeek and a Tigergeek!

GeauxLSU

Quote from: jakeroot on January 08, 2017, 11:04:52 PM
Plus you can't use a basket. Bills require a booth attendant.

Have you never heard of a bill changer?
I am a Roadgeek and a Fishgeek and a Tigergeek!

jakeroot

Quote from: GeauxLSU on January 08, 2017, 11:10:15 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 08, 2017, 11:04:52 PM
Plus you can't use a basket. Bills require a booth attendant.

Have you never heard of a bill changer?

Not in the context of a toll booth.

GeauxLSU

Quote from: jakeroot on January 09, 2017, 02:26:13 AM
Quote from: GeauxLSU on January 08, 2017, 11:10:15 PM
Have you never heard of a bill changer?
ot in the context of a toll booth.

There are bill changers at the tollbooths on the Creek Turnpike (Future SH 364). We sometimes use it to get from US 75 to I-44 when going to and from Sapulpa.
I am a Roadgeek and a Fishgeek and a Tigergeek!

jakeroot

Quote from: GeauxLSU on January 09, 2017, 02:44:50 AM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 09, 2017, 02:26:13 AM
Quote from: GeauxLSU on January 08, 2017, 11:10:15 PM
Have you never heard of a bill changer?

Not in the context of a toll booth.

There are bill changers at the tollbooths on the Creek Turnpike (Future SH 364). We sometimes use it to get from US 75 to I-44 when going to and from Sapulpa.

Very well. Nevertheless, as the great Brandon once said,

Quote from: Brandon on January 08, 2017, 04:53:11 PM
it still needs to be collected and counted.

Labor costs have to be higher for coin/bill collections, because positions exist with those systems that don't exist with electronic systems. As long as you're fully investing in an electronic system, you may as well dump the archaic coin basket bullshit. As long as I can pay for something with my phone, we don't need to maintain cash payments. It's a shrinking market.

jeffandnicole

Generally speaking, they do take pennies.  Pennies just take up a lot of storage room and are a pain to count, so they're discouraged.  They're supposed to take them at the manned booths also, even though signs will say No Pennies.

Rarely does anyone have dollar or half-dollar coins.  So most people use nickels, dimes & quarters at the baskets.

There are bill changers on the AC Expressway as well at some of the unmanned toll booths.   https://goo.gl/maps/NLZ1Td6yjMH2

bmorrill

To clarify, I don't like the Susan B.s, but I do like the Sac.s. And $2 bills make a great deal of sense to me. What can you buy with a Dollar? :confused:

jakeroot

#16
Here's my ranking of currency, by how practical and easy they are to store and use:

1: My phone
2: debit/credit cards
7: checks
39: coins

jeffandnicole

Quote from: jakeroot on January 09, 2017, 10:59:27 PM
Here's my ranking of currency, by how practical and easy they are to store and use:

1: My phone
2: debit/credit cards
7: checks
39: coins

Checks even rated?

I don't write a single check out anymore on a regular basis.  As I've gotten work done on my house, I've written checks out to the various contractors, but that's it.  The last regular check was for my mortgage, and I've since switched to online payments.

jakeroot

Quote from: jeffandnicole on January 10, 2017, 02:59:43 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on January 09, 2017, 10:59:27 PM
Here's my ranking of currency, by how practical and easy they are to store and use:

1: My phone
2: debit/credit cards
7: checks
39: coins

Checks even rated?

I don't write a single check out anymore on a regular basis.  As I've gotten work done on my house, I've written checks out to the various contractors, but that's it.  The last regular check was for my mortgage, and I've since switched to online payments.

Oh no doubt. I haven't written a single check in my entire life. But it's more convenient than carrying around a bag of change, since you can just write out the amount.

jeffandnicole

Coins have a spot in a hidden cubbie area of my car.  In my house, coins are everywhere.  Eventually they make it to a jar someplace.

I do tend to use my credit card whenever possible, except for stores that have a pay-by-app function that I stop at regularly.



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