Toll Plazas: An Endangered Species?

[Henry]

With the opening of the Intercounty Connector, the Triangle Expressway and other toll roads that do not have a traditional tollbooth/toll plaza anywhere along their routes, one has to wonder if the tried-and-true highway staple is soon to become extinct. Sure, it is nice to speed along the entire length of a new toll road and not have to stop (that is, until you have to exit onto a local arterial), but still, the one thing that might scare potential users away is the fact that they'd have to pay a steep fee if their cars are not equipped with EZ-Pass (or similar tolling method) compatible transponders. Any thoughts on this?

[Scott5114]

I think we will probably see toll plazas stick around in some form for quite a while on long-distance roads at least. I imagine the ORT setup that OTA and ISTHA use (thru lanes for Pikepass/EZ-Tag, bear right for cash lanes) will become even more of a standard than it already is. Toll-by-plate/bill-by-mail works fine on roads geared to the commuter that will only occasionally see out-of-town traffic, but on long-distance roads like the Oklahoma turnpike system, the Kansas Turnpike, I-88, etc. it becomes less likely that your "typical" traveler will have the tag, making 100% toll-by-plate and the resultant fees unworkable.

[1995hoo]

I think Scott5114 is probably right. The roads I've encountered that use exclusively electronic toll collection are all roads on which the vast majority of the traffic is local. The one POTENTIAL exception to that is the Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike, which is an important connector for traffic heading further south to the Keys, but even there I would wager that over 90% of the drivers are Florida residents simply because of where the road is located. I think I read somewhere that Florida wants to expand the all-electronic setup to the full length of the Turnpike; if so, that might be somewhat of a situation where an all-ETC facility isn't as much of a "commuter road," but because of Florida's location it seems that there would be a lot less of an issue with high volumes of out-of-state/non—"transponder traffic" than you'd see on, say, the Northeastern Turnpike Complex.

I found myself speculating on this issue earlier this fall when I was pondering Virginia's proposal to toll I-95. A friend of mine was running for state senate in Northern Virginia and he asked me to give him a primer on the issue. One of the points I thought worthy of explanation was the toll-collection question because, naturally, one of the reason why many people object to tolls is that they envision lengthy backups caused by toll plazas (due, no doubt, to memories of insanely long tailbacks at toll plazas between DC and New York at Thanksgiving over the years). Virginia's proposal to toll I-95 is subject to FHWA approval, so I figure the odds are that the FHWA will also have to approve the toll-collection setup as well. I found myself finding it inconceivable that the FHWA would permit an all-ETC setup on such a major thru route, ESPECIALLY when the road serves a massive amount of traffic from states that do not use the same ETC system (E-ZPass) as Virginia does (i.e., the Carolinas, Georgia, and Florida, all of which are on I-95, are not E-ZPass states).

I do think the "traditional" toll plaza is dead and that the hybrid setup Scott5114 describes will become the standard on most roads that serve a large amount of non-local users. I haven't been up the New Jersey Turnpike too often in the past few years, but the times I've gone that way I've found that the new Exit 1 plaza, with the dedicated E-ZPass carriageway, has been a massive improvement over the old days. It simply makes absolutely no sense to build a NEW toll plaza that doesn't contain dedicated ETC lanes. I understand the problem, expense, and disruption of retrofitting older toll plazas, so I suspect that we won't see those disappear for quite some time.

One thing I really would like to see, though, is some sort of better standard for marking ETC-only lanes at the old-style plazas. I know the new MUTCD contains some guidance on marking toll lanes, but I seem to recall finding no particular guidance for an "at-a-glance" indication that a lane accepts ETC ONLY and does not accept cash. I'm thinking of things like the flashing yellow light used in New York, New Jersey, and some other states to indicate an "E-ZPass Only" lane. Having some sort of indicator that lets the ETC-user know at a glance which is the dedicated lane is helpful. Part of my desire for a standard for this sort of thing comes from experience on the Dulles Toll Road here in Virginia, which accepts E-ZPass at every lane. The purple sign accordingly appears at every lane, but VDOT doesn't use the flashing yellow light. I also remember the days before I got a Smart Tag (Virginia's predecessor to E-ZPass) and it was downright scary when I would use a toll plaza that had no Smart Tag—only lane and I had to stop in the toll machine lane to pay the toll and I'd look in the rearview and see some guy in a Ford Excursion or something who clearly had a Smart Tag bearing down on me at high speed because he didn't expect to stop at the tollbooth. It kind of surprises me that we don't have more crashes caused by that sort of thing, or by cash-payers going into the ETC lane and then stopping. People blow through the Tysons toll plaza on the Dulles Toll Road at 50 mph or more (speed limit is 35) and I saw a carload of foreigners stop in one of those lanes once trying to figure out how to pay.....scary shit!!!! Yeah, the guy coming up behind has to be prepared for someone to stop, but it's still scary when it happens.

I used to think there ought to be some level of standardization of the arrangement of ETC and cash lanes, but I've come to understand why that's not necessarily practical because of the need to account for things like nearby interchanges and such.

[roadman]

One thing I really would like to see, though, is some sort of better standard for marking ETC-only lanes at the old-style plazas. I know the new MUTCD contains some guidance on marking toll lanes, but I seem to recall finding no particular guidance for an "at-a-glance" indication that a lane accepts ETC ONLY and does not accept cash. I'm thinking of things like the flashing yellow light used in New York, New Jersey, and some other states to indicate an "E-ZPass Only" lane.


The 2009 MUTCD allows the use of flashing yellow beacons to supplement signs on toll plaza canopies for ETC only lanes.  See Section 2F.13 and Figure 2F-9.

[Duke87]

Toll-by-plate/bill-by-mail works fine on roads geared to the commuter that will only occasionally see out-of-town traffic, but on long-distance roads like the Oklahoma turnpike system, the Kansas Turnpike, I-88, etc. it becomes less likely that your "typical" traveler will have the tag, making 100% toll-by-plate and the resultant fees unworkable.

Unless we get to the point of having a national standard for tags.

[relaxok]

Unless we get to the point of having a national standard for tags.

God I hope that happens - make it a federal decree

[kphoger]

When I first used the Camino Colombia Toll Road in south Texas (State highway 255) back in 2009, I could pay cash at a toll booth.  After that, they removed the toll booth.  This highway certainly does not cater to 'local' traffic:  the road was built for international traffic between the USA and México, especially 18-wheelers, and it runs through the middle of nowhere as a bypass around the city of Laredo.

If you have a TxTag, you're good; I, being from Kansas, am not about to buy a TxTag.  But there is a program called a 'day pass', whereby I call the TxTag office to set up an account (I think it's a $20 minimus).  I can add whatever cars I want to that account, and all I have to do is make sure the license plate information etc. is up to date.  I did this in 2010 with two vehicles (one was ours and one was not), round-trip, and then again in 2011; I was even able to remove one vehicle from the account and add a different one.  There are overhead cameras that take a snapshot of our license plates, then our account is looked up in the system, and the toll is subtracted from the day pass acount.  It takes a little bit of planning, but it means I don't have to buy a TxTag.

Unfortunately, the city I really need to bypass is Austin, TX.  There's this awesome new bypass around the east side but, alas! one must have a TxTag.  No plan B.

[realjd]

I could see toll booths going away in the next 10 years. Toll-by-plate + transponders for locals is the way things are going.

One of the big reasons why we don't see much interoperability is that EZ-Pass uses an older, more expensive technology, and the fact that they are a large organization full of various political interests makes it hard for them to modernize.

Florida wants to add interoperability between EZ-Pass and SunPass/E-Pass at the toll-by-plate level. An EZ-Pass user going through a SunPass toll gantry will be looked up through their license plate and their EZ-Pass account will be billed directly. The big thing stopping it is that EZ-Pass still has transponder activated gates on their toll booths and refuses to remove them, which makes toll-by-plate reciprocity on their roads impossible. This is where I think things are headed though.

[1995hoo]

One thing I really would like to see, though, is some sort of better standard for marking ETC-only lanes at the old-style plazas. I know the new MUTCD contains some guidance on marking toll lanes, but I seem to recall finding no particular guidance for an "at-a-glance" indication that a lane accepts ETC ONLY and does not accept cash. I'm thinking of things like the flashing yellow light used in New York, New Jersey, and some other states to indicate an "E-ZPass Only" lane.

The 2009 MUTCD allows the use of flashing yellow beacons to supplement signs on toll plaza canopies for ETC only lanes.  See Section 2F.13 and Figure 2F-9.

Thanks. I haven't scrutinized it as closely as many of you do, so I must have just overlooked it. The flashing yellow light is clearly optional, which I suppose is fine; I simply think that having a bunch of identical little signs that the motorist unfamiliar with the area is expected to read at a glance is counterproductive. As with everything else, some states do a far better job of these things than others and I find it frustrating how other states think they have to reinvent the wheel.

....

Florida wants to add interoperability between EZ-Pass and SunPass/E-Pass at the toll-by-plate level. An EZ-Pass user going through a SunPass toll gantry will be looked up through their license plate and their EZ-Pass account will be billed directly. The big thing stopping it is that EZ-Pass still has transponder activated gates on their toll booths and refuses to remove them, which makes toll-by-plate reciprocity on their roads impossible. This is where I think things are headed though.

The gates are more of a toll-agency specific thing rather than an "E-ZPass thing." Not all E-ZPass member agencies use the gates, and some have open-road tolling lanes available. I don't pretend to have driven on every facility that accepts E-ZPass, but my observation has been that the majority of the gated lanes are on Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority facilities where they converted the old "Toll Machine" lanes to E-ZPass lanes. I've always assumed (with no confirmation) that the reason for leaving the gates up was (a) to enforce the speed limit through the toll plaza and (b) to prevent people from cheating by going through the E-ZPass lane without an E-ZPass. Doesn't seem to have stopped other jurisdictions from either removing the gates or leaving them in the up position (on the Dulles Toll Road, for example, at the ramp tolls often the lanes that accept cash have the gates in the up position, regardless of whether they're manned or toll machines).

But you're absolutely right that the gated lanes are one of the potential problems for interoperability. I just thought it was important to clarify that it's not a problem caused by the E-ZPass system per se.


(BTW, I tend to say "toll machine" lanes instead of "exact change" or "exact toll" lanes for two reasons. The first is that the toll plazas in New York City used to have orange signs reading "Toll Machine" for the lanes that took exact change or a token. The other is that in a very few places I've seen "exact toll" lanes that used manned booths; the main example was on the Verrazano Bridge in the late 1980s/early 1990s after they went to one-way tolls but prior to the E-ZPass era, where the lanes marked in green were manned lanes–needed because of the amount of the toll was high enough to make toll machines impractical–and you were supposed to pay it in the exact amount using bills, coins, or tokens. Didn't stop the idiot in front of us from trying to use a $50 one time, according to the toll collector.)

[vdeane]

NY probably won't go all-transponder for a very long time, if ever.  The bridges across the St. Lawrence won't even take EZ-pass and just started accepting credit cards recently.  Plus the Bridge Authority still uses gate arms.

From what I've heard, NJ will be switching within 10 years.

I've never understood what's so "modern" about the non-EZ-pass transponders, but maybe that's because NY can't have new things.  For me the idea of paying electronically at all is new because my parents refuse to get a transponder.  I'm not sure how these "modern" systems handle trailers, something that is very easy with EZ-pass (just switch tags).  Factor in that all electronic tolls are one of many modern things that assume that the person who registered the car is the one who's driving it (I can't even conceive of that being true 100% of the time for anyone) and you get issues.

[SidS1045]

Massachusetts will *never* give them up.  Too many state jobs at stake.  If you've ever wondered why Massachusetts toll booths don't have exact-change lanes, now you know.

[bulldog1979]

And then you have cases like the Mackinac Bridge in the middle of Michigan. Since the state doesn't have any toll roads, and no plans to add any, I doubt that the Mackinac Bridge Authority feels any need to implement ETC. They have had commuter tokens and cards and a dedicated for commuters, but they still handle the majority of their traffic through cold, hard cash.

[Brandon]

The big thing stopping it is that EZ-Pass still has transponder activated gates on their toll booths and refuses to remove them, which makes toll-by-plate reciprocity on their roads impossible. This is where I think things are headed though.

They do?  ISTHA has no gates that I know of, and the entire system is now ORT.

[realjd]

The gates are more of a toll-agency specific thing rather than an "E-ZPass thing." Not all E-ZPass member agencies use the gates, and some have open-road tolling lanes available. I don't pretend to have driven on every facility that accepts E-ZPass, but my observation has been that the majority of the gated lanes are on Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority facilities where they converted the old "Toll Machine" lanes to E-ZPass lanes. I've always assumed (with no confirmation) that the reason for leaving the gates up was (a) to enforce the speed limit through the toll plaza and (b) to prevent people from cheating by going through the E-ZPass lane without an E-ZPass. Doesn't seem to have stopped other jurisdictions from either removing the gates or leaving them in the up position (on the Dulles Toll Road, for example, at the ramp tolls often the lanes that accept cash have the gates in the up position, regardless of whether they're manned or toll machines).

But you're absolutely right that the gated lanes are one of the potential problems for interoperability. I just thought it was important to clarify that it's not a problem caused by the E-ZPass system per se.

And that's the problem. Because of the varied political interests, EZ-Pass is slow to innovate, even if that "innovation" is something simple like removing gates. And if even one EZ-Pass member is unwilling to remove toll gates, it blocks the entire EZ-Pass organization from doing toll-by-plate reciprocity.

I've never understood what's so "modern" about the non-EZ-pass transponders, but maybe that's because NY can't have new things.  For me the idea of paying electronically at all is new because my parents refuse to get a transponder.  I'm not sure how these "modern" systems handle trailers, something that is very easy with EZ-pass (just switch tags).  Factor in that all electronic tolls are one of many modern things that assume that the person who registered the car is the one who's driving it (I can't even conceive of that being true 100% of the time for anyone) and you get issues.

Modern toll gantries have axle-counting devices, usually inductor coils (like at a stoplight). It automatically detects and bills based on the number of axles.

Toll-by-plate assumes that the registered owner drives, but movable transponders don't. And keep in mind that tolls are civil fees. Like parking tickets, it's accepted that the owner of the car is responsible for them in some circumstances.

What makes newer toll transponders more "modern" is primarily lower cost. Most EZ-Pass states charge monthly account fees, charge for the transponder, etc. For the SunPass Mini stickers in Florida, they're essentially free. The scanners on the gantries tend to be cheaper as well, lowering system cost overall. Also, reliability is higher with newer transponder technologies, and there are no batteries to replace.

[Duke87]

Unfortunately, the city I really need to bypass is Austin, TX.  There's this awesome new bypass around the east side but, alas! one must have a TxTag.  No plan B.

What happens if one uses the road without a TxTag? Surely they also toll by plate?

I seem to recall hearing a rumor a few years ago that Texas' toll by plate systems only recognized Texas plates and that therefore out of state drivers could use those roads for free. Though I do also seem to recall hearing that that was temporary until they added more plate images to the database.

Related, it's been confirmed empirically that the toll on the new A-25 bridge in Montreal does not recognize New York plates (Doug can tell you about that).

The gates are more of a toll-agency specific thing rather than an "E-ZPass thing." Not all E-ZPass member agencies use the gates, and some have open-road tolling lanes available. I don't pretend to have driven on every facility that accepts E-ZPass, but my observation has been that the majority of the gated lanes are on Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority facilities where they converted the old "Toll Machine" lanes to E-ZPass lanes. I've always assumed (with no confirmation) that the reason for leaving the gates up was (a) to enforce the speed limit through the toll plaza and (b) to prevent people from cheating by going through the E-ZPass lane without an E-ZPass.

(c) because the gates have always been there and so inertia keeps them there.

This is the MTA we're talking about. They're always 10-15 years behind the rest of the world on anything technology-related, and they need to test and experiment with the 10-15 year old technology when they adapt it as though it's new and unproven. They recently removed the gates on the Henry Hudson Bridge as a "pilot" for plans to eventually remove them everywhere if it works out. Nevermind that many other agencies removed them years ago and get along just fine without them, we need to test it first.

Of course, I suspect union-related issues have also contributed to the gates not being removed. After all, it'll cost the "tollbooth toughguys" their jobs!

[kphoger]

Oohhhh..... You're right, I do see a 'Pay by Mail' rate listed for Texas toll road 45 around Austin.
Now the question remains:  Is it worth the toll?  I shall investigate for future trip planning.....

[vdeane]

And that's the problem. Because of the varied political interests, EZ-Pass is slow to innovate, even if that "innovation" is something simple like removing gates. And if even one EZ-Pass member is unwilling to remove toll gates, it blocks the entire EZ-Pass organization from doing toll-by-plate reciprocity.

Could they do it on a per-road basis?  The Thruway can certainly handle toll-by-plate; they already do it in the case of EZ-pass malfunctions.  On the other hand, you have stuff like the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.

[hbelkins]

Unfortunately, the city I really need to bypass is Austin, TX.  There's this awesome new bypass around the east side but, alas! one must have a TxTag.  No plan B.

What happens if one uses the road without a TxTag? Surely they also toll by plate?

I seem to recall hearing a rumor a few years ago that Texas' toll by plate systems only recognized Texas plates and that therefore out of state drivers could use those roads for free. Though I do also seem to recall hearing that that was temporary until they added more plate images to the database.

I drove on the GW Bush Turnpike near Dallas a couple of years ago. I'm still waiting for my bill in the mail.

[1995hoo]

And that's the problem. Because of the varied political interests, EZ-Pass is slow to innovate, even if that "innovation" is something simple like removing gates. And if even one EZ-Pass member is unwilling to remove toll gates, it blocks the entire EZ-Pass organization from doing toll-by-plate reciprocity.

Could they do it on a per-road basis?  The Thruway can certainly handle toll-by-plate; they already do it in the case of EZ-pass malfunctions.  On the other hand, you have stuff like the Newburgh-Beacon Bridge.

Of course they can, and in fact they already do. The Intercounty Connector in Maryland is an all-ETC facility in an E-ZPass state. E-ZPass users pay the regular toll; non E-ZPass drivers receive a bill in the mail with a surcharge of 150%. The toll is variable at different times of day and the surcharge reflects the rate then in effect. (I believe, but have not bothered to confirm because I have an E-ZPass, that it means that if the toll at that time of day is $4.00, the toll-by-plate customer is billed for $10.00, i.e. $4.00 plus 150% of $4.00, which is $6.00. When I first read about it I thought the policy was that the toll-by-plate customer pays 150% of the regular toll, which in this example would be $6.00. I'm not positive which way they calculate it and I'm just not motivated to find out.)

[DAL764]

Unless we get to the point of having a national standard for tags.

God I hope that happens - make it a federal decree

How high is the chance of that happening though? Granted, I don't really follow things about the different US toll systems that closely, but would a nation-wide system based on E-ZPass not be the easies option to apply, considering its rather broad use as is? Though the financial desires of all the different operators and states is probably what is keeping a US-wide system from being implemented.

As a side, how would things be handled for rental cars. I still have the plan (or rather, impossible dream) of going on a 3-month road trip through the US and clinch as many miles as possible, but I also don't feel like returning my rental car only to receive a 4-digit bill for tag plate-based tolls.

[kphoger]

I've read reports of people driving a rental car along a no-cash toll road, where the toll authority sent the bill to the rental car agency who was then unable to forward it to the driver.  By the time the person finally received the bill, it was so long past due that it was 3 digits.

[mightyace]

^^^
The last time I rented a car was two years ago in Philadelphia.  The car had an EZ-Pass tag in a metal enclosure where the tag slid out on a tray.

It had instructions that said to use it open the tray and otherwise keep it shut.  Even though my brother and I were driving the Northeast Extension, we decided not to use it.  At the time, it would have been more costly as the PTC had no surcharge for cash at the time and Hertz would charge me a couple of dollars a day to use it.  Since I was renting the car for 5 or 6 days, it would have been silly to pay $20 instead of $10, just so I could have Hertz bill it for me.

I think most rental car companies have such things in areas with many toll facilities.

But, that doesn't help if the rental car comes from outside such an area or, like me, has the transponder deactivated.

[PurdueBill]

^^^
The last time I rented a car was two years ago in Philadelphia.  The car had an EZ-Pass tag in a metal enclosure where the tag slid out on a tray.

It had instructions that said to use it open the tray and otherwise keep it shut.  Even though my brother and I were driving the Northeast Extension, we decided not to use it.  At the time, it would have been more costly as the PTC had no surcharge for cash at the time and Hertz would charge me a couple of dollars a day to use it.  Since I was renting the car for 5 or 6 days, it would have been silly to pay $20 instead of $10, just so I could have Hertz bill it for me.

I think most rental car companies have such things in areas with many toll facilities.

But, that doesn't help if the rental car comes from outside such an area or, like me, has the transponder deactivated.

The charge per day that the rental companies (or a contractor on their behalf) charge even if you use their EZPass for one transaction on one day is outrageous.  When I have a rental car in an EZPass area, I bring my own tag, add the rental car to the account, and use my tag.  Mine is a MassPike tag and they even have explicit instructions online about adding and removing rental cars from your account; it's not taboo or anything.  The tag provided with the car has been kept closed, removed from the windshield if possible (because the box is usually held on with the same velcro strips that the tag itself would use), and put back after it's not needed and before returning the car.  Silly to pay $2 or $2.50 per day extra...

In Dallas, Texas, on the other hand, one time last year I had a rental car and I simply avoided the tag-only roads.  In the one case, it was simply a matter of using the frontage road (and managing to hit successive greens) vs. using the actual tollway.  Not worth a ding from the rental company....