I found a way to shunpike on the Muskogee Turnpike

[bugo]

There is a tollbooth on the ramp from the WB (NB) Muskogee Turnpike to US 69.  There is no tollbooth from the EB Muskogee Turnpike to US 69.  About 1 mile north of the Muskogee/US 69 interchange, there is a service area in the middle of the turnpike.  Heading WB, instead of exiting onto US 69 and paying the toll, you can exit at the service area and turn around and head EB and exit onto US 69.  You only save 50 cents, but if you really want to stick it to the man you can avoid the toll.

[US71]

I would think that would cost extra gas to do that

[mightyace]

IIRC The current IRS mileage allowance is over 50 cents a mile and this figure is usually lower than the total operations cost per mile for most vehicles.  Therefore, it will cost you at least $1 in operating costs to save 50 cents in tolls plus the time for the detour make it not worth it except on principle.

[bugo]

It would be worth doing if you forgot to get change (the US 69 tollbooth is coin only.)

[mightyace]

It would be worth doing if you forgot to get change (the US 69 tollbooth is coin only.)

I guess so, or if you wanted to buy something at the service plaza.

[bugo]

It would be worth doing if you forgot to get change (the US 69 tollbooth is coin only.)

I guess so, or if you wanted to buy something at the service plaza.

Actually that's how I figured it out.  I stopped at the service plaza for a coke, and decided to take OK 51B and OK 51 through Porter and Coweta instead of the turnpike, so I went S on the turnpike and exited onto 69.

[US71]

You can also do that on EB Cherokee Turnpike. Stop at the service area, then backtrack to 412 at Rose/Leach   

[allniter89]

It would be worth doing if you forgot to get change (the US 69 tollbooth is coin only.)

When I drove a 18 wheeler and was caught at a unmanned toll booth without enough change to pay the toll I just threw in whatever change I had including pennys and drove on. Sometimes, depending on the location (state) I would get the green ok light, other times the red light would flash but I never got a ticket or anything....yet (lol). Maybe because by throwing in some change, they figured I at least tried to pay.

[bugo]

It would be worth doing if you forgot to get change (the US 69 tollbooth is coin only.)

When I drove a 18 wheeler and was caught at a unmanned toll booth without enough change to pay the toll I just threw in whatever change I had including pennys and drove on. Sometimes, depending on the location (state) I would get the green ok light, other times the red light would flash but I never got a ticket or anything....yet (lol). Maybe because by throwing in some change, they figured I at least tried to pay.

Once I threw my $1.50 into the automated mainline tollbooth on the Muskogee, and the green light didn't come on.  I said something to the tollbooth operator, and they said don't worry about it and go on through.  The bell went off and everything.  I don't think they even do anything if you don't pay, at least in Oklahoma.

[US71]

There was a time on the Cherokee that no one was manning the tollbooth late at night (like Midnight or 1am). I witnessed several cars slow down, then drive on when they noticed no one on duty. The alarms went off, but I never saw the police pull anyone over.

[bugo]

You can also do that on EB Cherokee Turnpike. Stop at the service area, then backtrack to 412 at Rose/Leach   

That's a good excuse to post this picture:

[Alps]

This may be worth splitting into a separate category, but I've never seen violators get prosecuted on the Garden State Parkway for blowing through tolls.  Usually, I think it's an honest effort to put the money in and the machine just doesn't recognize it.  The split topic could go two directions: a) No one seems to care if you run the toll, and b) Exact change machines suck.

[Roadgeek Adam]

This may be worth splitting into a separate category, but I've never seen violators get prosecuted on the Garden State Parkway for blowing through tolls.  Usually, I think it's an honest effort to put the money in and the machine just doesn't recognize it.  The split topic could go two directions: a) No one seems to care if you run the toll, and b) Exact change machines suck.

The Garden State Parkway's tolls have problems when in a cash reciepts / exact changes lane, its reading our EZ Pass in the glove compartment

[Brandon]

This may be worth splitting into a separate category, but I've never seen violators get prosecuted on the Garden State Parkway for blowing through tolls.  Usually, I think it's an honest effort to put the money in and the machine just doesn't recognize it.  The split topic could go two directions: a) No one seems to care if you run the toll, and b) Exact change machines suck.

Agreed that it could be a separate category.  The ISTHA has been cracking down on violators more often after years of ignoring them for the most part.  Now, they have signs up after the ORT lanes stating that one has 7 days to pay without a penalty.

[Truvelo]

A couple of years ago me and a colleague were in France and we had little change in Euros as the route we took didn't require the use of tolled Autoroutes. On the way back we took a wrong turn so we left at the next exit to turn round but the exit was a freeflow interchange onto a tolled section. We had no option but to continue to the next exit which only had an unmanned booth. It wouldn't accept our UK coins so we pressed the help button and said Parlez vous Anglais to the voice on the other end but the frog on the other end either couldn't or wouldn't speak English. In the end we managed to squeeze round the barrier which activated an alarm and sped off. Two years later and we've heard nothing about any tickets for toll evasion.

As for the shunpiking example in the original post, it depends on the economy of the car as to whether the extra distance would outweigh the saving of the toll. I wouldn't think it's worthwhile doing it in a Dodge Ram 3500

[rawmustard]

The Garden State Parkway's tolls have problems when in a cash reciepts / exact changes lane, its reading our EZ Pass in the glove compartment

You usually have to wrap an E-ZPass with foil or some other material which deflects radio waves in order to prevent it from being read.

[Chris]

A couple of years ago me and a colleague were in France and we had little change in Euros as the route we took didn't require the use of tolled Autoroutes.

You can pay tolls with regular credit cards in France. I have done so several times, the last couple times on A66, A75 Viaduc de Millau, A77 near Montargis and on A4 near Metz with a Master Card.

Back to the Muskogee Turnpike, is it actually worth shunpiking for a couple of bucks? Tolls in the American Midwest are incredibly cheap for European standards. $ 2.5 for 53 miles. In Europe, you can expect over $ 10 for such a distance.

[shoptb1]

Back to the Muskogee Turnpike, is it actually worth shunpiking for a couple of bucks? Tolls in the American Midwest are incredibly cheap for European standards. $ 2.5 for 53 miles. In Europe, you can expect over $ 10 for such a distance.

Agreed, and as roadgeeks, we should realize that they aren't built/maintained for free.  Paying tolls is something that allows us to have improvements to the entire state road system.

[D-Dey65]

On our way back from Long Island, my father wasn't able to get into the ticket lane on the New Jersey Turnpike, and was forced into the E-Z Pass lane. By the time we got to the south end of the Turnpike, he explained that he didn't have a ticket and told the guy at the booth what happened and paid anyway as if he did give them a ticket.

Agreed, and as roadgeeks, we should realize that they aren't built/maintained for free.  Paying tolls is something that allows us to have improvements to the entire state road system.

I never try to shunpike toll roads, or bridges, or whatever. I know there are a lot of people who try to do that on I-95 at the Millard P. Tydings Memorial Bridge by taking US 40. I've taken detours onto US 40 at the Susquehanna River too, but not because I want to avoid the tolls, but because Millard Tydings Memorial Bridge scares the crap out of me.

[mightyace]

The Garden State Parkway's tolls have problems when in a cash reciepts / exact changes lane, its reading our EZ Pass in the glove compartment

You usually have to wrap an E-ZPass with foil or some other material which deflects radio waves in order to prevent it from being read.

Or have the device that the rental car companies use.

When my brother and I rented a car over Thanksgiving, it had an EZ-Pass in the glove box.  It was placed in a metal casing that would disable it when closed and it could be slid open to make it active.

As it was from one of those transponder rental companies and the Pennsy Turnpike has nearly the same rates for toll versus EZ-Pass, it didn't make sense to use it and pay the fixed rental fee plus possible daily charges for 5 days on top of the tolls when we only needed to use the Northeast Extension twice (once up and once back).

[allniter89]

You can also do that on EB Cherokee Turnpike. Stop at the service area, then backtrack to 412 at Rose/Leach   

That's a good excuse to post this picture:

Hmmm, I wonder if the tpk planned it like that or just a coincidence? Its a good idea tho.
I dont have a problem paying tolls either but usually tolls for a 18 wheeler are 2-3 times a car rate and thats alot of change for a unmanned booth!!

[Scott5114]

One time I got off the Turner Turnpike eastbound at Wellston/OK-66. The toll there is 50¢. I decided to try tossing in a Kennedy half-dollar. The sign said it would take it...but it just went GIZZZZZZZOOWWWWWWWW and the red light stayed on. I thought "Fuck it, they can pull an image if they want to prosecute me" and drove through. Never heard anything about it.

I try to avoid toll roads here in OK, as a combination of practicality–right now my bank account has $1.98 in it so I can't really afford toll roads–and also on principle–ODOT roads are generally higher quality than the toll roads. OTA is well known for emitting horrible affronts to good sign design like the photo that Jeremy posted, and this one (by Eric Stuve):



Of course, it's not saying much that ODOT is better, but I digress. Another OTA practice I disapprove of is the concept of crosspledging. That means income and outstanding bonds for each toll road are not kept separate, but glommed together into one systemwide total. This means that as long as one toll road hasn't been paid off, tolls can be kept on all 10 toll roads. If all toll roads are to be paid off shortly, all OTA has to do to keep tolling is build another toll road. The Turner and Rogers turnpikes would have been paid off and untolled long ago, were it not for crosspledging. Instead tolls are still being collected, and as a result, proceeds from the folks on I-44 are being siphoned off and are paying off the Chickasaw Turnpike, which is mainly used by coyotes, who are notorious for not paying tolls.

[US71]

Back to the Muskogee Turnpike, is it actually worth shunpiking for a couple of bucks? Tolls in the American Midwest are incredibly cheap for European standards. $ 2.5 for 53 miles. In Europe, you can expect over $ 10 for such a distance.

Generally, not. Turnpikes are, if nothing else, expedient. The free alternate for the Cherokee Turnpike, for example, is narrow and windy.

[bugo]

Back to the Muskogee Turnpike, is it actually worth shunpiking for a couple of bucks?

Probably not.  But it's funny that you can do it.  The OTA did a pretty good job of preventing shunpiking but they let this one slip through.

Tolls in the American Midwest are incredibly cheap for European standards. $ 2.5 for 53 miles. In Europe, you can expect over $ 10 for such a distance.

The tolls were recently raised to $3 to drive the length of the Muskogee Turnpike.  But I don't mind it because the speed limit is 75 and traffic is usually pretty light (especially south ("east") of Muskogee.)

[bugo]

Back to the Muskogee Turnpike, is it actually worth shunpiking for a couple of bucks? Tolls in the American Midwest are incredibly cheap for European standards. $ 2.5 for 53 miles. In Europe, you can expect over $ 10 for such a distance.

Generally, not. Turnpikes are, if nothing else, expedient. The free alternate for the Cherokee Turnpike, for example, is narrow and windy.

The closest thing to a free alternative to the Muskogee Turnpike is US 64 to US 69 to OK 51B to OK 72 to OK 51.  Or you could use the shunpiking method I mentioned and bypass Muskogee.  At any rate, the turnpike is probably twice as fast.