Elimination of cash tolls on Houston toll roads

[FreewayDan]

This weekend, the ship channel bridge protion of the Sam Houston Tollway is shut down.  At 5:00 a.m. Monday morning, the bridge will reopen, but when it reopens, it will be all-electronic only: EZ Tag, TxTag, TollTag or (wait for it) the new version of EZ Tag powered by BancPass, that can be reloaded with cash.
https://www.bancpass.com/faq/
http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2016/01/07/133213/ship-channel-toll-bridge-is-about-to-convert-to-all-electronic-tolling-2/

The next toll road to go all-electronic will be the Hardy Toll Road.  Some of the on-ramps to southbound Hardy have already been converted to EZ Tag only.  Eight years earlier, FBCTRA had converted its segment of the Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road to all-electronic.

[The Ghostbuster]

I think cash tolls should become obsolete worldwide.

[noelbotevera]

I think cash tolls should become obsolete worldwide.

Let's hope you're being sarcastic.

If you're not, do consider out-of-state non-roadgeeks, or people who don't have EZ-Pass.

[oscar]

Not mentioned in the article, but will there be pay-by-plate for travelers without qualifying transponders?

I've driven some Texas toll roads before I got a TxTag. Those roads had a pay-by-plate option, but my Virginia plate was never billed.

[Revive 755]

http://www.houstonpublicmedia.org/articles/news/2016/01/07/133213/ship-channel-toll-bridge-is-about-to-convert-to-all-electronic-tolling-2/

Certainly does not sound like there is an official bill by plate, pay online within x days (as done in Illinois), or set up a temporary bill by plate account option (as the Dallas area has) based on that article, nor am I finding an easy option for out of towners on the Harris County Toll Authority's website.

[gets up on soapbox] Since they have very limited interoperability with transponders from other toll agencies (such as EZPass or IPASS), they ought to be required to have an easy option for out of towners, or Harris County ought to be denied any federal funding.

[nolia_boi504]

I hope $5 violation fees are not added to each toll as FBCTRA does. It's really a pain for out of state visitors and is a hindrance for using the toll road.

Nexus 5X

[Chris]

From 2000 to 2015, $ 358 million in unpaid tolls/fees/fines have been accumulated in Harris County. But the actual unpaid tolls are only $ 22 million, the rest are fees and fines, mostly by HCTRA.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-racks-up-358M-in-unpaid-tolls-6748471.php

[US 41]

I flat out refuse to take toll roads that don't have a cash option. Half the time when toll roads get rid of their cash booths the tolls increase, which is very odd since it is supposedly cheaper to use cameras.

I know that on TX 255, the cash option was $2. Now there is no cash option and it is $4 plus the $1.15 pay by mail fee. Yes you can get a day pass or whatever, but most out of state drivers aren't going to look up toll roads before they go on their trips. I love paying tolls with cash because I'm done with it and  I don't have to worry about fees later on.

[The Ghostbuster]

noelbotevera, I was not being sarcastic, I was being serious. I know not every country has the technology to do so, but the ones that do should convert to all-electronic tolls. Cash tolls and toll booths as they were known on 20th century toll roads are no longer needed.

[vdeane]

noelbotevera, I was not being sarcastic, I was being serious. I know not every country has the technology to do so, but the ones that do should convert to all-electronic tolls. Cash tolls and toll booths as they were known on 20th century toll roads are no longer needed.

Some people don't like paying a surcharge because the toll road uses ProprietaryOnlyAcceptedHerePass rather than whatever they have.  I'm one of them.  Perhaps you should talk to the residents in Montreal who are forced to avoid A-25 because of this.

[Bobby5280]

I don't know what kind of drugs these toll road agency executives are smoking with all kinds of incompatible tag reading systems. It really seems very idiotic and would only lead to increased toll violations or long distance travelers taking surface streets or bypassing the entire area if possible. If they're not already trying to do so, these toll road agencies need to be working on a cooperative effort to arrive at a single nation-wide standard.

I have an Oklahoma PikePass tag. It does work on Dallas area toll roads. But I can't stick a TxTag on my windshield to use on Houston area toll roads without getting double-billed by PikePass and TxTag for the Dallas area toll roads. I don't go to Houston often enough to get their unique tag.

[DNAguy]

As someone who works on the ship channel and close to this bridge, this couldn't have come soon enough. I'm sorry, but its 2015 and eztags / Txtags should be required. Hell, make everyone in the state get one. imbed the chip in your registration. Its not that hard really.

In just the limited sample size of two days, it has made a significant impact. When I leave work I don't see an elevated parking lot anymore. Now its more of an elevated Katy freeway/I10 west.

Progress!

Seriously though. The situation had gotten so bad on that bridge, that it spilled over onto 225 and its westbound feeder in the afternoon. You'd see a parking lot of cars trying to turn onto the bridge that would extent for more than a mile. Not to mention there are many plants with private rds that access 225 there that are essentially cut off from leaving due to the back up.

Now can you imagine a significant environmental release from Shell with that many people in the line of fire?! Maybe TxDOT & HCTRA should take that into consideration and add direct connectors with the new bridge ASAP.

[jbnv]

Why do we need proprietary toll systems in the first place? Take a picture of the license plate. Connect to an online payment system such as PayPal. If the plate is connected to an account, assess the toll. Otherwise mail a bill to the driver.

(Cynical answer: The toll authorities can make lots of money by fining the heck out of you. See quote below. Or see the bills that Illinois sent me when my now-ex-wife decided to jump the tolls.)

From 2000 to 2015, $ 358 million in unpaid tolls/fees/fines have been accumulated in Harris County. But the actual unpaid tolls are only $ 22 million, the rest are fees and fines, mostly by HCTRA.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-racks-up-358M-in-unpaid-tolls-6748471.php

[noelbotevera]

The question and answer is simple, but none of you grasp the concept. Do you care about out of state drivers, who DON'T have EZPass, to use the toll roads? If you don't, please, reconsider your life, because EVERYONE should have a fair chance to use a toll road. Just because they don't have a stupid piece of plastic doesn't mean they can't drive a toll road.

[kkt]

Why do we need proprietary toll systems in the first place? Take a picture of the license plate. Connect to an online payment system such as PayPal. If the plate is connected to an account, assess the toll. Otherwise mail a bill to the driver.

(Cynical answer: The toll authorities can make lots of money by fining the heck out of you. See quote below. Or see the bills that Illinois sent me when my now-ex-wife decided to jump the tolls.)

From 2000 to 2015, $ 358 million in unpaid tolls/fees/fines have been accumulated in Harris County. But the actual unpaid tolls are only $ 22 million, the rest are fees and fines, mostly by HCTRA.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-racks-up-358M-in-unpaid-tolls-6748471.php

Because the companies are private and contribute to lawmaker's election campaigns.

[Bobby5280]

Toll road agencies don't make all that much money off of violations. A few years ago I spoke with someone at Oklahoma Turnpike Authority over a violation dispute. Their cameras caught a car with what looked like my license plate going through the Creek Turnpike in Tulsa, but I drive a pickup truck and hadn't been to Tulsa in months at that time. I asked how often violations happen. The answer was hundreds of violations everyday on Oklahoma's turnpike system and that they don't have the manpower and resources needed to collect on all of them. Most of the violations are failed tag readings anyway.

IMHO, none of these turnpike systems are immune to re-doing their whole tag scanning systems. A decade ago I had one of those Pike Pass tags that looked like a thin soap bar. I kind of liked them since they were portable and could be used in more than one vehicle (even though we weren't supposed to do that). OTA totally revamped their tag reading system to some thin (and cheap) thing that sticks to the inside of the windshield.

If the OTA could do that here in Oklahoma then I see no reason for the various toll road authorities in Texas and elsewhere not to do the same and arrive at a universally inter-operable system nationwide.

Which turnpike authority has the most compatible/inter-operable tag system? Oklahoma's Pike Pass works on the Kansas Turnpike and North Texas Tollway Authority toll roads in the Dallas Fort Worth area, but not on toll roads in Austin, Houston or elsewhere in Texas. If I recall correctly Oklahoma and Florida were supposed to have an inter-operability agreement for Pike Pass and Sun Pass, but I don't know if that has been finalized or what.

It would make sense if toll road authorities with the least amount of compatibility with other tag systems (and smallest amount of toll road mileage) should be pressured to change to a more compatible system.

[The Ghostbuster]

How much would it cost to interconnect all of the electronic toll systems in existence? The odds of making a universal electronic toll collection system seems unlikely, so this would be the next best thing. I must admit, I have never paid a road toll in my life, since I have never driven a car. Yet, I still think all tolls should be collected electronically.

[jbnv]

The question and answer is simple, but none of you grasp the concept. Do you care about out of state drivers, who DON'T have EZPass, to use the toll roads? If you don't, please, reconsider your life, because EVERYONE should have a fair chance to use a toll road. Just because they don't have a stupid piece of plastic doesn't mean they can't drive a toll road.

Oh, out-of-state drivers can drive the roads. They can drive right through the electronic toll gates. The question is what the governing toll agency will do (and is empowered by law to do) to collect the toll.

How much would it cost to interconnect all of the electronic toll systems in existence? The odds of making a universal electronic toll collection system seems unlikely, so this would be the next best thing.

I would be surprised if nobody in Silicon Valley is working on this. There could easily be an app for that. Snap pictures of your plate, add your credit card, and drive. It's definitely not a problem of technology.

[rte66man]

From 2000 to 2015, $ 358 million in unpaid tolls/fees/fines have been accumulated in Harris County. But the actual unpaid tolls are only $ 22 million, the rest are fees and fines, mostly by HCTRA.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-racks-up-358M-in-unpaid-tolls-6748471.php

Last year I was in Houston and needed to get from IAH to Katy.  I took the Sam Houston toll road there and back.  No HCTRA tag and no cash option.  Got a bill in the mail for the $6.00 toll PLUS a $30 fine. 

[DNAguy]

The question and answer is simple, but none of you grasp the concept. Do you care about out of state drivers, who DON'T have EZPass, to use the toll roads? If you don't, please, reconsider your life, because EVERYONE should have a fair chance to use a toll road. Just because they don't have a stupid piece of plastic doesn't mean they can't drive a toll road.

I'm sorry I don't posses the incredible intellect that you do to understand the "concept".

And no, I do not care about out of state drivers. Why should I? Most if not almost all the traffic on the toll road is local. Those people voted (way back when) to create HCTRA. Because HCTRA is a LOCAL pseudo gov. agency, it is there to serve local interests. Out of state drivers can take the interstate.... the part of the system they have paid towards.

What does "fair" have anything to do with it?

[jeffandnicole]

From 2000 to 2015, $ 358 million in unpaid tolls/fees/fines have been accumulated in Harris County. But the actual unpaid tolls are only $ 22 million, the rest are fees and fines, mostly by HCTRA.

http://www.houstonchronicle.com/news/houston-texas/houston/article/Harris-County-racks-up-358M-in-unpaid-tolls-6748471.php

Last year I was in Houston and needed to get from IAH to Katy.  I took the Sam Houston toll road there and back.  No HCTRA tag and no cash option.  Got a bill in the mail for the $6.00 toll PLUS a $30 fine. 

So, what you're saying is you ignored this: https://goo.gl/maps/VebfTJoQ29w

What you're also saying is that you thought you could get away without having to pay a toll at all, and decided not to check out their webpage ( https://www.hctra.org/eztagstore/violatorLoginDisplay.do ) which would have provided you with the ability to call them to make a payment prior to the invoice being sent to you.

We'll say that you didn't realize the tollway didn't accept cash payments.  You drove from the airport to Katy, and you never paid a cash toll.  You then drove the highway again knowing what you experienced the first time. At this point, you clearly had intentions of not paying for your ride at all and hoping you weren't going to be invoiced for the trip, and are now simply complaining because you got caught.

No sympathies here.

[nolia_boi504]

The question and answer is simple, but none of you grasp the concept. Do you care about out of state drivers, who DON'T have EZPass, to use the toll roads? If you don't, please, reconsider your life, because EVERYONE should have a fair chance to use a toll road. Just because they don't have a stupid piece of plastic doesn't mean they can't drive a toll road.

I'm sorry I don't posses the incredible intellect that you do to understand the "concept".

And no, I do not care about out of state drivers. Why should I? Most if not almost all the traffic on the toll road is local. Those people voted (way back when) to create HCTRA. Because HCTRA is a LOCAL pseudo gov. agency, it is there to serve local interests. Out of state drivers can take the interstate.... the part of the system they have paid towards.

What does "fair" have anything to do with it?

Personally I think it would be a smart move for HCTRA to make their roads more accessible to the general public, as it would help bring in more revenue, and hopefully help keep rates lower for us locals. Toll roads tend to be built in areas that help getting through or around town quicker, so it makes sense for out of state drivers to use them.

Rental car agencies make it a pain because they charge a $5/day fee for the entire rental duration regardless of the number of tolls you use. I accidentally took a toll road in Orlando, so I got billed $60 (11 day rental) for a toll that should have cost me $1.50. I had no option to pay online or by mail because it was a PlatePass registered vehicle so it was automatically linked and billed to my Hertz account.

At the very least each toll authority across the country should have an online portal where you can pre-register your plate and add a credit card so you get billed like normal. My HCTRA account allows me to add one guest vehicle for up to 45 days at a time, and bills my account directly at the normal tag rate. I regularly use this feature when my parents visit me (from out of state), as well as for when I have a loaner car. Unfortunately FBCTRA or TxDOT doesn't recognize the temp vehicles, so its still not a perfect fix as it doesn't work on the toll roads immediately around my house.

[Brandon]

Which turnpike authority has the most compatible/inter-operable tag system?

The various agencies that are a part of EZ Pass.  Same transponder gets you from Rock Falls, Illinois to Augusta, Maine, and south into North Carolina.

[lordsutch]

How much would it cost to interconnect all of the electronic toll systems in existence? The odds of making a universal electronic toll collection system seems unlikely, so this would be the next best thing. I must admit, I have never paid a road toll in my life, since I have never driven a car. Yet, I still think all tolls should be collected electronically.

http://www.tollinterop.org/

As a reminder, MAP-21 requires complete interoperability of toll systems by the end of FY2016 (i.e. September 30, 2016).

[Revive 755]

And no, I do not care about out of state drivers. Why should I?

So you never drive out of state?

Those people voted (way back when) to create HCTRA. Because HCTRA is a LOCAL pseudo gov. agency, it is there to serve local interests. Out of state drivers can take the interstate.... the part of the system they have paid towards.

I see several areas around Houston where there is not an alternative interstate and the tollway is the best option, such as Beltway 8, Grand Parkway, and the Westpark Tollway.

So if a driver didn't pay at all for a road, he/she can't use it?  That would work really great for interstate commerce if that attitude was widespread.