Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[ARMOURERERIC]

OK gang, I was driving from NC to Pittsburgh 2 Saturdays ago and exited at North Beckley, did not know that the booths were unstaffed, required exact change and I did not have any coinage.  I only had singles on the front set.  Eventually, i had to drive through.  The website says to look for a bill in the mail, but I have yet to get one.  Should I call them and pay over the phone or what.  It would have been nice to have exact change warning signs on the mainline and even better if the toll collector would have alerted me at the south barrier earlier, I did ask in advance.

What should be my next step here?

[ilpt4u]

http://www.transportation.wv.gov/turnpike/Pages/default.aspx

There is a link there to Contact the West VA Turnpike; they probably have a phone number too

https://ezpasswv.com/UnpaidTollTripPayment.aspx

There is that page, too, but I'm not sure what it means by "Serial Number" for unpaid Cash Toll, on the EZ Pass page -- why would one have an EZ Pass/I-Pass Transponder Serial Number if they need to pay a Cash Toll?

There aren't exactly a lot of instructions or info as to what "Serial Number" they want on that page

[Rothman]

Wait for a bill.

[qguy]

Wait for a bill.

Seriously. Never offer the government, any quasi-governmental agency, or any government-backed entity money unless it asks for it. Ever.

If and when they ask, work the issue then.

[jeffandnicole]

Wait for a bill.

I'll recommend this as well.

When a car goes thru a lane without paying, they first have to get notification of that (a few days), then look up the license plate number to see if you have an EZ Pass account(a few more days), then look up the name/address of who the vehicle is registered to.  After that, they'll probably wait a bit to see if you went thru again, so they're not sending out numerous one-toll bills.

The more likelihood of a timeline would be 30 - 60 days.

If you were to call or send in money now, there's probably nothing they can trace it to.  Yes, you can put your license tag number down, but they probably have their own internal account number for you by this point that'll be the main way to look you up.

[SP Cook]

Wait for a bill.  The staff at Turnpike HQ is not exactly made up of rocket scientists.  Might slip through the cracks.

[VTGoose]

Wait for a bill.

I'll recommend this as well.

When a car goes thru a lane without paying, they first have to get notification of that (a few days), then look up the license plate number to see if you have an EZ Pass account(a few more days), then look up the name/address of who the vehicle is registered to.  After that, they'll probably wait a bit to see if you went thru again, so they're not sending out numerous one-toll bills.

That's a serious amount of work to collect a 40-cent toll (not saying they won't do it though).

[jeffandnicole]

Wait for a bill.

I'll recommend this as well.

When a car goes thru a lane without paying, they first have to get notification of that (a few days), then look up the license plate number to see if you have an EZ Pass account(a few more days), then look up the name/address of who the vehicle is registered to.  After that, they'll probably wait a bit to see if you went thru again, so they're not sending out numerous one-toll bills.

That's a serious amount of work to collect a 40-cent toll (not saying they won't do it though).

Which is why you sometimes see these small amounts ignored, or the reason why some agencies tack on an administrative fee (which I don't know if WVA does).

[hbelkins]

Wait for a bill.

I'll recommend this as well.

When a car goes thru a lane without paying, they first have to get notification of that (a few days), then look up the license plate number to see if you have an EZ Pass account(a few more days), then look up the name/address of who the vehicle is registered to.  After that, they'll probably wait a bit to see if you went thru again, so they're not sending out numerous one-toll bills.

The more likelihood of a timeline would be 30 - 60 days.

If you were to call or send in money now, there's probably nothing they can trace it to.  Yes, you can put your license tag number down, but they probably have their own internal account number for you by this point that'll be the main way to look you up.

That's not the experience I had a few years ago when I had two E-ZPass misreads on the Pennsylvania Turnpike system on one day.  They skipped the step to see if the license plate number was linked to an E-ZPass account. They got the plate info from Kentucky, then sent two separate violation letters (requiring two envelopes and two postage meter runs). The burden was on me to prove that I had a valid E-ZPass account, which I was able to do because West Virginia emails account statements every month. I don't remember if they ever billed my E-ZPass, or just let it slide. But they didn't check to see if I had an E-ZPass at all; they just got the vehicle owner info and sent violation notices.

[Bitmapped]

OK gang, I was driving from NC to Pittsburgh 2 Saturdays ago and exited at North Beckley, did not know that the booths were unstaffed, required exact change and I did not have any coinage.  I only had singles on the front set.  Eventually, i had to drive through.  The website says to look for a bill in the mail, but I have yet to get one.  Should I call them and pay over the phone or what.  It would have been nice to have exact change warning signs on the mainline and even better if the toll collector would have alerted me at the south barrier earlier, I did ask in advance.

The rightmost booths in both directions are staffed 24/7. The left two lanes are coin drop or E-ZPass as indicated by signage.

[Brandon]

Bizarre.  In Illinois (other than the Skyway), you can go on the website and pay the cash rate within 7 days.  Why don't other agencies have this as an option!?!

[ARMOURERERIC]

OK gang, I was driving from NC to Pittsburgh 2 Saturdays ago and exited at North Beckley, did not know that the booths were unstaffed, required exact change and I did not have any coinage.  I only had singles on the front set.  Eventually, i had to drive through.  The website says to look for a bill in the mail, but I have yet to get one.  Should I call them and pay over the phone or what.  It would have been nice to have exact change warning signs on the mainline and even better if the toll collector would have alerted me at the south barrier earlier, I did ask in advance.

The rightmost booths in both directions are staffed 24/7. The left two lanes are coin drop or E-ZPass as indicated by signage.

All the booths were non staffed and signage just after exiting stated exact change, coin drop only.

[jeffandnicole]

Bizarre.  In Illinois (other than the Skyway), you can go on the website and pay the cash rate within 7 days.  Why don't other agencies have this as an option!?!

To encourage people to get EZ Pass (or whatever system is used).

[hbelkins]

OK gang, I was driving from NC to Pittsburgh 2 Saturdays ago and exited at North Beckley, did not know that the booths were unstaffed, required exact change and I did not have any coinage.  I only had singles on the front set.  Eventually, i had to drive through.  The website says to look for a bill in the mail, but I have yet to get one.  Should I call them and pay over the phone or what.  It would have been nice to have exact change warning signs on the mainline and even better if the toll collector would have alerted me at the south barrier earlier, I did ask in advance.

The rightmost booths in both directions are staffed 24/7. The left two lanes are coin drop or E-ZPass as indicated by signage.

All the booths were non staffed and signage just after exiting stated exact change, coin drop only.

The attendant may have been using the restroom or something.

[1995hoo]

We were on the West Virginia Turnpike for the first time earlier today. Found myself wondering, did they used to use a different toll system, such as tickets or ramp tolls? We entered via westbound I-64, then exited (and re-entered) at Exit 42 for a lunch stop, and the trumpet setup there smacks of a defunct toll barrier on the ramps. (Not a lot of room for a barrier there, but the ramp tolls at Exit 48 when we got off again to go up to see the New River Gorge Bridge were some dinky little toll barriers, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear there had been even smaller facilities in an earlier era.)

All in all I didn't think the road seemed as fearsome as its reputation and I kind of enjoyed the twistiness and the gorge-type scenery, but then traffic was fairly light and the trucks were not hogging the left lane. I was more or less going the speed limit and got passed by many West Virginia–plated vehicles only to pass them all again at the toll plazas when they all stopped to pay cash. I guess there being just the one toll road in the entire state means a lot of people haven't gotten E-ZPass.

[LM117]

We were on the West Virginia Turnpike for the first time earlier today. Found myself wondering, did they used to use a different toll system, such as tickets or ramp tolls?

Not sure, but I will say that as far back as the 1990's we've paid cash to an attendant at the booth. Back then, I used to ride with my grandparents to Beckley from Fremont, NC when it was time for my grandpa to make his periodical visit the VA medical center in Beckley. The only exits we used was Exit 44 where we used to stay at the Best Western there (I think it's gone now) and Exit 45 to stop at Tamarack.

Even after he passed away in 1999, we still drove the turnpike through the 2000's when we visited relatives in Michigan and we still paid cash to an attendant. My last trip through there was in June 2013 and it was still the same.

[hbelkins]

Not much difference in stopping to pay an attendant and having to creep through the E-ZPass lanes at 5 mph. 

[jeffandnicole]

Not much difference in stopping to pay an attendant and having to creep through the E-ZPass lanes at 5 mph. 

Bigger difference than you realize.

For the most part, vehicles going thru an EZ Pass lane will slow down, go thru the toll booth (usually just their vehicle or a short, moving line in front of them) and speed up again.

A car stopping to pay cash will come to a complete stop. In the fastest, best case scenario, they pull into an empty lane, hand over the exact amount, and take off.  Normally though, they stop with a few others in front of them. Most will hand over money, get change, then leave. But there's others that'll look around for money, pull out a $20, and wait for change. Than they'll ask for directions how to get to some city they're 30 miles away from, or a restaurant that meets their dietary needs. Then they remember to ask for a receipt. Then they'll pull away. Then the next driver pulls up and says "how much is the toll", and the whole sequence of events happens again.

Regardless, the  EZ Pass 5 mph-er will be thru much faster than the cash payer. And that's if they slow to 5 mph. In the faster northeast, NJ at one point issued warnings for going thru the (at the time) 5 mph EZ Pass lane too fast. And they only issued warnings...a fair amount of them...if you were going over 35 mph!

[VTGoose]

We were on the West Virginia Turnpike for the first time earlier today. Found myself wondering, did they used to use a different toll system, such as tickets or ramp tolls? We entered via westbound I-64, then exited (and re-entered) at Exit 42 for a lunch stop, and the trumpet setup there smacks of a defunct toll barrier on the ramps. (Not a lot of room for a barrier there, but the ramp tolls at Exit 48 when we got off again to go up to see the New River Gorge Bridge were some dinky little toll barriers, so I wouldn't be surprised to hear there had been even smaller facilities in an earlier era.)

Way back when the Turnpike was a "Modern two-lane highway" (still wish I had taken a picture of that sign) there was only a handful of exits, plus the ends at S. Charleston and Princeton. It was a ticket and cash system with manned toll booths. As the road was slowly brought up to interstate standards with the addition of two new lanes and more exits, the system was gradually changed from ramp tolls to the inline toll booths that exist now, with set tolls instead of the incremental based on entry and exit locations.

All in all I didn't think the road seemed as fearsome as its reputation and I kind of enjoyed the twistiness and the gorge-type scenery, but then traffic was fairly light and the trucks were not hogging the left lane. I was more or less going the speed limit and got passed by many West Virginia–plated vehicles only to pass them all again at the toll plazas when they all stopped to pay cash. I guess there being just the one toll road in the entire state means a lot of people haven't gotten E-ZPass.

There are still some places that give flatlanders fits when it comes to hills and curves, but it is much improved over its two-lane roots.

Bruce in Blacksburg -- who has hit just about every possible route between here and Pittsburgh over the years

[Brandon]

Bizarre.  In Illinois (other than the Skyway), you can go on the website and pay the cash rate within 7 days.  Why don't other agencies have this as an option!?!

To encourage people to get EZ Pass (or whatever system is used).

And yet, ISTHA has an EZ Pass (I-Pass) usage rate of over 87%, one of the highest for a non-AET system.

[Brandon]

Not much difference in stopping to pay an attendant and having to creep through the E-ZPass lanes at 5 mph. 

Bigger difference than you realize.

Not anywhere as big a difference as ORT (keep moving at traffic speed) and removing the gates on the ramp plazas (with a widely ignored speed limit of 15 mph - most folks do 30 or better).

[SP Cook]

To flesh out the toll history of the Turnpike, the original system was cards with very few exits.  Charleston North (current Exit 96) Charleston South (Exit 95), Chelyan (Exit 85), Mossy (Exit 66, then a one way exit, on towards Charleston, off from it), Beckley (current Exit 44) and Princeton (Exit 9). 

Mossy was originally for the use of a governor from Oak Hill, as the governor's residence in Charleston was renovated during his term and he commuted.  After he left office they just let anybody use it.  Although it was a two lane road and you could turn around and go the other way if you wanted, the toll card had confiscatory rates for entering there and exiting south of there.

Later, as the road was finally upgraded, the current north and south toll booths took the tickets, with ramp tolls north and south of there.  Then when the whole thing was finally finished, they went to the "open" system with more exits and ramp tolls.

Then when the road was really paid off (1987) as a part of the deal to extend the tolls the legislature made them take the ramp tolls off, except for the Corridor L one.