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[ZLoth]

From KDFW (Fox):

Drivers will soon pay twice as much to use ZipCash on North Texas toll roads

North Texas drivers who use toll roads without a TollTag account will soon pay twice as much as those who do.

The rate for ZipCash users is currently 50% higher than TollTag users. Beginning on July 1, it will be 100% higher.

FULL ARTICLE HERE

NTTA News Release in PDF format

[GaryV]

Somebody's got to check their math. Going from 50% premium to 100% over the Tag price is not double. The premium is double, but the overall toll is not.

[LilianaUwU]

Somebody's got to check their math. Going from 50% premium to 100% over the Tag price is not double. The premium is double, but the overall toll is not.

I mean, what did you expect from FOX?

[ZLoth]

Somebody's got to check their math. Going from 50% premium to 100% over the Tag price is not double. The premium is double, but the overall toll is not.

I mean, what did you expect from FOX?

The short length of the news article means that someone in the KDFW newsroom took the essential information from the NTTA press release and reposted it as "news" in ten minutes or less.

[sprjus4]

Somebody's got to check their math. Going from 50% premium to 100% over the Tag price is not double. The premium is double, but the overall toll is not.

If the ZipCash toll is 100% more than the TollTag rate… then it’s double. If the toll is $5, 100% of $5 is $5, so the toll would be $10. So… double the overall toll.

I mean, what did you expect from FOX?

This comes directly from the press release, not FOX.

ZipCash to 100 Percent more than TollTag Rate

ZipCash (pay-by-mail) rates will now be double the TollTag rate.

[GaryV]

I suppose you could read it that way - that they will be paying twice as much  as those with tags. But the wording isn't clear, certainly not in the title of the article.

Say a toll was $5 with a tag. Right now, the non-tag toll would be $7.50. After the change, it would go to $10 - a 33.33% increase. Not twice as much.

[ZLoth]

I suppose you could read it that way - that they will be paying twice as much  as those with tags. But the wording isn't clear, certainly not in the title of the article.

Say a toll was $5 with a tag. Right now, the non-tag toll would be $7.50. After the change, it would go to $10 - a 33.33% increase. Not twice as much.

Yeah, but that ZipCash premium is doubling from $2.50 to $5.00.... that's a 100% increase. The ultimate message... don't pay double the premium to drive the DFW roads, get a TollTag.

Somehow "double" has more impact than "one-third".

[wanderer2575]

I suppose you could read it that way - that they will be paying twice as much  as those with tags. But the wording isn't clear, certainly not in the title of the article.

Say a toll was $5 with a tag. Right now, the non-tag toll would be $7.50. After the change, it would go to $10 - a 33.33% increase. Not twice as much.

Yeah, but that ZipCash premium is doubling from $2.50 to $5.00.... that's a 100% increase. The ultimate message... don't pay double the premium to drive the DFW roads, get a TollTag.

Somehow "double" has more impact than "one-third".

You have to remember you're dealing with a populace that thinks a 1/3-pound burger is smaller than a 1/4-pound burger because 3 is less than 4.

[wxfree]

I suppose you could read it that way - that they will be paying twice as much  as those with tags. But the wording isn't clear, certainly not in the title of the article.

Say a toll was $5 with a tag. Right now, the non-tag toll would be $7.50. After the change, it would go to $10 - a 33.33% increase. Not twice as much.

I think that math is the way to look at it, except I reach the opposite conclusion.  The headline is "Drivers will soon pay twice as much to use ZipCash on North Texas toll roads."  In your example, everyone pays the $5 toll, but to use ZipCash you pay an additional $2.5 now and will pay $5 soon.  The total cost isn't increasing by 100%, but the cost to use ZipCash is.  The base tolls are increasing by about a penny per mile (about 5.5%) at the same time, which is a part of the regular increase every two years, but that doesn't figure into the increase amount, because what's doubling isn't the actual cost, but is the premium charged for not using a tag.  The increase in the premium will be slightly more than 100% because of the base rate increase but the premium increase is still exactly 100%.  The wording could be more precise, and all of this detailed information is publicly available, but a press release isn't the place to put legalese fine print.  The cost to use ZipCash, which is in addition to the cost of the toll, is doubling.

[Bobby5280]

The price hike for ZipCash would put the premium for paying via license plate about on par with Oklahoma's turnpikes. Honestly, it's pretty stupid for anyone to drive on Oklahoma's turnpikes on any repeat basis without a PikePass-compatible RFID toll tag. They'll be paying nearly double the toll cost to just do pay by license plate in Oklahoma.

I think the price premium for pay by plate is there for two reasons: covering the added administrative cost to handle the transactions and to give motorists an incentive to stop procrastinating and just get a toll tag already.

[ZLoth]

The Reddit Thread is roasting the NTTA, especially the line about “cost of a medium latte”  – about $5.60 more per month. One response:

“I am getting a bit tired of every single rate hike recently being compared to the cost of a cup of coffee,”  one user wrote. “What if I like my cup of coffee?”

[triplemultiplex]

Or what if you don't drink coffee?

[bwana39]

The price hike for ZipCash would put the premium for paying via license plate about on par with Oklahoma's turnpikes. Honestly, it's pretty stupid for anyone to drive on Oklahoma's turnpikes on any repeat basis without a PikePass-compatible RFID toll tag. They'll be paying nearly double the toll cost to just do pay by license plate in Oklahoma.

I think the price premium for pay by plate is there for two reasons: covering the added administrative cost to handle the transactions and to give motorists an incentive to stop procrastinating and just get a toll tag already.

The biggest problem with pay by mail is scofflaws. People who drive with no intent of ever paying. That element drives up the costs for slow pay as well.

[Road Hog]

Or what if you don't drink coffee?

Or what if you brew your own delicious coffee in your own damn pot for pennies?

[jeffandnicole]

The Reddit Thread is roasting the NTTA, especially the line about “cost of a medium latte”  – about $5.60 more per month. One response:

“I am getting a bit tired of every single rate hike recently being compared to the cost of a cup of coffee,”  one user wrote. “What if I like my cup of coffee?”

I'd rather hear them say "About the cost of two frosty happy hour beers".   That's more Texan-like.

[Rothman]

Or what if you don't drink coffee?

Or what if you brew your own delicious coffee in your own damn pot for pennies?

Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?

[ZLoth]

The biggest problem with pay by mail is scofflaws. People who drive with no intent of ever paying. That element drives up the costs for slow pay as well.

Per this NTTA PDF, you have to accumulate 100 or more unpaid NTTA tolls to get a "SCOFFLAW" block on your vehicle registration preventing renewal. At that point, however, I don't believe that scofflaw is worried about having a up-to-date vehicle registration... or vehicle registration... or automotive liability insurance... or even proper care of their hoopty.

[rte66man]

Or what if you don't drink coffee?

Or what if you brew your own delicious coffee in your own damn pot for pennies?

Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?

Surely you must be joking.
I'm not joking.....and don't call me Shirley

[Rothman]

Or what if you don't drink coffee?

Or what if you brew your own delicious coffee in your own damn pot for pennies?

Have you ever been in a Turkish prison?

Surely you must be joking.
I'm not joking.....and don't call me Shirley

Do you ever hang around a gymnasium?

[mvak36]

I have a question about the toll road at the DFW airport. Does the KTAG not work there? Back in April, I tried to use it to get through the gates and the readers didn't read the KTAG so I had to get a ticket instead. The KTAG worked fine on the other toll roads so I was just curious.

[ZLoth]

I have a question about the toll road at the DFW airport. Does the KTAG not work there? Back in April, I tried to use it to get through the gates and the readers didn't read the KTAG so I had to get a ticket instead. The KTAG worked fine on the other toll roads so I was just curious.

Per https://www.dfwairport.com/park/tolltag/, it's limited to NTTA tags.

[mvak36]

I have a question about the toll road at the DFW airport. Does the KTAG not work there? Back in April, I tried to use it to get through the gates and the readers didn't read the KTAG so I had to get a ticket instead. The KTAG worked fine on the other toll roads so I was just curious.

Per https://www.dfwairport.com/park/tolltag/, it's limited to NTTA tags.

Thank you. Good to know for whenever I go there the next time.