NBR - Toll Road Fines Will Be Waived All Summer! (Only for first time offenders)

If you've been on the toll roads lately all toll booths have been shut down in reserve of an electronic payment method. You now can zip thru without a fast trak, say cheese and pay online within 48hrs. Well, I zipped thru last week but forgot to pay within 48 hrs so I thought I was screwed because the site doesn't allow you to pay the fee past 48 hours. It turns out there around 15,000 people like me out there who forgot. One of the county Supervisors Todd Spitzer (Thank You!) wrote to the TCA to ask them to waive the fine because the system is all screwed up. Fines will be waived for all first time offenders up to labor day. It's nice to know that someone who works for the county is looking out for us.

http://blogs.ocweekly.com/navelgazing/2014/06/toll_road_fines_waive_summer.php

 

That is going to become a gigantic cash cow for the TCA.....just raking in the fines.


Here is an article from OC Register last week:

The switch to a cash-free payment collection system is turning into a potential moneymaker for county toll roads, in the form of a jump in the number of penalties from toll violations.
The new system also has sparked confusion for drivers and a customer service crisis at the Transportation Corridor Agencies, with tens of thousands of people calling help lines only to face long waits, and often no answer at all, according to documents presented at June 12 board meetings of TCA directors.
One statistic in the new, cash-free world could lead to a revenue boost for the financially-challenged toll roads. More than 15,000 violations a day – twice the previous average – were logged in the first two weeks after the May 14 switch from manned toll booths to automatic license plate readers. More than 7 percent of all drivers who should have paid a toll did not, according to TCA statistics.
Though toll officials temporarily are waiving the $57.50 penalty for first-time violators if they pay their toll within 30 days of receiving their citation, TCA statistics show the penalties could have boosted revenue by $460,000 a day.
“If you look at the violation number, it looks like it doubled, and it did,” Jim Gallagher, chief toll operations officer for TCA, said during the June 12 board meeting.
“That is a result of people not getting the word, or being confused by the signs, or not being able to understand the signing and how the program works.”
That confusion has led to a flood of calls to the TCA’s customer support center. Some 46,000 callers were unable to get through to a representative in the week starting June 4, compared with an average of 2,000 callers per week in May 2013, according to TCA statistics.
“One gentleman (told TCA he) waited 90 minutes only to be cut off as soon as he was being connected,” Jeff Bott, a senior public affairs representative for TCA, wrote in a June 9 email to colleagues.
Frustrated drivers have taken to Facebook, venting in posts on The Toll Roads’ page.
“This is insane!” Mike Quijano wrote June 4 on the roads’ Facebook page. “I drive the 73 frequently. I saw the signs but at freeway speeds who could read them and understand that you have to go online to pay? To save 10 minutes drive time you've gotta screw around online for 10 minutes more and give up your credit card? And fines are $150? Unbelievable!!”
Officials at other toll road agencies that made the switch from cash to electronic payment told TCA officials to expect problems after the end of cash tolling because many people will remain unaware of the change until it actually happens, said Lisa Telles, a TCA spokeswoman.
“No matter how much you tell people in advance, they start paying attention when it happens,” Telles said of the advice other toll agencies gave TCA. “Do all the press you can, and then be ready to make adjustments.
“So that’s what we did.”
Adjustments underway at TCA include forgiveness for first-time violators who failed to pay tolls online within 48 hours.
A flier explaining how violation forgiveness works will be mailed out with all first-time violation notices.
New, more instructive, signs also are in the works, according to TCA documents.
Signs that now read “ONE-TIME-TOLL thetollroads.com WITHIN 48 HOURS,” will be adjusted to include the phrase “TO AVOID VIOLATION.”
The TCA also is beefing up its customer service staff, with new representatives starting last week, Telles said. The agency added 14 representatives before the transition to cash-free tolling, and it plans to add another 10.
Telles said TCA will continue gathering customer feedback to guide efforts to reduce driver confusion about cash-free tolling.
“We’re definitely listening and adjusting,” Telles said.

 

I can't wait for the flood of posts moaning about getting stuck with a citation after missing payment a second time.

 

The signage about 48 hours isn't visible once you realize you can't pay cash. Total scam. They can't afford a toll booth attendant, but I bet they can afford the much more expensive LEO to ticket folks who obscure their plates.

 

This. Totally. Calculated move to collect the violation fees.

 

what a timely post. i just finished paying for my toll which i forgot to pay last night after the oth race, jump on str and this topic is staring at me.

 

But it's is after all the signs all over the place saying no cash like before getting on the toll road.

 

Went through on 241/261 a few weeks ago, no signage whatsoever, just blocked tollbooth lanes. I hadn't driven that toll road in about a year, and there was no signage indicating you could not use a toll booth. The Fastrack lanes say no cash, but they've said that for almost twenty years.

 

Same thing up at SF Bay. If you travel south through the Golden Gate Bridge, plan on either paying before or after passing through at any of the kiosks, online pay site, or at participating local vendors.

No cash toll plazas are starting to become a common place these days.

We're gonna miss Tollbooth Willie:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cyrHxeb_eTI

 

That is so sneaky I want one! I heard if you pack enough bikes in the rear to cover your license plate you can covertly ride the toll road... that is if you remember to remove your front license plate. Lol. Paging Jake (giantschwinn) been there down that!

When I jumped on the toll road last week it was total confusion. I seriously thought I was poaching until I finally noticed the signage. What a mess they made. The toll roads hot line is shutdown because too many people were calling to complain. What happens next to all those expensive toll booths? Lol.

 

20 years of driving, 8 cars, I've never run a front plate.

My last car had no plates on it the entire 2 years I had it. I kept registration and insurance current, but never bothered to put the plates on. I never took advantage of it by running toll booths, though.

 

I live in Temecula, but I visit family in the OC every couple of months. I drove thru on the 241 the weekend after they closed the cash booths I've been using for 10 yrs. I never saw any signs until I got to the booths. I remember first thinking they were under construction and weren't charging...sweet! Then I saw a Maintain Speed sign...huh? Then I briefly caught a glimpse of ...48 hrs ... WTF did that say?

I just figured they'd send me something in the mail. They did. The wife and I each got a huge fine for the "violation." I was pissed. The wife just ended up calling and they waived the violation, but not the toll. Fair enough.

They need an app or something to make it less of a PITA for us out of towners. I wonder if no front plate and a tailgate down would get block the eye in the sky? Might have test that theory now that they offer a way test the system.