I miss the option of paying tolls in real time.

[caver]

2022 or '23 I think and I was towing my camper back home to MO and trying a different route around Denver. It was getting close to sunset and I was headed to the Kiowa fairgrounds for cheap overnight camping. Crazy construction and heavy traffic. Suddenly the majority of the traffic exits. I got the impression it was a toll road I was on but assumed they didn't have the toll booths erected. That assumption ended when I got a bill in the mail 6-8 weeks later.

 

[lman]

About 15 years ago we went on a trip and got a transponder. We used it for that trip and after about 6 months we decided we wouldn't use it so I found their office and gave them the transponder and they gave me my money that they were keeping. I got the impression that not many people do that.
We're about 50 miles from a toll road and a 4 lane highway nearby parallels that toll road. Semi truck traffic on our highway has increased dramatically as they avoid the toll road fees

 

[Hughman]

When I lived in the South Bay and drove my kid to college in Sonoma, I figured out how to avoid bridge tolls by driving clockwise around the bay (north through SF and south through the East Bay). I remember the saying "it costs money to get out of Oakland". They only collect the tolls in one direction on the bridges.

 

[CliffordK]

2022 or '23 I think and I was towing my camper back home to MO and trying a different route around Denver. It was getting close to sunset and I was headed to the Kiowa fairgrounds for cheap overnight camping. Crazy construction and heavy traffic. Suddenly the majority of the traffic exits. I got the impression it was a toll road I was on but assumed they didn't have the toll booths erected. That assumption ended when I got a bill in the mail 6-8 weeks later.

The last time I was in Denver (around 2005, even early in the smartphone era), I thought the toll highways were pretty clearly marked. It seemed like at least for the direction I was heading there were always alternatives to the toll highways. But, that may also be an example of the failings of having a parallel toll and free highway system. Perhaps good for those that have money to burn, but the toll highways seemed to be under utilized. A lot of money to spend on very expensive roads that people don't use.

 

[MossRoad]

Here in Northern Indiana they built the toll road in the 50s with the promise that the tolls would pay off the bond for the road, then it would be turned into a freeway.....





They refinanced another bond when that one was paid off, and they leased it to some conglomerate and got a couple billion from that. That conglomerate failed and they leased it again. Then they took most of that money and spent it in other places around the state on other highway projects.

And we still have to pay tolls 75 years later.

 

[ponytug]

The last time I was in Denver (around 2005, even early in the smartphone era), I thought the toll highways were pretty clearly marked. It seemed like at least for the direction I was heading there were always alternatives to the toll highways. But, that may also be an example of the failings of having a parallel toll and free highway system. Perhaps good for those that have money to burn, but the toll highways seemed to be under utilized. A lot of money to spend on very expensive roads that people don't use.

IIRC, that toll road (E-470) was sold as a way to improve speeds and reduce times for (some) commuters, who would be willing to pay to reduce travel times. It really took off when DIA became a reality. They've proactively added extra lanes around Aurora specifically to keep traffic speeds up.

The road has also spawned a wide belt of development, benefiting many of the local governments that planned and executed the road.

I think it is an interesting case study of roads and communities.

All the best,

Peter

 

[ultrarunner]

Maybe. Before I got an Ezpass, on the occasions I had to drive toll roads I'd get a bill in the mail a couple months later with 30 days to pay. No nasty notice of evasion, I paid the bills promptly so no idea what the next step would be if I didn't pay. N.Y. Thruway, Maine Turnpike and Spaulding Turnpike in N.H.


Must vary by state, I believe it's $30 they keep in reserve here in N.H. It's not a huge imposition. Probably cheaper for the state to administer than to have to process a zillion $1 transactions.

Got the Ezpass a couple years ago to make it easier when we do a road trip. It's valid throughout the northeast, and as far west as Illinois.


In N.H. we have 2 toll roads...the Everett Turnpike which runs between Nashua & Concord, and the Spaulding Turnpike from Portsmouth to Dover. There are still a couple of cash lanes at the Hooksett tolls, though they're only open limited hours. Not sure on the Spaulding.

I would imagine being a tollbooth attendant would be a sucky job, stuck in a cramped hot-in-summer-freezing-in-winter booth having to breathe exhaust fumes 8 hr/day.

I believe it is on the interstate system. Any toll roads that are part of that system were already in place, and those roads were incorporated into it.

Last time they had toll booth openings over 3,000 applied for 5 spots…

 

[ultrarunner]

I received a notice in the mail for over due tolls on a leased company car I no longer drove but was still in service so suspect a bill would be mailed to the address on file for the license plate scanned.

I had removed that license from my I-pass account but lease company had not taken ownership. Took sometime to get that squared away.

If remember correctly late fees, etc. where way in excess of tolls and notice stated after xx date would be turned over to collection service.

Same happened to a friend that no longer drove… I went to DMV to do the transfer to new owner and cancelled the Fastrak to tie up loose ends.

She was still getting letters and unpaid tolls… the license plate was on file to her somehow… it said unpaid could lead to registration suspension… but not her car and the car owner was not getting the invoices?

 

[ultrarunner]

When I lived in the South Bay and drove my kid to college in Sonoma, I figured out how to avoid bridge tolls by driving clockwise around the bay (north through SF and south through the East Bay). I remember the saying "it costs money to get out of Oakland". They only collect the tolls in one direction on the bridges.

So true as 5th generation Oakland resident. SF makes for a beautiful sunset view and city lights.

 

[tradosaurus]

What are road tolls?

I had to find the definition of a transponder. Guess they don't use those in Texas.