Get prepared for cashless toll roads
May 10, 2010
By Mary Sloat
PHH Arval
In my position as Director of Title and Registration at PHH Arval, I often have to play the role of messenger – keeping our clients up-to-date regarding changes in regulatory requirements or other transportation related trends. A new trend that has come to my attention in recent months is the advent of cashless toll roads.
A cashless toll road is one on which the driver no longer has an opportunity to pay cash at the tollbooth, but rather has to use an electronic toll transponder. If the driver fails to pay electronically, they will receive a bill in the mail from the tollway at a later date. The purpose of cashless tollways is to reduce accidents, traffic congestion and costs associated with traditional "stop and pay" tollbooths. While these are some of the positive benefits, I am also seeing new challenges for our clients related to this emerging trend.
If the driver has a transponder and has sufficient funds in his toll account, the ease of these new cashless tollways can't be beat. However, if the driver does not have a transponder or doesn't have sufficient funds in his account, he will get invoiced for the toll charges plus an administrative fee, making his toll related expense go up dramatically. To add insult to injury, tollways have traditionally not been in the business of producing invoices and as a result, we have seen significant delays in the invoicing process. Due to the delay in the timeframe from when the toll was actually incurred to when the bill was finally produced and mailed, we’ve seen cases where additional penalties have also been assessed.
Here’s an amazing example: The North Texas Tollways went cashless in July of 2009. PHH Arval did not start seeing toll invoices for client drivers without transponders until 4 months later, in November. By the time PHH was in receipt of the invoice, additional penalties of $25 per toll were added to the invoice, making $9 in toll charges balloon up to a $225.00 bill.
As these toll trends extend to more and more roadways, it’s critical to not only equip your fleet vehicles with appropriate transponders, but to also ensure that they are sufficiently funded. We’re preparing our clients and mitigating their costs through enrollment in PHH’s eTolls Account Management and eTolls Funds Management programs.
We welcome you to reach out to your account management team at any time to discuss the best strategies to keep your fleet legal and on the road. And if you’ve had any interesting experiences with cashless toll roads, feel free to share your story in the comments section below.
E*Toll
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