COLUMBUS, Ohio — The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission announced Tuesday that it is suspending late fees, stopping sending unpaid tolls to collection agencies and imposing vehicle registration freezes through mid-October to give drivers time to adjust to the highway’s new tolling system.
The 60-day grace period, which began Aug. 13, was put in place after the highway saw a spike in calls in recent weeks, including from motorists who had been billed for using new toll lanes on open roads and drivers who were targeted with fraudulent text messages to pay unpaid tolls, according to highway spokesman Chuck Cyrill. Call center wait times rose to more than 13 minutes in late July, but have leveled off at about six minutes since Aug. 16.
The Ohio Turnpike’s new toll system opened in April after years of work that included revamping the toll calculation, building two new toll booths and creating new toll lanes that allow drivers with EZPass transponders to pass through toll booths without stopping.
A highway analysis found that many drivers received a bill in the mail because their EZPass transponder was not properly installed in their vehicle, they did not take a ticket when merging onto the highway, or they drove (intentionally or not) through a toll lane on the open road without a transponder. Violators are charged the maximum price based on where they drove on the highway (or the farthest possible distance if they do not have a ticket).
Since May, the Ohio Turnpike has sent out about 212,000 bills, said Amanda Ginley, director of the highway’s customer service center.
“We want to give customers time to get used to the new system,” Ginley said in an interview about the grace period. “We hear their pains – their growing pains, you could say.”
Cyrill noted that the highway authority is still sending out bills for toll violations during the grace period. He said he did not immediately know how much money the highway authority would save by suspending late payment fees and handing over outstanding bills to debt collection agencies.
To avoid receiving an unpaid toll bill, the Ohio Turnpike recommends that EZPass users properly display their transponder on their windshield (waving an E-ZPass by hand is ineffective and unsafe, a turnpike press release states) and keep their online account up to date.
Drivers of toll roads without an EZPass certificate must strictly follow signs, use the correct toll lanes, stop at the entrance to take a toll ticket, and pay with cash or credit card at the exit.
Jeremy Pelzer covers state politics and policy for Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer.
