ALLENTOWN (TNS) — When I called for tougher enforcement to collect $104 million in unpaid Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls, I mentioned how I hadn’t been billed for a ride on the pike six weeks ago.
I was expecting a bill in the mail through the toll-by-plate system. I didn’t have my E-ZPass with me for the trip.
With bills usually arriving in 30 to 45 days, I feared I had been missed and would be contributing to the Turnpike’s uncollected toll problem.
I didn’t know it, but I already had been billed. And I’d already paid it.
Instead of getting an invoice in the mail, the cost for the trip was deducted from my prepaid E-ZPass account.
While I didn’t have the transponder with me, the system matched my car to my account based on the license plate. And it did the same for the car my son was driving in front of me. We had a caravan, to take him to college.
That was possible because I had the plates registered with E-ZPass. We have only one transponder that we use as needed in three vehicles. We rarely drive the Turnpike and don’t want to pay an annual fee for multiple transponders.
Juggling the transponder usually isn’t a problem, unless we end up on the Turnpike unexpectedly, as we did on the trip to college. We changed routes to avoid an accident.
I figured that meant we’d have to pay the higher fee for not using our E-ZPass. I wasn’t thrilled about that, but would have to live with it.
It turns out I didn’t.
The Turnpike’s website doesn’t explain that E-ZPass customers still can be billed through E-ZPass even if they don’t have their transponder. I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t received a tip from a reader on Friday who had the same experience.
Billing toll-by-plate through E-ZPass accounts when possible is an efficient way to collect tolls. I’m glad the Turnpike does that. I just wish it was explained on the Turnpike’s website so motorists would better understand the process.
It’s good to know I don’t have to worry about that in the future should I not have my E-ZPass with me. And it shows why it’s important to have your license plate registered on your account.
You can’t always rely on that process to work, though. It’s best to have your transponder so the Turnpike will get an accurate reading of your travels. Sometimes, photos of license plates fail. I figured that’s why I hadn’t received a bill.
If you’ve been waiting for a Turnpike bill in the mail, check your E-ZPass account. You may already have paid for your trip and not know it.
And if you get a bill in the mail, pay it! Nobody should ride for free. It’s unfair for other drivers to pay more to cover the cost of scofflaws.
(Paul Muschick is a columnist for The Morning Call of Allentown.)
