Some hold an unmounted transponder up at the wrong time for the reader to detect a signal. The turnpike recommends attaching it to the windshield behind the rear view mirror using the adhesive strips on it or a suction cup holder that makes it easier to remove to move to another vehicle.ĭeFebo said he has witnessed motorists moving through a toll plaza waving their transponder at the unmanned toll booth. The most frequent trigger for a V-toll charge is improper location of a transponder. When it comes to V-tolls “most of our customers aren’t making out.” For example, DeFebo said a a customer traveling east from the Harrisburg East exit to the Fort Washington or beyond based on current toll rates would be cheating the turnpike out of money.īut that situation is more uncommon, DeFebo said. The turnpike loses money when E-ZPass customers travel long distances and get charged a V-toll because their transponder wasn’t read when they exited the toll road. Unless a V-toll is questioned and a refund minus the appropriate toll is provided, customers who travel short distances will get overcharged. Most often, turnpike officials say V-tolls appear on accounts of E-ZPass customers who routinely travel just one or two exits on the turnpike on their commute to and from work and forget their transponder or have it mounted improperly. That’s nearly 7 percent of all E-ZPass revenue the turnpike collected from that type of vehicle over those 12 months.įrom commercial vehicles, the turnpike took in $41.4 million in V-tolls, nearly 8 percent of all the E-ZPass revenue collected from those vehicles, during that time period.ĭeFebo likens V-tolls to the price people pay when they lose their paper ticket after entering the turnpike and are assessed a fare from the farthest entry point on the toll road to where the vehicle exited it. The turnpike collected more than $35.3 million in V-tolls just from passenger vehicles during the fiscal year that ended May 31, according to information the commission provided to PennLive. So while people may take advantage of that, it’s not quite as tempting to do as with a $5 V-toll.” “Ten dollars represents a sufficient disincentive. “This is a balancing act because we don’t want people to take advantage of the V-tolls either,” he said. Rather it is meant to raise a red flag for customers to look at their account to figure out why they are charged for a violation. Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said V-tolls are not seen as a revenue opportunity for the financially challenged turnpike, which is carrying about a $12 billion debt load. This higher charge has drawn more people’s attention to V-tolls, as evidenced by the uptick in the number of calls coming into the E-ZPass Customer Service Center in Swatara Township. As tolls rose though, the commission decided it was time to raise the V-toll rate as well.
The rate for these violations was $5 until Jan. WHYY thanks our sponsors - become a WHYY sponsor
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