In my day to day traveling to work, I drive through a total of six toll booths – which is one reason that I try to work from home as often as possible.
Due the volume of tolls that are paid on a regular basis, I naturally signed up with the I-PASS system. This is the automated toll system, called E-Z Pass in many other states, that uses an RF tag to automatically bill you for each toll that you drive through.
You might be wondering why I am commenting that the Illinois Tollway Authority needs to embrace technology when the use of RF tags to automatically bill a customer sounds pretty technologically advanced.
The issue with the ITA is their management of the I-PASS system, as clearly they have not developed a robust system on the back end to monitor and manage the transactions.
Yesterday I received a Notice of Toll Violation that indicated I had not paid 10 tolls dating back to 2006. The fact that it takes them over two years to notify a commuter of a toll violation is one sign that their back end systems are lacking.
But the clear sign to me that the Illinois Tollway Authority needs to embrace technology is that they do not have the ability to cross reference the toll violation – which has captured my license plate number – with their list of I-PASS users to see if my car is registered and appropriately charge my account for any missed tolls.
Why do they need to send me a letter that includes $200 in fines when they should be able to easily determine that I have an I-PASS?
Maybe I should make a proposition to the Illinois Tollway Authority – I will build you a system capable of cross referencing your I-PASS user list and automatically billing an account for any missed tolls in exchange for exemption from ever paying another toll.
It is bad enough when the state makes you bend over and take the tolls, but when they make you waste time in your day to deal with their ineptitude that is just adding salt to the wound.
Illinois Tollway Authority :: Embrace Technology, Please!
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{ 37 comments… read them below or add one }
That sucks, I hope you get the issue resolved and don’t have to pay the fines.
Thanks, according to an article in the Chicago Tribune today they have sent out a huge mass of violation notices and that means their phone lines are swamped.
In my initial investigation, I have found that their website indicates that four of the supposed ten violations were in fact paid. Their systems are a complete joke.
I feel you, man. My car was stolen and got several tickets meanwhile. Dealing with those things certainly tell you how slow and lacking the communications are.
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Yes that is not at all an efficient system if you have been served with a notice from 2006. You really should offer to revamp it for them in lieu of them canceling your fines of course :).
and LOL, i liked what you said about ineptitude rubbing salt into the wounds.
I like your idea of setting up their system. A crisis is usually an opportunity as the Chinese ideogram is supposed to indicate. You will not only save the 200 bucks, you will possibly get a big contract that maylead you to other opportunities as well!
The article that I saw in the paper today indicated that they failed to send out notices over an extended period, which resulted in a drop in $10 million of revenue from toll violations.
I am absolutely amazed that there are that many toll violations, not to mention that they would not be more prudent about collecting on such a large amount.
I’ve been driving around in California but I’ve never had to drive on a toll way before. Are there a lot of those where you live?
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Quite a few in this area – although they were all supposed to be temporary to pay for the costs of road repairs and expansion.
But the toll system is such a cash cow that there is no way they will get rid of them here. As I mentioned, I go through three tolls each way to work/home. That is $2.60 per day for me, which would be $5.20 without the I-Pass.
I have had similar issues in NY with EZ Pass.
Well, good luck with that Derek. Maybe after you’ll have built a good platform for public office 🙂 Does anyone else see some Semmler in ’10 bumper stickers?
Well, I just got off the phone with the ITA and they have charged me for the six “supposed” missed tolls that were in violation.
However, according to the I-PASS terms of agreement that I have before me, they incorrectly charged me the cash rate as opposed to the I-PASS rate. After speaking with two supervisors, they indicated they have a “policy” that is not available to paying customers that explains tolls in violation are charged the cash rate.
Now it may seem silly to argue with them over $2.50 difference between the rates but according to my terms of agreement, they are in the wrong by charging that rate. The supervisor claims that she will be sending me a terms of agreement that explains the cash rate for violations.
If I didn’t pay 6 tolls per day, I would cancel the I-PASS immediately. In my opinion, these supposed toll violations are their attempt to recoup the lost millions as they have this undocumented policy that charges I-PASS customers double the normal rate.
You are right. The amount is unimportant, the principle however is not. You will save a lot of grief for a lot of other people if you could bring about some change in the way that they handle this.
With bureaucracies, it may be worthwhile spending some time and effort on written communications. That more than telephone calls seem to get some action from them. Perhaps a few emails, reminders etc, may do the trick!
Derek,
I might be wrong. But, it looks to me that there is no communication between the various department of the agency. I believe they are separate dept doing various tasks. So, sort of non-communication causing it.
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That sounds bad, hope the authority will resolve that problem as soon as possible. Or else more people will experience same with you, and ITA will be receiving more complaints against them.
@Kelvin, @FurnitureStore
I just wanted to mention that I appreciate your patience with your comments as it seems they have been getting caught in the spam filter for some reason. I’ll see if I can get that corrected.
It’s really strange that I heard many problems with the authority lately. But that’s way we have authority, to solve the problems right?
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So did you get in touch with the toll authorities yet?
Opportunity in every adversity! You should get them to waive all future toll payments and take a down payment for the work. Considering how much they have lost, what you are asking for is peanuts.
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I agree with you that the info regarding violation shall immediately communicated to the violators within a month not years.
I had pretty much the same circumstances. When I moved to Indiana, I called and reported the changes in address, drivers license and credit card. Yesterday I received notice of 33 violations in January of 2007. I had to pay the cash price for all 33 “violations”. I am still trying to get ahold of someone who can explain why I have to pay extra for their mistake. So far no intelligent answer.
Don’t hold your breath…I moved up the chain of supervisors and have yet to get an intelligent answer. The last supervisor promised to send me an explanation of their policy in the mail, as the user agreement that I have makes no mention of this.
As you can likely guess, I have yet to receive anything in the mail.
If misery loves Company let me join in!.
My “violations” over the past two years arrived yesterday and I cannot get through the phone lines to discuss.
I have had five vehicles registered, two transponders, and infrequent trips to Chicago. When I checked my account I realized the v-tolls were for over one third of the 200 tolls paid in the past 3 years! That tells me these transponders don’t work and they are losing a lot of revenue!
That is until they fine us for the bad equipment. I am disputing the fines since I can’t get throught the phone lines.
Good luck and if you get a chance, come back and share an update on how things go for you.
The thing that gets me is with the newer transponders and the express lanes, you have no idea whether or not it registers. There are no lights in the lane and the transponder doesn’t beep like the older ones did. The Illinois toll system is a complete joke if you ask me.
The hell! That’s way back in 2006, why only now? And yeah, you’re an I-Pass user they should be able to determine those things. Don’t they have a database or something? Tsk! This is a very lame situation considering the many technology advancements already.
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I received a toll violation for a total due of $42.00. I had the transponder in the car, but apparently it did not work on the Open Road Tolling. I do not remember if I had the plate registered to the transponder since the violation was dated 12/11/06. First of all, why are they waiting 1 1/2 YEARS TO SEND THIS? I had the transponder in the car and it didn’t work, now I am supposed to pay $42.00 for $2.00 of tolls? How can they justify this? They charge my credit card for $40.00 at a shot which they get to sit on and collect interest along with the $10.00 deposit I put down for the transponder. Even the $10.00 deposit for the 2,600,000 million I-Pass users comes out to $26,000,000. Now combine that with the $40 they bank from the precharge and it comes out to $130M Now who wouldn’t like to have that sitting in their bank account collecting interest? I think the Illinois Tollway already has enough money in the bank and continuously coming in! They sure aren’t spending it on decent transponders and new technology.
If you have a Wisconsin plate and an I-pass and you got a ticket recently, it very well could be bogus.
The Appleton Wi Post Cresecnt paper had an article on notices sent to Wisconsin violators on June 19 at
http://www.postcrescent.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080619/APC0101/80619112/1979
Evidently the new tollway computer doesn’t know a “passenger” car and an “auto.” might be the same. If the transponder did not register, which appears to be a lot, the tollway system didn’t match the pictures up to any existing tranponders.
Ole and Leena say the tranponders work real good in Wisconsin but dey don’t understand why dey don’t work in dat dere flat land. Yah heh?
I got a $253 violation notice regarding this issue.
The main problem is they have a serious issue with the transponders not registering and they refuse to acknowledge it. My accounts show about 1/3 of the time they don’t work.
For more blog comments on I-pass on this post here:
http://dereksemmler.com/2008/04/08/illinois-tollway-authority-embrace-technology-please/#comments.
Ken Detmer
I think if the system is automated the authorities should also double check for the accuracy of the system.
I have 6,000 dollars worth of fines do you think i can work a payment plan out
Unbelievable.
ITA sent me a bill that I rec’d in April 08 for violations that occurred in December ’06. They waited almost a year and a half!
First, I can’t figure out why I have violations. I’m from Georgia and was back in Illinois visiting family. I borrowed somebody’s IPASS for a trip into the city. Needless to say, entrance ramps and exit ramps gave me the “green light” and everything seemed fine. 18 months later, I get 8 violations and a bill for $170. Needless to say I’m steamed – can a user not borrow a friend’s IPass?
Secondly, I did a protest and argued my situation. The response I got back didn’t even acknowledge my letter – just “judgment – $170” Just a complete feeling of getting bent over backwards.
Third, the “judgement” came on vacation – was sent July first, with a July 14th due date!!! Given mail times, they gave me basically one day to respond! This is insane. I get back from vacation and they’re piling fines up exponentialy. Has anybody had any success paying their fines and getting any semblance of forgiveness on these nazi-fines?
Fourth, this has gotten so out of hand I’m ready to retaliate. I’m a law abiding citizen, but this is extortion. Any info on what ITA’s authorities are? Can they impact credit scores? I don’t forsee living in Illinois again (and now have no desire to, and will steer all work conferences I have control over to other states!) What advice would you guys give about the prospects of walking away? I walked away on a ridiculous ticket given by a New Jersey municipality. It’s been 2.5 years and no impact… thoughts appreciated.
Best…
Man, I feel your pain. What I find very laughable is that the state will be completely irresponsible and unaccountable in the time frame and manner in which they do these things, but then they expect you to behave in a completely different manner. They spend irresponsibly, but expect you to stay within your means. The red tape state will never do these things well, unfortunately. But they go after tax dollars with an incredible zeal. Why is that? Their ineptitude is infringing on your valuable time – and that is offensive.
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Crazy, I have been on hold for many different times trying to dispute… The phone is awful. I assume that they are just trying to see who can hold out longer… I’m thinking I just need to pay em… I feel like it is not just though… There is NO ONE to talk to though if you go online…
Maine is great!
I just received a letter from the Illinois Toll, two months after the supposed violation, saying I did not pay at 3 tolls, each $.80. Two of these occured on July 25, 2008 and one on July 27, 2008. Attached to each is a $20 fine.
But I paid at each and every toll. I had 2 other people in the car and we all remember paying at each and every toll.
I live in Wisconsin, I cannot go down to protest. What are my options?
I’m with you. Just got a bill for four “missed tolls” from Nov of 2008. Never missed a toll with two other guys (one from Chicago and we have driven it countless times) in the vehicle as well. Both verify I paid. I didn’t have an IPass at the time and I remember saving the exact same amount of change it cost to go through on the front end of the trip for the way back the next day. I got “caught” for the trip back…funny how the change worked out perfectly though. It sucks to be 100% correct but knowing no amount of explaining will work. I’m fuming but will be paying to end the matter. This is messed up big time!
Their system is obviously a complete mess! I was in Chicago for a little over a month and was added to a friends ipass account while I was there. So for a little over a month I drove on the toll roads with a rental car all the while not realizing that they were not registering any of them to the appropriate ipass account and all as violations! So fast forward about six months I get a letter in the mail from the car rental compmay with a violation notice from the tollway authority telling me I have 1241.00 in fines and tolls. This is where the phone calls start on my end with everyone telling me the same thing that there is nothing I can do and need to pay the money. By their postmark it turned they didn’t mail the violation notice out to the car rental company until 5 days before the date the violation had to be worked out by, however the violation was already issued for 16 days before they mailed it! Which means by the time it was in my hand they said I now owed 2541.00! Anyways long story short I spend the equivalent of over half a work week on the phone with most people giving me the same story (basically your screwed give us the money). Long story short I just kept going up the chain of command there until I got someone on the phone that waived all the fines except for 100.00 which at that point I would gladly pay and get the situation off my back! But needless to say I may never use an ipass again. Their system and their customer service is the most useless, convoluted, and unhelpful system! Something really needs to be done about these situations are handled by them, I have heard too many similar stories. I even submitted a letter of complaint to the Illinois attorney general asking for mediation. What they did, which they are not supposed to do when someone asks for mediation is forward it to the Illinois tollway authority! The very people who were refusing to help me!
I hear you!
I’m the manager of an independent car-rental agency in southern Illinois, and we just got a $900 bill from Harris & Harris, a Chicago collection agency.
Apparently the Tollway has outsourced their collection efforts, and Harris & Harris added in their OWN $50 “service charge” per supposed “violation”.
I had to call the collection agency to get specifics, and found that some of the supposed “violations” dated back to 2006! Further investigation revealed that many of the “violations” had already been resolved. Apparently the Tollway neglected to reconcile the list of “violations” with the list of payments!
I suppose Harris & Harris won’t mind if someone just sends in their money without checking first!