![]() Tomlinson says many drivers never leave their toll pass’ home region, allowing them to use a single transponder for most trips - even as tollbooths disappear. While the switch has created pockets of controversy across the country, tens of millions of drivers are able to conveniently travel toll roads using a transponder from their home state. ![]() Many states and toll agencies are going all-electronic to reduce highway slowdowns as well as their tollbooth-related expenses. It pretty simple.” Why can’t I pay cash on toll roads anymore? “It's just a matter of the computers talking to each other. John Garamendi (D-Calif.), who indicated interoperability was low on Congress’ list of priorities. “It's not the only congressional mandate that is not paid attention to,” said Rep. “I left Congress, and there's been no one to enforce the law or to bring the hammer down on those that didn't cooperate with the intent of the law, which benefits everybody,” Mica said. Mica said he wanted to protect agencies in case they couldn’t physically accomplish their goals by 2016, but didn’t expect them to drag their feet so badly. we’re getting close.” Why are states and tolling authorities allowed to ignore the law?Ĭongress’ 2012 mandate gave tolling agencies until October 2016 to comply with the law - but included no penalties for non-compliance. “We've made a lot of progress without a specific amount of funding. “Congress.didn't provide any funding with the mandate,” said Chris Tomlinson, executive director of the Georgia State Road & Tollway Authority. E-Z Pass, a group of toll entities across 19 states, is the nation’s largest, boasting 43 million accounts.īut the groups have been at loggerheads for years as to how to bridge the regions, and how to pay for expenses related to interoperability. Regional progress has been made since 2012, with three states in the Southeast, three in the South, and all of California’s tolling agencies each collaborating to form their own interoperable partnerships. “The implementation has been terrible, and it's long overdue for a simple electronic means of interoperability of toll passes across the United States.” “The intent of this was good,” Mica said. But they’ve yet to sign contracts with each other, or agree on exactly which technology to use to process the transactions. Mica, who sponsored the bipartisan interoperability bill in 2012, said the nation’s more than 130 different tolling agencies - across 34 states - know how to pay each other for the billions of monthly toll transactions generated on America’s toll roads, bridges, and tunnels. John Mica (R-Florida). “This is a bureaucracy issue.” “To be very clear, it's not a technology issue,” said former U.S. ![]() In fact, a road trip from California to Florida would likely require at least three different transponders to communicate with all the different tolling regions across the country that aren’t yet interoperable with each other. But in an era where toll agencies are ditching toll collectors in favor of all-electronic tolling, not having the right pass can trigger fines and/or delayed bills. Travel Association, 72% of Americans plan to take road trips this summer, twice the number from 2020. Why doesn’t my toll pass work in other states?Īccording to the U.S. ![]()
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