PITTSBURGH (TNS) — The amount of uncollected Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls went up dramatically in the past year — nearly 48% — but the agency says that’s because tolls and driving have increased, not because a higher percentage of drivers have become scofflaws.
A quarterly report prepared for the turnpike showed that for the fiscal year that ended May 31, the agency had uncollected tolls of $155 million. For the previous year, uncollected tolls stood at $105 million, a $50 million increase in one year, compared to a $16 million increase over the fiscal year that ended in May 2020.
Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo Jr. said the agency wasn’t particularly concerned about the increase because the percentage of drivers who aren’t paying tolls remained at about 6.5%. Motorists can avoid tolls passively by inadvertently blocking their license plates, or on purpose by taking steps to block their plates so cameras can’t take a photo, by not having a plate or simply by refusing to pay bills they get in the mail after the agency takes a photo of their license plate.
Instead of a higher percentage of motorists driving for free, Mr. DeFebo attributed the increasing amount of uncollected tolls to several factors:
• The agency’s 5% toll increase two years in a row. That makes the bill for each trip higher, so the amount a driver doesn’t pay would go up.
• Last year was the first full year that the agency added a 45% surcharge for motorists who don’t use the prepaid E-ZPass transponder and receive a bill in the mail.
• Traffic has returned to and surpassed pre-pandemic levels, reflected in the agency’s toll transactions and revenue. The agency had 197 million transactions worth $1.49 billion for the year ending in May, compared to 169.3 million transactions worth $1.2 billion the year before.
The turnpike switched to a cashless, all-electronic payment system in May 2020, eliminating toll collectors about 18 months earlier than expected to reduce human contact at the start of the pandemic. About 86.7% of turnpike users pay with a prepaid E-ZPass transponder while the rest use Toll by Plate and receive a bill in the mail.
The problem is, about 34.6% of those who receive a bill refuse to pay despite repeated efforts.
The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, which represents tolling agencies, said there is no industry standard for an acceptable level of unpaid tolls, known as leakage.
”Toll leakage in a cashless all-electronic tolling operation is a ‘cost of doing business,’ which is different from a ‘loss,’” Jennifer Walsh, director of communications, said in a statement. “Zero leakage is not realistic, and toll operators do not hold that expectation in making decisions about converting and managing toll operations with [a cashless] collection method.
”Leakage is taken very seriously by toll operators who devote considerable resources to ensure collections. Most motorists do the right thing and pay what they owe. These people deserve the best efforts available to pursue those that have not paid.”
For those who live in Pennsylvania and repeatedly avoid paying tolls, the turnpike can ask the state Department of Transportation to suspend their vehicle registrations if their unpaid tolls go above $500 in three years. Through the end of 2021, the state had suspended registrations for more than 21,000 drivers over a five-year period, and more than 17,000 of those then paid their debts.
Scofflaws with unpaid tolls of $10,000 or more can face criminal charges for theft of services.
The agency is supporting state legislation that would reduce the amount of money owed to trigger a registration suspension.
A key problem is that many of those who don’t pay also don’t live in Pennsylvania. For example, 8.1% of those who receive bills by mail live in Ohio and 6.2% in New Jersey. If they don’t pay their bills, the turnpike can do little about it because of a lack of reciprocity agreements with other states.
The problem is, the states can’t agree on similar penalties or a uniform threshold for prosecuting those who don’t pay. As a result, many drivers who cross state lines simply get away with it.
The turnpike has tried to encourage more motorists to use E-ZPass by charging higher rates for those who don’t. With each bill it sends, the agency also includes an option for motorists to sign up immediately for a transponder and pay the discount toll rate. This year, it also started collecting through a network of convenience stores that will accept cash payment of bills for those without credit cards.
The turnpike association has created a task force to look into developing a handbook of best practices to collect tolls. It is expected to release recommendations later this year.
