Massive confusion and serious accidents is what you get when you make the HOV into HOT, a new revenue source from tolls and citations thanks to MDX

How to navigate the HOT new approach to driving I-95 - 07/16/2008 - MiamiHerald.com

So the government gurus of transportation are converting Interstate 95’s underused and unpopular High Occupancy Vehicle, or HOV, lanes into High Occupancy Toll or HOT lanes.

Drivers are plenty HOT.

Massive confusion and serious accidents have met the first phase of the $260 million project, northbound between downtown Miami and the Golden Glades interchange.

Here is a guide to navigating the HOT spots on the 95 Express.

Q. Why is the state doing this?

A.Because it can’t widen I-95 without taking a lot of homes or building a wildly expensive elevated tier of new lanes above the current roadway. Because growth outstripped road capacity decades ago. Because the HOV lanes didn’t work well. Because the U.S. Department of Transportation is ponying up $63 million in ‘’seed money” for new approaches to a nationwide urban congestion problem and to enhance more public transportation options.

Q. So, how will it work?

A. It’s an electronic tollway. Solo drivers must have a SunPass to use the express lanes on the left-hand side. It is a straight seven-mile shot, with no exits, from downtown to the Golden Glades. Car poolers and others don’t need the SunPass (more on this later.)

Q. What if I want to exit before the Golden Glades interchange?

A.No can do. You must stay to the right in the four ”free” local lanes.

Q. Aw, c’mon. Really?

A. Really. Dodging between the white candlestick lane markers is incredibly dangerous to all of the vehicles behind you in the express lanes and especially for the drivers you’re about to cut off in the ”free” lanes. Besides the obvious safety issues, drivers could face reckless driving violations starting at $100.

Q. Can’t they make another entry/exit point — say, somewhere between the 95th and 103rd street exits?

A.Good question.

Original plans called for an entry/exit merging point between the 95th and 103rd Street exits in Miami Shores. But all of the computer models and engineering studies found that it would have only made congestion worse. The area was too tight to support all of the weaving, so it was eliminated.

Q.OK. So when do I need to get over to the right to avoid getting stuck in the toll lanes?

A.If you’re approaching from the south, stay to the right near the exit for State Road 112, also known as the Airport Expressway, and Interstate 195, a k a the Julia Tuttle Causeway.

If you’re coming from the west on State Road 112, watch the signs right after the tollbooth. Local traffic that needs to exit before the Golden Glades must stay to the right. The express lane begins on the old HOV ramp to northbound I-95 on the left.

Q.Can I get in the express lanes from the Julia Tuttle Causeway?

A.No. If you live in Miami Beach and want to use the express lanes to get to the turnpike or the Palmetto Expressway (State Road 826) or points north, you maneuver south from the beach side and enter I-95 North via I-395, a k a the MacArthur Causeway. Translation: The Express won’t be worth it to most people whose journey starts north of 23rd Street.

Q.How much are these toll lanes going to cost?

A.Once they’re in effect, the tolls will vary.

It’s basic supply and demand. The state is trying to guarantee a 50 mph trip in the express lanes. When traffic is light, the toll might be 25 cents to get from downtown to the Golden Glades. When the lanes are full, the price will rise. It could cost $2.50 — and possibly a lot more — when traffic in the ”free” lanes is at a standstill.

Q.How often will the price change? And how will I know when it does?

A.Prices could change every five to six minutes depending on traffic. The price will be posted on electronic signs as you approach the express lanes.

Q.What happens if the price changes after I enter the toll lanes, but before I exit?

A.Your price is locked in as your vehicle passes under the SunPass readers hanging over the lanes. If the toll rises $1 two minutes after you enter the lane, it’s not going to affect you.

Q.How will I know I haven’t been charged the wrong amount?

A.SunPass customers should frequently check their accounts online to make sure they are being charged appropriately.

Q.When will they start charging tolls?

A.

Later this summer.

Q.That the best you can do?

A.Yes, for now. The DOT isn’t committing to a specific start date yet because so much work is being crammed into such a tight schedule. Watch the highway message signs and The Miami Herald for updates.

Q.What happens if I get stuck in the toll lanes and don’t have a SunPass?

A.Once tolls are in effect, cameras will snap photos of vehicle license plates that enter the lanes without a SunPass. Violation notices starting at $100 will be mailed to vehicles’ registered owners.

If you get in the lane and don’t have a SunPass, don’t try to exit before the Golden Glades.

When you get home, call SunPass toll free at 888-865-5352, explain what happened and offer to pay the toll. They’ll probably let you slide for a one-time violation and urge you to buy a SunPass.

Don’t try it twice.

Q.How do I get a SunPass?

A.The new $5 mini SunPass just went on sale at local Publix supermarkets and CVS, Navarro and Sedano’s stores.

You can still buy the old, chunky white plastic transponders — which cost $25, plus another $25 to open a prepaid toll account — from the state. Both will work on I-95, the Miami-Dade expressways and the turnpike. For more information check out www.sunpass.com or call 888-865-5352.

Q.Is there any way to use the toll lanes for free?

A.Yes. Take a bus. Or participate in a registered car pool that has at least three people. Or ride a motorcycle. Or buy a hybrid and register it with the state. Or get a job as a firefighter, paramedic or police officer. (Emergency vehicles can use the toll lanes without paying as well.)

Q.If I own a hybrid, what must I do to get toll-free access?

A.First, register the hybrid with the state of Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Download the application at www.flhsmv.gov/dmv/HOV.html for a special decal. Fee: $5 a year.

Then, visit the South Florida Commuter Services website at www.1800234ride.com or call 800-234-RIDE for an application to register for the express lanes exemption.

Q.What must I do to register my car pool for free access?

A.Visit the South Florida Commuter Services website at www.1800234ride.com or call 800-234-RIDE to register. Provide name, home and work addresses and phone numbers, work schedule, driver’s license number and license plate number. All car pool participants must sign the form. Riders only need to provide home and work information.

You’ll have to renew the special ”3+” decal every six months, or your car pool will be considered inactive and your license plate removed from the eligible list.

Q.What if I have a SunPass but am registered to use the express lanes for free?

A.On the ”mini” SunPass, simply turn off the transponder (it must remain affixed to the windshield but has an ”on/off” switch); the old ones can simply be removed from the windshield).

Q.What are the orange cones on the other side of the northbound lanes for?

A.You’ll see orange cones as long as the construction work continues. Crews are working on wireless technology for the toll collection machinery, hanging more signs and restriping the new right-hand lanes and shoulder in that area.

Q.Why are the express lanes only on northbound I-95 in Miami-Dade? Traffic’s awful on the southbound side, especially in the morning rush hour.

A.This is just the first phase. Crews will start converting the southbound side later this year. It will require a lot more construction work and extensive road closings and delays next spring to raise two bridges at the State Road 112/I-195 interchange.

The last phase, in both directions between the Golden Glades and I-595 in Broward County, won’t be finished until late 2010 or 2011, depending on funding.

Q.What about those traffic signals that have been sitting at the end of the on-ramps, unused since 2004?

A.A. They are going to start working northbound when the tolls start, but only on the ramps between Northwest 62nd Street and the Golden Glades, and will surely prove to be as wildly unpopular as the express lanes are now.

The idea is to create a steady flow of vehicles entering I-95 that will improve not only the merging onto but the exiting from the interstate. The signal will pretty much remain green when the interstate is flowing freely and pulse red every few seconds when it’s heavier. The DOT insists that traffic will not be backing up on the ramps and into the arterial feeder roads.

Q.That’s crazy. Don’t they realize too many South Florida drivers treat red lights as optional nuisances?

A.A lot of people think the ramp meters won’t work — largely because there won’t be enough police officers and traffic court judges to enforce all the tickets. After an initial shakeout period, ramp metering programs have proven effective in a lot of North American cities with even worse traffic congestion than South Florida.

Susan Schrock writes a great article about the new toll program, I wish would shemention the toll citations that may arrive.

Arlington joins TollTag program | Arlington | Star-Telegram.com

ARLINGTON — TollTags will soon be available at City Hall.

Arlington is one of the latest Tarrant County cities to participate in the North Texas Tollway Authority’s third-party vendor program. Starting Monday, motorists can sign up for a TollTag account in the One Start Development Center on the second floor of Arlington City Hall.

Arlington is now one of 76 third-party vendor locations in the Metroplex. Participating cities in Tarrant County include North Richland Hills, Bedford, Kennedale and Benbrook. Fort Worth’s participation is pending, tollway authority officials said.

Where tags work

The tags can be used on all Texas toll roads and at Dallas/Fort Worth Airport and Love Field. There are currently no toll roads in Tarrant County, but Texas 161 in Grand Prairie is expected to be partially completed by next year. The toll road is expected to be a reliever for Texas 360 and serve as a crucial gateway to Arlington’s growing entertainment district.

Why get one

TollTags save motorists money and time at the tollbooth, said Clayton Howe, assistant executive director for the tollway authority. For example, a tollbooth on the President George Bush Turnpike in Dallas charges $1 for drivers using cash but only 40 cents for TollTag users, Howe said.

TollTag accounts also bring money to counties for transportation projects, like highway construction or clean-air initiatives, officials said.

The North Central Texas Council of Governments allocates toll revenue to counties for such projects based on the number of active TollTag accounts, said Alicia Winkelblech, Arlington’s chief transportation planner. Currently, Tarrant County residents make up 5 percent of North Texas’ TollTag account holders.

“Everyone should get one,” said Arlington Mayor Robert Cluck, who signed up for a tag on Tuesday. “This is going to help us get a bigger share of highway construction money.”

The North Texas Tollway Authority also will give Arlington $5 for each account set up at City Hall. Cluck said that money will go to the general fund, which pays for things such as police salaries and parks.

How to get one

Motorists can set up pre-paid TollTag accounts at www.ntta.org with a credit card. The tags are free, but motorists must open an account with at least $40. Tags are debited as a motorist passes through a tollbooth or airport parking exit. Tags are automatically reloaded with $40 from the user’s credit card once the account drops to $10.

This report includes material from the Star-Telegram archives.

TollTags

To learn more about TollTags, visit the North Texas Tollway Authority at www.ntta.org.

Residents can set up an account at Arlington City Hall, 101 W. Abram St.

The article below from Joseph Spector described the abuses of our government

Attorney general targets free E-ZPass for%

Great article by James Odata on illegal privleges, and I bet they don’t recieve toll citations either.

Cuomo puts brakes on free rides — Page 1 — Times Union - Albany NY

ALBANY — Board members of the Thruway Authority and Metropolitan Transit Authority have been illegally getting free E-ZPass privileges for years, Attorney General Andrew Cuomo said Wednesday as he demanded the perk be pulled.

The Thruway Authority immediately complied. A spokeswoman said it discontinued the freebie upon receiving Cuomo’s opinion Wednesday that authorities whose directors are supposed to be uncompensated cannot get such benefits.

But MTA Chairman H. Dale Hemmerdinger, who has the free tags for two of his cars, said the MTA would like a third party to decide the issue and will take the matter to a judge.

Cuomo’s office said it is prepared to fight the issue in court. Four current Thruway Authority board members — Erin Crotty, Kevin J. Plunkett, Jeffrey D. Williams and E. Virgil Conway — and three former ones — Peter Tufo, Lou Tomson and Howard Steinberg — have been receiving free rides through tolls and bridges.

Thruway Authority spokeswoman Sarah Kampf could not say how much the seven used the passes, but said that in recent years, Tomson, Tufo and Conway used them rarely, if at all.

Chairman John L. Buono and Frederick M. Howard did not take the perk, according to Kampf. She did not know why.

Kampf said Wednesday that some Thruway employees also receive free E-ZPass, but she did not know how many.

The free rides have only good on Thruway tolls.

Hemmerdinger told reporters at an MTA meeting Wednesday “the practice of providing board members free access to the system they oversee dates back at least to the 1950s.”

He said the authority has acted based on a 1992 law that has never been challenged until now.

“Given the newly stated view of the attorney general, which is contrary to the MTA position, we are going to seek a declaratory judgment and allow a court to determine whether or not this constitutes compensation,” he said.

An MTA spokesman said 17 voting members and five nonvoting members of the board are eligible for the freebie and all ex-members get a lifetime pass for the seven bridges and two tunnels operated by the MTA. Only two current board members, Nancy Shevell and newcomer Doreen Frasca, have eschewed the pass. And 37 former board members receive it.

Several current and former members have multiple passes for their cars.

Cuomo became aware of perks for supposedly uncompensated members of authority boards after a Times Union story in January 2007 revealed that the New York State Housing Finance Agency and the State of New York Mortgage Agency were paying for health insurance for current and retired board members.

A month later, Cuomo said such perks violated the enabling legislation for those agencies. The perks ended.

On Wednesday, he wrote to the MTA to direct it to follow suit and his office called the Thruway Authority.

Gov. David Paterson said his legal staff is checking to see if it concurs with Cuomo’s interpretation.

Assemblyman Richard Brodsky, D-White Plains, who leads a committee overseeing authorities, said he is not sure Cuomo is right or wrong, but that “In either case the authorities’ decisions are dopey. These authorities are coming to us for toll increases, for operating increases and then this is where they want to fight the fight … a privilege to a special few?”

Hemmerdinger also seeks a judge’s decision on whether the MTA can keep giving board members free rides on subways, buses and commuter trains.

James M. Odato can be reached at 454-5083 or by e-mail at jodato@timesunion.com.

They see the mistakes others make but not their own.

Area woman gets probation for fraud :: Naperville Sun :: News

WHEATON — A woman who ran up hundreds of dollars in charges with a credit card number stolen from an I-Pass account has been sentenced to two years of probation.

Twenty-year-old Jasmine Reed, who was a customer service representative at the Illinois Tollway call center in Lisle, pleaded guilty to fraudulently using the number. DuPage Judge Perry Thompson also ordered Reed to pay $400 in restitution.

Authorities were led to the woman after a tollway customer tipped them off.

According to court documents, Illinois State Police, the toll authority’s inspector general and the DuPage County state’s attorney’s office launched an investigation.

Reed, an employee of Harrisburg, Pa.-based TransCore, was arrested in June and fired in July.

Below is the sad story of a Florida teacher who attempted to right a wrong, and now pays the consequences of a broken system….

On March 27, 2008, I was pulled over after driving through a SunPass
lane. The officer told me that SunPass has canceled my account and gave
me a ticket. I had received three letters earlier (within
that week) saying I had ran a toll and to change the location of my
transponder. Before being issued a ticket by the police officer, I had
tried on several occasions to contact SunPass and met with a
recording to call back later, as all representatives were busy. As my
transponder was still making noises when I drove through tolls, I
assumed that it was still working.

I immediately went home and called SunPass. They said that they had
tried to contact me by phone March 25 and were unsuccessful and,
therefore, they had turned my account over to collections. The
referred to GRC, saying that I had to settle my bill by April 9 in
order not to incur any additional charges. I called GRC, who had no record
of my account. SunPass said they couldn’t do anything; I
had to wait for GRC to process my account, which could take a few
weeks.

After calls to GRC and SunPass got me nowhere, I finally spoke to a
representative at SunPass who seemed helpful. After explaining how I had
been trying to pay and had gotten nowhere, she said that
she put an explanation in the computer on my account and that SunPass
would contact me within a few days with another option so that this
could all be cleared up.

A few days came and went, with no one contacting me. So, once again, I
contacted SunPass and apparently there was no note on the computer. My
account still had not been processed by GRC and my April
9th deadline had expired. After a long conversation with SunPass, the
basically told me I was out of luck.

I finally was contacted by GRC and sent them a check for the amount
requested. They cashed it on April 23rd. In the meantime, I had also sent
in my payment for the ticket issued on March 27th.
SunPass had earlier informed me that, once GRC was paid, it would take
two weeks for it to get back into the SunPass system and then a
representative would contact me.

Apparently not. I just got home from work and found a letter stating
that my license is suspended as of May 27th. Furthermore, I received a
notice a few days ago that I had to go to court for the
ticket from March 27th, even though I had paid all fees and my check
for that has been cashed.

If I had knowingly done something wrong, I would have no problem. But
this is ridiculous. When I first spoke to SunPass, they said that my
transponder had been canceled but they couldn’t even tell me
why!

I seriously feel like a victim here. I have been working so hard to get
everything straightened out and no one seems to be very helpful. I am
a teacher and I won’t even be able to finish the school
year because I can’t drive to work! I’m also moving to Virginia in June and have no
way to move my belongings now!

Rich Shopes from the Tampa Tribune write this excellent report about sunpass

TAMPA - Cynthia Hill racked up more than $3,000 in fines for unpaid tolls after her husband borrowed her car last summer to get to his job at MacDill Air Force Base.

The battery for the car’s dashboard transponder ran low, but Hill didn’t realize it until months later when she got a letter explaining her license was being suspended for unpaid tolls on the Selmon Crosstown Expressway.

“This was the first time I was aware there was a problem. I was so upset,” said Hill, a postal worker from Hernando County who needs a driver’s license for work.

Hill’s situation is increasingly common. Escalating numbers of SunPass users – now 66 percent of all drivers on toll roads – and a push by the state to improve its toll-collection rate has resulted in more people facing hefty fines and suspended licenses for seemingly minor violations.

The changes started showing up a year ago when the agency that operates most of Florida’s toll roads lowered the threshold for sending out violation notices.

People previously could skip out on three tolls before a collection letter would go out. Now the threshold is a single violation. And if violators wait around long enough, their unpaid tolls can morph into traffic citations that can affect driving privileges.

The result: longer lines at traffic court as people fight to keep their licenses.

At traffic court in Hillsborough County, the first Friday of each month is dedicated solely to toll violations. A year ago, only a handful of such cases appeared on the docket.

Back then “it was very limited,” said Bill Foster, a hearing officer in Hillsborough’s traffic court. “I hardly saw any toll cases.”

The May 2 docket was typical: about 900 cases.

Blame The Machine

About half of them involved motorists with SunPass transponders. Sensors at toll booths detect the electronic devices and then bill the motorist.

If a toll isn’t paid within three weeks, it can turn into a $25 fine. If still unpaid 30 days later, it can escalate to a $165 citation that adds three points to the driver’s license. At 12 points, the license gets suspended.

As expected, not everybody is happy with the changes.

“There is a belief among a lot of attorneys, even on the law enforcement end, that maybe this can operate a little bit harshly,” said Anthony Arena, a Tampa lawyer who often handles toll cases.

Keith Warshofsky, another lawyer, said, “It’s definitely one of those things that seems unfair.”

Circuit Judge John Galluzzo in Sanford was so incensed at the severity of the punishments that in April he tossed thousands of citations and barred toll road operator Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise from issuing tickets in Seminole and Brevard counties.

Galluzzo was irked that a firefighter incurred thousands of dollars in fines because the transponder in his wife’s sport utility vehicle had a low battery and didn’t register the tolls.

Because the family moved, the toll notices went to the wrong address and were never forwarded. The violations snowballed into more than $3,000 in fines and resulted in suspension of the man’s license. He spent months fighting to get it reinstated.

Tell It To The Judge

Hill and others spun similar stories on May 2 in Tampa’s traffic court.

After appearing before a hearing officer, Hill said she thinks the battery on her transponder ran low, causing the problem. She moved to a new home and didn’t hear about the issue until months later when she got a notice her license was suspended.

“My biggest concern is the lack of communication. I was not even aware of this until the department of motor vehicles contacted me,” she said.

Hill lived in Riverview at the time but now resides in Hernando County. Her husband, a member of the Air Force, is in Iraq.

Cory Jefferies of Tampa lost his license after two trips on the Selmon expressway, one each on April 25 and 27.

Jefferies moved to a new home after the violations occurred and said he didn’t know about the unpaid tolls until months later when he was pulled over by a police officer and told his license was suspended.

“It was suspended as a result of not paying two $1.75 tolls,” Jefferies said. “It’s definitely an injustice. I could understand it if it was speeding. That’s my fault. But here, I have a SunPass account.”

Deficit Disorder

About a year ago, Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, which operates most of the state’s toll roads, started cracking down after it learned it lost $20 million the year before in unpaid tolls.

The authority started to address the problem by enforcing its service agreements with customers. Just as customers are required to change the batteries in their transponders, they are responsible for keeping their accounts up to date when they change vehicles or move.

A single toll violation can get out of hand if the agency can’t contact the motorist or if the violation is allowed to linger.

“Some of it is people moving away,” said Arena, the Tampa lawyer. “Some of it is they received the notices and just didn’t react to them. A lot of people let the notices sit there, and the time period runs, and they don’t realize there’s a problem until it’s too late.”

Joanne Hurley, a spokeswoman for Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise, couldn’t say how much money the authority has recovered since last year’s push.

The authority recovered $1.3 million in unpaid tolls in the 2007 fiscal year. The 2008 fiscal year ends June 30.

For each violation that escalates to a $165 fine, the authority gets $25, plus the amount of the toll. The rest, in the form of surcharges, goes to various health and safety programs across the state.

There’s a raft of rules SunPass users must follow. Among them: The devices cannot be moved from one vehicle to another unless the second vehicle is listed on the transponder’s account. Users also are obligated to notify the agency of any changes that might affect their accounts, such as a change in a car’s registration or license plate.

“It’s incumbent on these people to keep this information up to date,” she said.

The authority has made one change on its end that might help users.

In February, the authority started forwarding the toll collection notices it mails out.

Hurley said the change should help collection process. She defended the authority’s efforts to recover unpaid tolls.

“Like any good business, you want to make sure you are collecting all the revenue that is due you,” she said.

RULES OF THE TOLL ROAD

•Pay attention to your transponder battery. If the battery is low, the transponder will emit three low tones when you go through a toll booth and its green light will not flash. Those signs also could mean a problem with your account.

•Contact SunPass, 1-888-865-5352, if you get a new license plate, your address changes or the device is being used in a different vehicle.

•If using a prepaid account backed by a credit card, contact SunPass if your bank issues a credit card with a new number.

•If using a transponder in more than one vehicle, make sure the second vehicle is registered with SunPass.

•Mount the SunPass to the windshield, not the dashboard. Go to www.sunpass.com for a list of vehicles and instructions for attaching the devices.