{"id":35236,"date":"2022-09-29T16:04:18","date_gmt":"2022-09-29T21:04:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/?p=35236"},"modified":"2022-09-29T16:04:18","modified_gmt":"2022-09-29T21:04:18","slug":"oklahoma-turnpike-authority-we-have-to-upcharge-significantly-for-license-plate-tolling","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/2022\/09\/29\/oklahoma-turnpike-authority-we-have-to-upcharge-significantly-for-license-plate-tolling\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Turnpike Authority: \u2018We have to upcharge significantly for license plate tolling\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"

Drivers on Oklahoma turnpikes may have noticed a price hike in tolls after the rollout of the state\u2019s new <\/span>PlatePay cashless tolling system<\/span><\/a>.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>

Oklahoma\u2019s Secretary of Transportation Tim Gatz \u2014 who also serves as the executive director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority \u2014 said at a Tuesday <\/span>senate interim study<\/span><\/a> the increase is to make up for the new system\u2019s collection inefficiencies and billing costs.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWhen you look at [collection] failure rates, they\u2019re going to usually be around 50%,\u201d Gatz said. \u201cI think ours will be better than that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Other states using cashless tolling have seen significant problems with trying to collect tolls billed to drivers. In Pennsylvania, the turnpike authority <\/span>reported a loss<\/span><\/a> of $155 million \u2014 up from $104 million the previous year \u2014 in uncollected tolls for the last fiscal year. Nearly 35% of drivers who receive a toll bill in Pennsylvania never pay it.<\/span><\/p>

According to a spokesperson for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority, Oklahoma\u2019s collection rate for cashless tolls is around 60%. Gatz said the agency is paying attention to the \u201clessons learned\u201d by other cashless tolling states. Part of mitigating loss, he said, is increasing tolls.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWe have to upcharge significantly for license plate tolling,\u201d Gatz said. \u201cWe don\u2019t like to do that, but that\u2019s part of the business model that it brings to you.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

Drivers without a PikePass have likely noticed the uptick in charges. For example, drivers without a PikePass used to <\/span>pay $6.95<\/span><\/a> to drive the length of the H.E. Bailey Turnpike. Now, those same drivers are <\/span>paying $12.20<\/span><\/a> with PlatePay. On the Kilpatrick Turnpike, PlatePay drivers pay <\/span>more than seven times<\/span><\/a> the toll at some exits than PikePass drivers.<\/span><\/p>

The increased \u2018cost to collect\u2019 with PlatePay also includes postage, with stamps currently running $0.58 each. OTA\u2019s spokesperson said the uncollected tolls from PlatePay \u2014 which make up about 40% of these tolls \u2014 come from issues with tag registration, vehicles without tags and drivers not paying their PlatePay bills.<\/span><\/p>

But a license plate reading system will likely not be the state\u2019s last word on toll collection. Gatz said the agency is looking into other technologies like mobile apps, and an OTA spokesperson said the PlatePay system will work until the state converts into something more efficient like a <\/span>road user charge<\/span><\/a> or built-in transponders in new vehicles.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cThe thing we cannot do is think that the cashless tolling system that we have in place now \u2014 that\u2019s a license plate read \u2014 is going to serve us for all of the future, because it will not,\u201d Gatz said. \u201cWe\u2019re going to have to rely on advancing technologies to help us with managing the toll network.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

The spokesperson said the OTA spent $9.6 million to convert toll booths to cashless systems on the H.E. Bailey, Kickapoo, Chickasaw and Kilpatrick turnpikes. But, they note the cost of modernizing three existing cash toll plazas a few years ago \u2014 which included building office spaces for toll workers with water, heat, air and bathrooms \u2014 was $44 million. The agency said operating costs for cashless systems are also lower than cash systems.<\/span><\/p>

The squeeze at the tolls may not just be for PlatePay drivers, though. Amy Cerato, a civil engineering professor at the University of Oklahoma and prominent figure in the anti-turnpike movement <\/span>Pike Off OTA<\/span><\/a>, <\/span>found through an Open Records request<\/span><\/a> the OTA may be planning hikes for PikePass users as well.<\/span><\/p>

The <\/span>chart<\/span><\/a> shows a 10% toll increase in 2023 at the Turner Turnpike \u2014 the route that links Tulsa to Oklahoma City and is the most frequently used branch of the OTA\u2019s turnpike network. From there, the chart shows gradual 6% increases until 2045, where the projected toll is set to reach $9.40. In a <\/span>statement to News9<\/span><\/a>, an OTA spokesperson said the agency can neither confirm nor deny the information.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cIn the context of a 15-year, long range plan and the $5 billion of improvements associated [with the <\/span>ACCESS Oklahoma Turnpike project<\/span><\/a>], some level of toll increases will be necessary,\u201d the statement read. \u201c… The referenced \u2018assumption\u2019 [chart] is a draft and was prepared for very high-level planning purposes. The reference to the Turner Toll Rate is illustrative, and rate increases are normally network wide.\u201d<\/span><\/p>

The statement notes Oklahoma\u2019s tolls remain below the national average.<\/span><\/p>

\u201cWe have to continue to explore other opportunities and other ways to more cost effectively pay those tolls,\u201d Gatz said. \u201cAnd we will not rest until we complete that.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Drivers on Oklahoma turnpikes may have noticed a price hike in tolls after the rollout of the state\u2019s new PlatePay cashless tolling system.\u00a0Oklahoma\u2019s Secretary of Transportation Tim Gatz \u2014 who also serves as the executive director of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority \u2014 said at a Tuesday senate interim study the increase is to make up […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":216,"featured_media":35244,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[492,16,1459],"tags":[1461,1396,1395,1449,1463,1462,1460,1400],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35236"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/216"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=35236"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35236\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":35242,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/35236\/revisions\/35242"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/35244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=35236"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=35236"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stateimpact.npr.org\/oklahoma\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=35236"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}