CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Motorists began paying higher tolls on the West Virginia Turnpike Tuesday.
The toll increase from $2 to $4 for regular vehicles went into effect at 9 a.m. across all three toll plazas on the Turnpike.
“We have had no problems in the toll lanes to speak of,” Greg Barr, Parkways Authority General Manager, said. “No traffic issues.”
The increase comes after it was delayed from its original increase date of December 31. The delay was in part because of the problems with applications for the discounted $24 three-year EZ Pass to use the Turnpike. The backlog of thousands of applications has since been taken care of by the Authority.
“The only ones we have now to send out is recent orders,” Barr said. “We are processing online orders within a day or two. We have about 500 applications that we are still trying to get ahold of people. We are trying to get the info we need and have to wait to until we get applications filled out completely.”
The Authority allowed any application for the $24 EZ Pass that was sent through the mail with the postmark of the deadline, Jan. 11, to be processed. Most of the recent orders still being processed are ones from the mail. Barr said they received over 700 applications in the mail just on Jan. 11 and the Authority has been working full force on those through Tuesday.
“We tried to get the word out on Facebook and Twitter and even notified all the Secretaries of Transportation in every state,” Barr said about the $24 EZ Pass sale. “We notified the EZ Pass national group so they could get the word out to their members.”
Barr stressed anyone that is wanting to sign up for the current $25 yearly EZ Pass to head online at wvturnpike.com because it is a much easier process.
“We are having to call a lot of people for 3-digit security codes on their credit cards,” Barr said. “Two, three or four calls to find them. It’s much easier to go online and then you are done. Goes right into the fulfillment center, we process the tag order, put it in the envelope, and put it in the mail.”
Barr said they have to call anyone who sent in an application via mail for their 3-digit security code to their credit card due to personal information rules.
According to Barr, the Authority now has between 130,000 and 140,000 EZ Pass accounts, including 90,000 new accounts from the $24 sale. He expects the number to continue to grow over time with the $25 yearly pass sale.
He added that with the added accounts, the Authority is looking to add more workers to their call center to help with all the questions from new customers.
The toll rate increase is also affecting any passenger vehicle hauling a trailer and any commercial vehicle. A passenger vehicle pulling a trailer will pay $5 at each booth instead of $2.50 and for commercial vehicles, the rates range from $6.50 to $24.00 per toll plaza depending on the size of the truck.
Barr said any truckers with a West Virginia EZ Pass will get a 20-percent discount off the cash rate and any with an out-of-state EZ Pass will get a 13-percent discount off the cash rate.
Barr noted that the increase for regular vehicles from $2 to $4 could see an increase in $5 bills used at the toll plazas, different from mostly $1 bills used for the $2 toll.
“Director of Toll and the supervisors have already requested a different composition of their change they get from the bank now,” he said. “They already thought about that and had that straight before this thing switched over.”
The increase in tolls and passes for sale does not affect the way the Authority deals with people that have no cash or transponder when they go through the tolls.
“We will fill out a no-pay receipt that prints quickly and they sign it,” Barr said. “The collector writes the license plate number on the receipt and they get a copy. At the next toll plaza, the driver gives the copy to the collector and the collector prints them another receipt and the same thing happens with the third toll plaza. This all can happen within a 24-hour period.
“You have to pay those tolls within 15 days or you receive a $5 fee. If you fail to pay those within 30 days, it turns into a violation.”
Barr added that any driver that has already used the no-pay receipt once and goes through the West Virginia Turnpike again without cash will receive a $5 fee up front.
Ten southern counties’ highway construction projects will benefit from the increased tolls. The first group of bonds, worth $166 million, were sold in mid-August.