Forget your I-PASS? Prepare to see tolls double
The Illinois Tollway is cracking down on I-PASS users who don’t have their transponders in their vehicles.
Illinois motorists using I-PASS will see their tolls double if they don’t have their transponders in their vehicles.
Previously, the Illinois Tollway would charge the discounted toll rate to drivers who had an I-PASS account but didn’t have a transponder in their car when tolled. But that bit of leniency is effectively gone, thanks to the Illinois Tollway’s new policy, according to television station KWQC.
Residents with multiple cars but only one transponder should beware. The new policy went into effect Jan. 1 and will hit frequent tollway users the hardest. After five tolls on an I-PASS user’s vehicle without a transponder in one month, the discounted rates will be temporarily suspended, and that I-PASS holder will have to pay cash rates for tolls – twice the price of the I-PASS rates – for the rest of the month.
It is estimated the move will increase the tollway’s revenue by $15 million, according to the Daily Herald. Tollway officials also claim the reform will yield administrative savings, as the current system is time-consuming for employees.
Illinois Tollway spokesman Dan Rozek estimates about 40 percent of I-PASS users have fewer transponders than registered vehicles.
“I-PASS users will have multiple options to obtain additional transponders through their existing I-PASS account, which will allow them to obtain new transponders with only a refundable $10 deposit per transponder,” Rozek said, according to the Daily Herald.
Illinoisans frustrated at being nickeled and dimed at every turn will want to remember their I-PASS transponders or avoid the tollway altogether.
To order by phone, call 800-824-7277.
I-PASS frequently asked questions.
Click here for information regarding unpaid tolls and violations.