Posted on 02/02/2011 6:18:42 AM PST by Tolerance Sucks Rocks
The authorities that run San Francisco's iconic Golden Gate Bridge announced that next year, they will remove the crossing's human toll takers and replace them with electronic sensors. The switch has been sold as a triumph for efficiency and traffic flow but is potential budget disaster for tourists who now risk stumbling into fines or having to pay more money for e-pass equipment.
Cities and states across the world have been moving to sensor-based tolling systems, from TxTag in Texas to E-ZPass in 14 states, without regard to the burden it places on tourists who either don't understand the system, have never heard of it, or can't reasonably access the tools for using them. The decision to remove all human toll-takers means visitors no longer have an alternative and must pay higher rates than everyone else.
The Golden Gate may be the most popular bridge on the planet for tourists, who cross by the hundreds daily to the Vista Point Overlook, where they take for postcard-perfect photographs views of the Bay Area. Unless they're from California and brought their own cars, they are unlikely to have personal access to its FasTrak subscription electronic passes, subjecting them to increased expenses.
Tourists often discover too late that these systems exist. "I remember seeing some signs about FasTrak when I was there but I have no idea what it was," wrote one victim on a message board after being served with a $110 fine. "I haven't been to California before and just followed directions on my GPS to keep left onto 91W...What should I do?... I live in Arizona and we don't have anything like that here and I am very much unfamiliar with the system."
(Excerpt) Read more at news.travel.aol.com ...
Take a cab. Or a tour bus.
This article is full of melo-drama. First, people who cross the bridge without an electronic sensor will be mailed a bill for $6. For occasional users of the bridge, this should not be a big deal. To compare that to misusing HOT lanes (these suck, but are another issue altogether) and incurring the fine for doing so is invalid.
http://www.hornblasters.com/products/details.php?i=license-plate-flipper
Warning, use of this item in a nanny state pretty much means the entire library being thrown at you.
Welcome to California!
If you rent a car in a large, unfamiliar area, buy the E-Z Pass. No matter how lost you get, you don’t have to cue up in the cash lane.
I travel thru on the ILL. tow way a couple of times a year I brought a IPass it just saves lots of time and money. I would like to see all the toll ways except other states systems.
I liked when the IL tollway started accepting EZ Pass in 2006 or 2007, so that when I drove it on the way to the Pacific Northwest, I didn’t have to queue up in the cash lanes.
Could be worse, I was driving in Illinois in a rental car and exited off a highway only to find a small toll station on the ramp itself. It only took exact change in a basket and I almost never carry cash. Fortunately after digging through my pockets I was able to come up with enough lose change to lift the gate and let me out!
They are trying to force this Orwellian crap on everyone here in NY/NJ. While I certainly see the benefit of it, NJ and NYC have so many drivers pass through that are from other parts of the country (so buying this doesn’t make sense for them). They gradually reduce the number of toll booth attendants, forcing you onto longer & longer lines, when in fact the reduction in workforce should translate into a reduction in tolls as well. They spent a long time trying to get their billing straight here in NJ, and after publicly stating the EZ Pass would not be used for law enforcement they used it for exactly that when some derelicts murdered a restaurant owner and drove his car around without realizing they were “tripping” the sensors whenever they passed through toll plazas (apparently they were unaware that the car was so equipped). Anyone in an auto accident must realize that the system can be used to gauge their speed from point A to point B, and those records could be used in court against them.
Thankfully, I barely use NJ toll roads, so have never considered using EZ Pass. I also regard NYC as though I’m looking across the DMZ (I really can see it from my house), so have no need for it there, either.
Nice statist point of view there, Sam. Most of these systems have license-plate recognition. They should simply program out non-California plates. AT MINIMUM, they should send a bill for the toll only, and not a fine.
Of course, if fewer tourists go to California, that is a "good thing" in my book.
So why did THESE folks (and obviously others) get a fine, instead??
So why is this illegal?
The US government has declared that its currency is "legal tender" for all debts public and private. "Legal tender" must be accepted by someone offering goods or services. They are not permitted to accept only something else, say Canadian Dollars. (Originally this was to prevent merchants to require gold or sliver payments instead of paper.) And obviously the merchant could not say that he accepted Canadian Dollars immediately but required a 45 minute delay for those wanting to pay with US Dollars.
ML/NJ
I got a letter from the Florida DOT which was a warning but no fine.
Florida treats tourists very well, but, I'm not sure I'd have received a warning if I had Florida plates on my car.
That's a bad habit to have.
EzPass and Tolltags are a great idea but are not implemented the same in every state.
In Texas, you are billed $40 and then can take your time using it. In many states, you are billed a monthly usage fee if you use it or not. This is a really bad idea.
Could be worse, I was driving in Illinois in a rental car and exited off a highway only to find a small toll station on the ramp itself. It only took exact change in a basket and I almost never carry cash. Fortunately after digging through my pockets I was able to come up with enough lose change to lift the gate and let me out!
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That happened to me in Denver before they changed to EZ-Pass! Just off the plane, in a rental and it was an automated machine that only took coins - it needed exact change. I had all paper money & no attendant. I ran it because I had no choice and had a bill for quite a bit of money - over $100 I believe - in the mail. Luckily I called them and they had a one-time forgive option for people caught in that situation. *whew* I owed $9 instead!
I do think if they’re going to automate all of them, it does just need to be something manageable like $6 or $9 dollars, not some outrageous fee because they didn’t have the EZ-Pass or whatever.
EzPass and Tolltags are a great idea but are not implemented the same in every state.
In Texas, you are billed $40 and then can take your time using it. In many states, you are billed a monthly usage fee if you use it or not. This is a really bad idea.
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In Denver they bill $35 or fractions thereof to keep your account around $35 in credits and you can take your time using it. No monthly fees.
How are they going to be BILLED???
Think about, I rent a car, I drive over the bridge, the state has no IDEA who I AM.. and they aren’t going to ask the rental company... They are going to bill the rental company who is going to say I don’t owe it... this other person does... they were driving the car. Are they going to forward the bill to you? Nope... Though they may tell the state if they feel like it, time will pass, the bill will go unpaid and eventually the beaurocrats are not going to send you a $6 bill they are going to send you a 100+ fine for not paying the toll on time.
Don’t kid yourself, this MUST USE EZ-PASS or whatever is complete and total CRAP. Tolls won’t go down one bit. They introduced EZPass years ago here in PA... and have been slowly making it harder and harder to use cash.. yet the tolls continue to rise at ungodly rates.. another 10+% this year alone.
Its all a giant scam as far as I am concerned.
Just blow through the toll booth and park on the other side and wait for the cop and pay him. Only thing I can think of.
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