NTTA gets serious about toll collection efforts

The North Texas Tollway Authority has gone public in an attempt to collect hundreds of millions of dollars in unpaid toll charges.

The agency recently released a list of drivers who have at least 100 outstanding toll transactions. The 751-page list contains more than 25,500 names and more than 13.8 million unpaid toll transactions. The total amount owed by the drivers on the list simply for tolls is approximately $17 million, an amount that jumps to $294.5 million when fees are added in.

Susan Slupecki, media relations manager for the NTTA, said the agency is not trying to shame or embarrass people who owe money. Rather, the list is provided as a service to those people, some of whom may not realize the amount of money they owe, she said.

"This is a fairness issue," Slupecki said. "We regularly hear from the 92 percent of our customers who pay on time every time that they are upset that they are paying, while the person driving next to them is not paying. This is a part of concentrated effort to let the people on the list know they could be subject to additional enforcement coming up later in the year."

The top 10 names on the list owe a combined $1.19 million, with the top violator owing almost $180,000 for 8,366 transactions. The minimum amount owed by a driver on the list is a little more than $2,500.

While people using toll roads and refusing to pay has always been an issue, Slupecki said the frequency of non-payment rose after the NTTA board decided to remove toll booths and transition to cashless, electronic payments in 2007. She said the move was made with the understanding that it would improve air quality, fuel efficiency and time savings through reduced stop-and-go traffic and idling at toll booths. The move has also resulted in safer roads since there is less merging and weaving as drivers approach and depart the booths, she said.

Since the booths were removed from the President George Bush Turnpike in 2009 and the remaining toll roads in 2010, drivers without Toll Tags have been classified as Zip Cash customers, Slupecki said. These customers pay a 50 percent higher toll rate and are sent an invoice with a list of transactions. This invoice must be paid within 30 days, or additional fees and penalties begin to apply, Slupecki said.

"We strongly encourage those who do drive the toll roads to get a Toll Tag," she said. "It is the easiest and most efficient way to pay for the toll usage, to manage your account and to keep track of what you may or may not owe. Plus, you are going to pay a cheaper toll rate."

Officer Lonny Haschel, a spokesman for the Texas Department of Public Safety, said the DPS may become involved when people continuously ignore notices to pay their outstanding toll bill. He said a citation may be issued for failure to pay toll after the third notice, a Class C misdemeanor.

"We are dealing with the criminal side, so we are just looking at the violation, not at the amount of money owed," Haschel said. "The violation is punishable by a fine of up to $500."

In addition to the fine imposed by the court, Chapter 366, Section 178 (g) of the Texas Transportation Code allows the court to collect all of the unpaid tolls, plus any NTTA administrative fees or third-party collection service fees assessed during the collection process.

For a complete list of the NTTA toll violators, visit www.scribd.com/doc/99836666.

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