Just a scan: New QR code introduced to pay PA Turnpike tolls

Beaver County Times
·5 min read

The PA Turnpike Commission is making it easier for customers to pay their tolls and save money every time they travel the highway.

A recent upgrade of the Turnpike’s Toll By Plate invoice includes a QR code customers can scan to pay right from their devices. The invoice was reshaped to better guide Toll By Plate customers through the payment process, including new options to pay.

The QR code takes customers straight to the Toll By Plate website, where they can pay or convert to E-ZPass to save on current and future trips. By choosing “Convert to E-ZPass,” customer information automatically populates the form. Charges on the invoice update to reflect the lower rate being deducted from the prepaid E‑ZPass account.

“Our Toll By Plate invoice shows customers precisely how much they can save by switching to E-ZPass. Now, with the streamlined conversion process, it’s easier than ever to switch and save up to 60%,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “E-ZPass remains the easiest, least-expensive way to pay. Most customers pick up an E-ZPass GoPak at one of more than 700 retail locations across the state, including 7-Eleven stores at PA Turnpike service plazas.”

To find a nearby retailer or learn more about purchasing an E-ZPass visit www.paturnpike.com.

For customers with the PA TOLL PAY app, scanning the QR code on the invoice will launch the app and take them directly to the Toll By Plate payment screen. The turnpike’s “PA TOLL PAY” app enables customers to quickly review and pay invoices and manage and update E-ZPass accounts. Toll By Plate customers can use the app to sign up for AutoPay to receive a 15% discount on invoices.

“On top of the app and QR code, we continue to provide customers new, more convenient, ways to pay,” Compton said. “Our goal is to offer options that better reflect customer preferences.”

In addition to PA Turnpike options, non-E-ZPass customers and infrequent travelers may choose other ways to pay. Third-party mobile apps are available through several private vendors. A user registers in the apps by entering license plate, email and payment information. Currently, PA Turnpike customers can use PayTollo, Uproad and GoToll. These options may carry an additional cost; users should carefully read third-party terms and conditions.

Earlier this year, the turnpike partnered with a nationwide cash payment network, enabling customers to pay invoices and replenish E-ZPass accounts with cash. More than 70,000 familiar drug, convenience and discount stores participate in the network. Customers must generate a pay slip before visiting a participating store.

“Today, we offer E-ZPass and Toll By Plate customers six ways to pay: by mail, by phone, online, using a mobile app, through the cash-payment network, and by walk-in at our Harrisburg Customer Service Center,” Compton said. “In cases where customers refuse to take advantage of these options, we do all we can to collect every dollar owed. It’s good business and fair play.”

If the initial Toll By Plate invoice is not paid or resolved within 30 days, a past-due invoice is mailed. Past-due invoices include a late fee of $5 or 1.5% of the amount owed, whichever is higher. Invoices unpaid after 60 days go to collections. The PA Turnpike uses multiple collection agencies. These agencies use several methods to contact customers, including text messages. Since April, the response rate of the text-message program has been more than 4%, with monthly collections averaging more than $128,000.

Customers with PA registrations who accumulate $500 or more in tolls and fees (or six or more unpaid violations) are pursued for registration suspension as required under Act 165 of 2016. A person convicted of driving a vehicle with a suspended registration will receive a three-month driving privilege suspension.

“Legislation introduced in Pennsylvania — and likely to be considered later this month — would empower the Commission to chase more evaders by lowering the Act 165 thresholds for registration suspension to $250 or four or more violations,” Compton said. “The measure could result in 25,000 additional suspended registrations, prompting scofflaws to pay an estimated $18 million more in tolls and fees. We worked closely with lawmakers on this bill, and we look forward to its passage and implementation.”

The PA Turnpike uses several other enforcement measures to collect, including:

  • working with local district attorneys to file criminal charges against egregious violators;

  • filing civil charges against those with unpaid tolls up to $12,500 as well as filing civil and criminal lawsuits against commercial carriers;

  • engaging neighboring toll agencies on reciprocity to provide mutual authority to pursue scofflaws in other states (such efforts are challenging since states have different toll-evasion laws and back-office procedures); and

  • continuing to collaborate with state lawmakers on other ways to compel toll scofflaws to pay up.

In addition, the commission continues to evaluate best practices in and outside the tolling industry as an active member of the International Bridge Tunnel & Turnpike Association’s Lost Revenue Task Force. The task force is charged with reviewing the impacts of lost revenue and assessing best practices and improvements in collections and loss prevention.

“Regrettably, revenue loss is a fact of life in our industry, just like it is in the retail sector. It happened even when we collected cash,” Compton said. “We successfully capture 93-94% of revenues, which compares favorably with other agencies. What remains uncollected is largely a human-behavior issue, not a technological one. Certain people simply refuse to pay their fair share. This behavior started in 1940 when the PA Turnpike first opened to traffic.”

Of the roughly 6% of transactions that do not realize revenue, he said 4% is due to customers receiving but not paying an invoice. Then, 1.9% is due to issues with obtaining address information i.e., the DMV cannot provide an address, the address is undeliverable or the license plate is blocked or missing. Only 0.1% is due to the collection system's ability to capture legible license-plate images.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: PA Turnpike introduces new QR code to pay tolls