TxDOT rapidly achieved its goal of converting drivers accustomed to complaining about traffic into customers willing to pay to drive on modern new toll roads. Within a month after tolls were first charged, tag penetration averaged 75 percent daily – 81 percent during peak periods – and there were more than 200,000 funded TxTags installed on vehicles. Three program decisions led to unprecedented results in the tolling industry: 1) investing in a comprehensive marketing and outreach campaign to educate the public about the new toll roads and TxTag, 2) using pricing and other incentives to encourage people to test drive the new roads and sign on early with the TxTag program, and 3) giving TxTags away free of charge for more than a year. User-paid roadways were completely new to the area, and potential customers were generally not aware of modern toll methods and their convenience. TxTags are also sold at AAA offices around the area and about 20,000 people have them in our area.In 2006, the Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) opened the fi rst toll roads in the Austin area and introduced a new state-of-the-art electronic toll tag, named TxTag. It can keep you from getting a fine of more than $30. TxTag registration is free and can be done online. TxTag officials say they have about 60,000 accounts statewide that do not have license plate information on file and potentially those drivers could be fined by HCTRA if the TxTag is not read properly by the EZ tag equipment. "If you don't have any of those three things, we don't consider you as being interoperable, meaning you can't use our system with your tag." You have to have an account in good standing, and you have to have your license plate registered," Howse said. Otherwise, if a TxTag-equipped car passes through an EZ Tag reader and a problem occurs, the driver will be fined. In turns out TxTag does not require license plate registration for use within its own system of toll roads, but drivers who are using a TxTag on toll roads in Harris County must take the extra step of registering their license plates. So because his tag didn't read, we had no reference point to say that he did have a tag." HCTRA spokesperson Lawanda Howse explained, "He had a TxTag and he did not have his license plate registered in the system. Do Texas tolls take credit cards You can pay using a credit or debit card, but you need your license and bill number handy. When that happens, the agency tracks down the account by using a car's license plate.īut the Kasers' license plate was not on file. In Austin, all the toll booths are converted to an all-electronic payment system. Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) officials say occasionally their EZ Tag readers do not receive the information from windshield mounted tag. She said, "We had to pay almost a $40 fine when we thought we were doing everything the right way." It is issued by the Texas Department of Transportation and is supposed to work on all toll roads in Texas. Kaser and her husband both have a TxTag in their cars. TxTag owner Karen Kaser said, "In the instructions, it says you can use it on all the toll roads in Texas - the TxTag, the EZ Tag and Dallas has a tag, too." If you do not have a current EZ Tag account and go through the EZ Tag lanes you can expect a fine, but a handful of drivers who have a TxTag are also getting a fine. It may sound simple but TxTag does not require the registration in all cases and it's leading to fines for some drivers. To use a TxTag on Harris County toll roads you have to make sure your car's license plate is registered. Chances are you know about the EZ Tag, but TxTags are becoming popular as well.
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