E-470 toll road goes cashless
By Kevin Flynn, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)
Published August 19, 2008 at 3:14 p.m.
Photo by Ellen Jaskol © The Rocky
A stretch of E-470 between 120th Avenue and U.S. 85 in Brighton in 2002.
E-470 is going cashless.
Drivers without prepaid transponder accounts will be mailed bills instead of fines when they go under the high-speed toll plazas, the board that oversees the highway decided.
For six months beginning Jan. 1, drivers without prepaid accounts can try the nonstop tolling or can continue to pull over to the side and pay the toll collectors.
But on July 4, the toll booths will be closed and nonstop tolling will be the only method used.
"It's a significant change and a number of tolling authorities are moving in this direction," said Dan Christopherson, spokesman for the E-470 Authority.
Nothing changes for drivers who already have E-470's prepaid EXpressToll transponders.
The plan relies on E-470's existing system of cameras that read license plates of every vehicle that go through toll plazas.
For those who don't have an account, a bill will be mailed to the address where the vehicle is registered, Christopherson said. It remains to be decided how often a bill will be sent and whether any additional fees will be tacked on.
But drivers who do not pay the bills will be hit with a fine for toll evasion, currently $70.
"It makes it a lot more convenient for people because you don't need to have exact change or an adequate amount of money with you," Christopherson said.
The plan affects only the E-470 toll stations, and not the ones on Northwest Parkway or on CDOT's I-25 Express Toll Lane. Drivers still will have a cash toll option at the plaza on Northwest Parkway, while CDOT fines solo drivers who don't have a prepaid account on the I-25 toll lane.
There are five toll plazas on E-470's 46-mile main line, along with unstaffed coin booths at many of the entrance and exit ramps. About 114 people work in toll collection for the agency. They will be given opportunities to transfer to customer service jobs before the change takes place, Christopherson said.
flynnk@RockyMountainNews.com or 303-954-5247
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August 19, 2008
3:28 p.m.
Suggest removal
7_ogNiOj writes:
To understand the nature of this move you only need to read a partial sentence from this article: "toll evasion, currently $70." That's all it's about. If they can just get a handful a day that misplace the payment, don't receive it, forget about it, have their payment lost in the mail, etc., revenues should go up nicely.
And of course the operational savings.
August 19, 2008
3:40 p.m.
Suggest removal
jamesdenver writes:
Thankfully I live downtown and never leave a 6 mile radius of my house unless going to the mountains, Wyoming for camping, or the airport.
August 19, 2008
3:44 p.m.
Suggest removal
The_Punnisher writes:
Hmm. What was one of the reasons that the colonists founded this country??
Was it TAXATION without representation???
" unmanned con booths "
A true FREUDIAN SLIP there, Rocky...
Kevin may have just done a better job at showing his true feelings...
He does a much better job than Gary Richards ( Mr ROAD BLOW ) at the San Jose Mercury News.....
August 19, 2008
4:06 p.m.
Suggest removal
AC writes:
7_ogNiOj, E-470 already fines drivers $70 now if they go through without a transponder. It could mean *fewer* fines instead of more. This at least gives them a grace period by getting a bill first.
August 19, 2008
4:21 p.m.
Suggest removal
The_Punnisher writes:
Ah, fixed the problem quickly, Rocky???
I liked it better the OLD way..
" There are five toll plazas on E-470's mainline, along with unmanned con booths at many of the entrance and exit ramps. About 114 people work in toll collection for the agency. They will be given opportunities to transfer to customer service jobs before the change takes place, Christopherson said. "
August 19, 2008
4:26 p.m.
Suggest removal
gr8fuldude writes:
Can't wait to see how many folks will wind up covering/removing their plates while driving E-470...
August 19, 2008
4:29 p.m.
Suggest removal
Buckwheat writes:
I'll just stay off the road period. It only takes me a few miles out of my way when i don't use it. I don't need the extra hassel.
August 19, 2008
4:52 p.m.
Suggest removal
Anthony writes:
Leave well enough alone....you've already got State Farm doing all the clean-up along the road so you're saving money there -- let those people keep thier jobs. Those who pay cash on a routine basis should get a transponder. Agree with others -- just going to create a slew of unpaid bills -- then what, take the dead beats to court to get the fines? And at what cost? What are you going to do about all the rental cars -- how in the world are you going to track them?
August 19, 2008
4:56 p.m.
Suggest removal
MtnMajesty writes:
What about the bill that comes to the rental car companies? Can't believe they will put up with the amount of time it will take to split the bill between those who drove their cars! Bet they will add an 'administrative fee' to the bill!
August 19, 2008
4:59 p.m.
Suggest removal
awhite411 writes:
Welcome to Denver.....The little boxy police state in the middle of nowhere!
August 19, 2008
5:31 p.m.
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trailertrash writes:
I deliberately don't have an ExpressToll pass, because my employer reimburses me for toll receipts for trips to the airport. This move will save E-470 a lot of money, but you can bet it won't stop them from jacking tolls higher and higher. E-470 is already one of the priciest toll roads in the country when you consider how much per mile you pay. The toll structure is illogical also. It costs $1.75, or 35 cents per mile to drive 5 miles from Parker Road to I-25, but 75 cents to drive one mile from Parker Road to Jordan Road.
August 19, 2008
8:15 p.m.
Suggest removal
EnlightenedOne writes:
awhite411 writes:
"Welcome to Denver.....The little boxy police state in the middle of nowhere!"
Did Denver suddenly become a state? I wasn't aware of that. Read AC's post please. People are already paying the toll, or the fine. The toll authority has simply reduced their operating costs.
No word on severance for the toll booth attendants. Before I got a toll tag, I always found the attendants to be very polite.
August 20, 2008
12:07 a.m.
Suggest removal
Who_Me writes:
What a stupid idea. Rental car and temp tags vehicles alone are two examples of how regular users will get screwed (always having to pay). If rental agencies are halfway clever, rental cars will come equipped with transponders that can be read/scanned so renters will be charged then and there. Out of state license plates - since when does E-470 have permission to access information about cars registered elsewhere? Another example of a Mickey Mouse operation run in the hate state. CDOT can't pay its workers on time, DMV has no clue who you are despite the ID you provide, community college system spends 20 million for a system they can't get working, voter registration/election disaster, in fact, anything having to do with computers - you can count on this state to lay an egg. Why not just make it a requirement to have a transponder installed before a vehicle is allowed on the highway? The 114 toll workers will soon have jobs as bill collectors. Someone has to string together the pictures from plaza to plaza in order to calculate the bill, right? Who is doing that grunt work?
August 20, 2008
12:25 a.m.
Suggest removal
angryman1n writes:
I hate E-470. It cost me $20 when I first PCS'd in because Mapquest didn't mention it was a toll. What happens w/ the other mil members that won't have the opportunity to avoid/pay?
Will they get a waiver, or will they have the licenses suspended (no doubt w/o notification)?
**** Toll roads... another fine example of governments' inability to be financially responsible. ****
August 20, 2008
5:12 a.m.
Suggest removal
happymike44 writes:
I was wondering why you don't call it fraud.
You take public money and build a road then you very nicely charge the very people who paid for the road.
Sounds like a little piece of republican heaven take public money and then charge more money.
What a big bloated pile of feces this is to just cheat everyone.
Here is a suggestion to everyone don't drive the road.
Just let it sit there not generaing a dime.
Wonder how long it would take before it was open for free.
August 20, 2008
5:13 a.m.
Suggest removal
Cowboy63 writes:
awhite411 writes: "Welcome to Denver.....The little boxy police state in the middle of nowhere!"
There are 49 other states to choose from. Pick one and don't come back.
August 20, 2008
7:29 a.m.
Suggest removal
Mike_In_Hartsel writes:
happymike44 is taking an opportunity to blame the right? E-470 wasn’t built with “public money” but through private investments and bond issues. The bonds have been paid back, on time, with interest. That’s not public money as you claim, happymike44. If ignorance is bliss, perhaps that’s why mike44 is “happy”?
August 20, 2008
8:46 a.m.
Suggest removal
EnlightenedOne writes:
angryman1n writes:
"I hate E-470. It cost me $20 when I first PCS'd in because Mapquest didn't mention it was a toll. "
angryman: I guess you didn't read the signs. If you didn't want to pay the toll, then there are opportunities to exit the roadway and take an alternate route. None of the booths charge $20 at once; it's pay as you go. Most users are willing to pay the toll as a matter of convenience.
"What happens w/ the other mil members that won't have the opportunity to avoid/pay?"
I'm not sure from your post where you're going, but have you checked into I-225? There are alternate routes to E-470.
August 20, 2008
9:25 a.m.
Suggest removal
RUKidding writes:
Canada toll roads operate in this manner already. Several years ago I rented a car in NY and drove through Canada. I later received a bill from the rental car agency for the tolls and a hefty fine if I did not pay them. I have also received a toll violation from NY for one of my cars, someone misread the plate number, so they must be able to verify out of state plates.
This has obviously been proven effective.
August 20, 2008
10 a.m.
Suggest removal
trailertrash writes:
Mike_In_Hartsel: Perhaps you're unaware that we who live in Douglas County are charged an extra $10 every year on our vehicle registration to help pay for E-470. Sounds like public money to me. Also, E-470 has agreements with municipalities along the toll road that requires them to arbitrarily restrict speed limits and add unnecessary stop lights on roads that parallel E-470 to discourage drivers from taking an alternate (free) route.
August 20, 2008
10:16 a.m.
Suggest removal
Who_Me writes:
If you want your kids to play on the safest streets in Colorado, look no further than Northwest Parkway. You can practically take a 30-minute nap in the left lane of either direction and not worry about getting hit by a car.
August 20, 2008
4:30 p.m.
Suggest removal
sldfkd writes:
"Perhaps you're unaware that we who live in Douglas County are charged an extra $10 every year on our vehicle registration to help pay for E-470. Sounds like public money to me. Also, E-470 has agreements with municipalities along the toll road that requires them to arbitrarily restrict speed limits and add unnecessary stop lights on roads that parallel E-470 to discourage drivers from taking an alternate (free) route."
Not quite true. They lowered the speed limit on one road, Tower road. The speed limit has since been brought back up to the original speed limit. The traffic lights would have been necessary eventually; just be glad it's E-470 paying for them, not the taxpayers. And $10 a year? Seriously? $10 is all? Stop whining.
I personally think no toll road should ever be built unless they select a date when the road will no longer be a toll road, or set a profit limit, like they did on the Boulder Turnpike. Unfortunately the Northwest Parkway will be a toll road for the next 99 years (at least), and E-470 will probably be a toll road until the world ends!
August 22, 2008
3:30 p.m.
Suggest removal
Keith43 writes:
In many states who utilize tollway transponders, they've expanded their use to tracking your every movement by satellite. Why am I not surprised?