Both legislators have heard from constituents who have had difficulty paying tolls online. Constituents reported glitches within the online toll payment system that have caused a few dollars in tolls to balloon to tens of dollars or more in late fees.
In addition to seeking the reopening of the manual lanes, the Senators asked that Toll Authority Executive Director Jose Alvarez respond to the following questions:
- What is the timeline for the reopening of manual toll lanes on toll roads?
- What is the total value of all unpaid tolls since January of 2020?
- What is the total value of all unpaid tolls since manual toll lanes were closed?
- Will the Toll Highway Authority consider fine forgiveness while Illinoisans are subject to the Executive Order that closed manual toll lanes?
- Is the Toll Highway Authority considering the permanent closure of manual toll lanes?
- If a manual pay option is eliminated, will the Toll Authority provide IPASS transponders free of charge to all residents who have paid manually in the last 12 months?
- If a manual pay option is eliminated, how will tollway users who do not wish to purchase an IPASS be charged for tollway usage since the current online payment option has been problematic for many users?
- What is the total volume of traffic on toll roads month by month during 2020 and in January or 2021?