SWANTON, Ohio — Despite 11 Investigates receiving hundreds of comments, emails, and phone calls from angry drivers about the Ohio Turnpike’s new tolling system, turnpike officials said they are not experiencing any anger from consumers.
“We have not experienced ‘angry’ conversations with our customers. Instead, our customers – who have received mailed invoices – are asking for adjustments to max fares,” the turnpike said in a statement in response to questions from 11 Investigates. “Open road tolling is a new system and requires that our customers travel in the appropriate lanes. It may take some time for our customers to get used to the new system.”
On July 30, 11 Investigates reported that 257,000 drivers either missed the Swanton turnpike toll plaza or did not have their E-ZPass transponder read in the first 70 days that the plaza went live.
By comparison, 1,869,000 E-ZPass transponders were read between Swanton (milepost 49) and the Westgate plaza (milepost 4) in Williams County – westbound and eastbound. That’s a miss rate of one out of every eight drivers.
At milepost 49, if a driver does not have an E-ZPass, he or she must pull through the plaza and pay a toll, then re-enter the main turnpike lanes. A person with an E-ZPass would remain on the E-ZPass lanes.
After our initial story ran, two social media posts received more than 800 comments. In addition, we received dozens of emails and calls.
Common themes of complaints were that drivers do not understand that they need to pull off at Exit 49 if they don’t have an E-ZPass, that it is very difficult to reach customer service, that the E-ZPass system is failing, and that they are angry they get bills for $19 – the toll from Pennsylvania to Indiana.
Turnpike drivers' complaints
A sampling of emails (with names omitted):
“I do have an E-ZPass, and when I enter the turnpike, the signs say E-ZPass accepted… When I call to talk to someone, the automated system says they have a higher than normal call volume and to try again later. I have been trying to reach someone for about a month regarding these charges and have yet to be able to talk to someone.”
***
“I logged onto the Ohio turnpike website to find a $20 penalty for going through the wrong toll. This is in addition to having paid once I made it to the Ohio border. I tried to fill out the form that is available to contest the ticket, however, I got an error message each time and was unable to submit the form over the period of a few days.”
***
“I’ll probably never see my $20 again, and if there was any way for me to avoid using the Ohio Turnpike without extending my 1,000-mile, 14-hour journey by over two hours, I would. Over my lifetime, I have seen the introduction of automated ticketing and payment machines in place of human jobs, accompanied by hefty price hikes, and now this? The Ohio Turnpike has become modern-day highway robbery.”
***
“On June 19, I entered at the Swanton gate and exited at the Archbold-Fayette gate and had no issues. On June 20, I returned entering Archbold-Fayette and exited at Swanton. A month later, I received this bill for $19.25, even though the toll should have been $2. It was my company car, so the bill went to my employer and was withheld from my paycheck.”
***
“I thought I was the only person this was happening to. My story is a little different as I actually have an E-ZPass. It wasn't until I began receiving bills that I realized it wasn't scanning the pass when exiting in Perrysburg. The trouble did not begin until after the upgrade in April. Not all of the issues are related to an uneducated public!!!”
***
“I had to get my husband from work in April. When I got off of the turnpike, there was a sign that told me to drive through. No place to pay. No person in the booth. Gate was open. I honestly figured it was a personnel problem or something.
Last month, I got a bill for $19 - about five times what a toll should have been. I tried to get ahold of customer service, but that was a joke. I really didn't want to pay more, so I ended up paying for the stupid thing.”
***
“We received a bill for $19. I used my transponder, but we had just had our windshield replaced, so I just sat it up when we went under it. They charged me $19! I have tried about two dozen times to talk to someone with no avail. Now I just got a second notice with another $5 fine added! It’s insane! I have attempted to talk to someone probably three times a week for five weeks!!
It’s all just a scheme to get more money from everyone. It’s ridiculous, we are no longer using the turnpike.”
In addition, nine frustrated drivers went on camera with us to tell us very similar stories, including stories of not being able to reach customer service or filling out online complaint forms and never being contacted.
Turnpike customer service waits
11 Investigates has attempted to contact customer service multiple times, with the best outcome being a “120-minute wait time.” Other times we were disconnected because of “high-call volume.”
In the statement from the turnpike, we were told: “A contributing factor to our customer service wait times is the fact that our customer service staff is actively working to educate the users of the Ohio Turnpike, as well as adjusting their issues in real time.”
It added that “the good news is that the average wait time to speak with a customer service representative is declining. We have increased customer service hours of operation and hired additional staff.”
After receiving that statement, we again tried calling multiple times, during different hours, and we were disconnected after being told that “due to a high volume of calls, we are unable to take your call.”
Several people told us that they resented being told that the issues are all on consumers, including one person who emailed to say he uses the E-ZPass in more than 10 states and has not had a bad read, except in Ohio: “Bottom line, the Ohio Turnpike has bought defective technology. This is NOT ‘growing pains.’ Customers should not be charged by equipment that is not 99.999%. Or, at the very least, the Ohio Turnpike should accept the customer's word when they tell them where they entered and exited, knowing their E-ZPass system is problematic. This not a problem of customer behavior, it is a problem of sub-par technology coupled with poor management.”
Advice for drivers
A turnpike spokesman offered the following recommendations to consumers:
- If you have billing concerns, call 440-971-2222 or go online to ezpassoh.com.
- If you do not have an E-ZPass, you must stop for a toll ticket or pay your toll by cash or credit card where signs indicate.
- Mount an E-ZPass correctly on the windshield in a non-tinted area and do not attempt to wave it as sensors.
- E-ZPass customers must keep their online accounts up to date by including full contact information, vehicle license plates, and a valid credit card.