TBO.com - TBO is Tampa Bay Online

2010 May See The End Of Selmon's Cash Tolls

Tribune file photo by JAY NOLAN

The Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority plans to replace manned booths with cashless, electronic toll collection equipment by mid-2010.

ADVERTISEMENT

By RICH SHOPES

rshopes@tampatrib.com

Published: January 2, 2009

TAMPA - Drivers on the Selmon Crosstown Expressway who pay tolls with cash will get a warning this spring that their days are numbered.

By the summer of 2010, there will be no more cash tolls on the 15-mile highway, making it the first in the state to eliminate every cash toll booth from its system.

The Tampa-Hillsborough County Expressway Authority, the agency that operates the Selmon, is planning to replace the booths with cashless, electronic toll collection equipment.

The expressway's upper lanes have the equipment, which is tailored to work with drivers' SunPass units. With the conversion, the rest of the highway, including all entrance and exit ramps, will also go electronic.

The change is expected in July 2010 and mirrors similar conversions across the country.

"You can expect to see a lot more of this in the future," said Christa Deason, a spokeswoman for Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, which operates most of the state's toll roads. "It's less expensive to build interchanges and less expensive for maintenance, upkeep and staffing."

Turnpike Enterprise's last two interchanges in Osceola and Orange counties were constructed exclusively for electronic tolling. Its new interchange on the Polk Parkway at USF Polytechnic will also be electronic. In December, northbound I-95 debuted electronic-only toll lanes.

Agency officials plan to launch an education campaign this spring to alert the road's 40,000 daily users.

Sue Chrzan, spokeswoman for the expressway authority, said some who prefer paying tolls in cash will complain, but most motorists will be supportive because they won't have to slow down at booths.

More than 70 percent of Selmon customers use SunPass or have prepaid video-tolling accounts.

To deduct the tolls, the authority will erect overhead gantries outfitted with cameras and electronic readers at every toll location.

Drivers can maintain their speed as they pass under the gantry and the toll is recorded. Chrzan hailed the technology as safe for drivers because it will eliminate the weaving between lanes that now occurs as cars approach the booths.

The change will cost the agency about $12 million. At this point, there are no plans for a toll increase.

Groups, such as AAA, are skeptical. AAA Auto Club South opposes toll roads because of the cost to drivers. Removing the cash option will burden motorists who don't own transponders or live outside the area, and that could cause road hazards.

"You don't want drivers panicking because all of sudden they realize they can't pay with cash, and they're backing up and making U-turns," said Gregg Laskoski, a spokesman for AAA Auto Club South.

"They're going to need to have very effective and clear communication," he said, referring to the expressway's entrances and exits.

Drivers like Sean Petit, a plumber from Brandon, said the cashless system will complicate how he gets reimbursed for travel expenses. Currently, he submits his toll receipts from the attendants.

Now he figures he'll have no choice but to buy a SunPass, which he resents. Two options are available: $5 for the SunPass sticker or $25 for the larger transponder unit. SunPass users pay 25 cents less for each toll and in doing so can recoup the cost of the transponder over time.

That doesn't comfort Petit.

"Basically, they're forcing people like me who use cash to go out and buy one of these," he said.

The authority says customers who don't want a transponder can set up a video-tolling account.

Chrzan said more than 90 percent of Selmon users are daily commuters, making it ideal for electronic tolling.

"As people get more comfortable with technology, it's a natural evolution," she said. "I just think it's the wave of the future."

Reporter Rich Shopes can be reached at (813) 259-7633.

Loading Comments...

Email Print

ADVERTISEMENT