Massachusetts I90 removing Toll Booths

[Canuck_Travelle]

Hi all, Just a note to Canadians travelling via I90 Turnpike in Massachusetts.
The Toll Booths are gone and the collecting of tolls is done via either a transponder or flashing your license plate and sending you a bill in the mail.
I am wondering how they do this for out of the US States in Countries like Canada.
We have passed through the I90 area with the booths gone a year ago going south, back last spring going north, did not receive any bill.
We came down three weeks ago and maybe the bill is back in Canada....I wonder?
Seriously do they have an agreement to get the database from the 10 Provinces and Territories in Canada so as to bill the vehicles passing through? This would appear to involve the Privacy act in many provinces i.e. requesting this from another country or is it that simple?
Wondering if any Canadians have encountered bills in their mail or had interfacing with the Massachusetts I90 authorities on this, if so please post or send me a private email.

Thanks for any input......Ernie

[Canuck_Travelle]

jplante4 wrote:
The local news stations have been running stories for months about errors in the new bill by plate system. As with everything else in Mass, the contract went to some state senator's brother in law who's previous experience was running a liquor store in Southie.

Don't pay the bill. Send MassDOT a certified letter ( better yet on a lawyer's letterhead ) that says you've never been to Massachusetts. If the money from tolls went to actually fixing the roads, I'd be singing a different tune. But it goes into the general fund where it goes to who knows where while the bridges over the Pike are rotting away.

Life in a Blue State.

Hi jplante4
Didn't get a bill yet but when or if I do will post it here, thanks for your reply, the forum here is a great invaluable method of sharing everyone's ideas, I appreciate all, thanks.....Ernie

[jplante4]

The local news stations have been running stories for months about errors in the new bill by plate system. As with everything else in Mass, the contract went to some state senator's brother in law who's previous experience was running a liquor store in Southie.

Don't pay the bill. Send MassDOT a certified letter ( better yet on a lawyer's letterhead ) that says you've never been to Massachusetts. If the money from tolls went to actually fixing the roads, I'd be singing a different tune. But it goes into the general fund where it goes to who knows where while the bridges over the Pike are rotting away.

Life in a Blue State.

[Canuck_Travelle]

alfredmay wrote:
I wonder what happens if you send a check in Canadian dollars drawn on a Canadian bank tp pay a toll charged in USD?

I imagine that the invoice stipulates US currency but if not that would probably boggle down the bureaucracy....LOL

[Canuck_Travelle]

In that link there is a way to pay on line without the invoice number. On the left just above the choice you picked.

True but only if you are registered or a Mass Resident, I had wondered if they might have all databases in their files like our Province making it able to check for recent bills or outstanding bills, but does not appear like it is.
I think Mass non-registered residents can check but not others?

[alfredmay]

I wonder what happens if you send a check in Canadian dollars drawn on a Canadian bank tp pay a toll charged in USD?

[K_Charles]

Canuck Travellers wrote:
It does look like the Mass Toll Authority has their billing setup to access the database for other States, Provinces and Territories as I found this Link

Now the question is do they have the database to access and bill?
Since I don't have an invoice number I tried my Plate Number in the form but did not work, so I am waiting to find out from my neighbor back home to check my mail for a bill from the Mass Toll Authority if it exists.

Will keep you informed.

In that link there is a way to pay on line without the invoice number. On the left just above the choice you picked.

[Canuck_Travelle]

Canuck Travellers wrote:
It does look like the Mass Toll Authority has their billing setup to access the database for other States, Provinces and Territories as I found this Link

Now the question is do they have the database to access and bill?
Since I don't have an invoice number I tried my Plate Number in the form but did not work, so I am waiting to find out from my neighbor back home to check my mail for a bill from the Mass Toll Authority if it exists.

Will keep you informed.

On edit....just checked no bill from the Mass Toll Agency yet back home. On the link to the form above from the Mass Toll Agency one can see all the States, Provinces and Territories are entered.

[Canuck_Travelle]

Mickeyfan0805 wrote:

Canuck Travellers wrote:

Jack, that's exactly the example and reason I want to avoid i.e. getting a bill and late charges, penalties, etc.
Quite willing to pay but want to understand how to do it without getting into a mess of bureaucracy.

If you run into an issue, don't hesitate to call - they will likely work through it with you. We traveled through Midwestern tolls for nearly a month, this summer, without realizing that the cc info on our EZ-pass account had expired (got no emails and it wasn't until I pulled up to a gated toll booth on I-90 in Chicago that I learned it wasn't working - that was fun!). I immediately fixed the cc issue, but received a bill for non-payment with penalties a few weeks later. I called, submitted a brief affidavit, and all penalties were dropped.

Mickeyfan0805
That's very helpful, thanks for sharing that, I would think it would be in their best interest to do that in order to get cooperation on billing.

[Canuck_Travelle]

It does look like the Mass Toll Authority has their billing setup to access the database for other States, Provinces and Territories as I found this Link

Now the question is do they have the database to access and bill?
Since I don't have an invoice number I tried my Plate Number in the form but did not work, so I am waiting to find out from my neighbor back home to check my mail for a bill from the Mass Toll Authority if it exists.

Will keep you informed.

[Mickeyfan0805]

Canuck Travellers wrote:

Jack, that's exactly the example and reason I want to avoid i.e. getting a bill and late charges, penalties, etc.
Quite willing to pay but want to understand how to do it without getting into a mess of bureaucracy.

If you run into an issue, don't hesitate to call - they will likely work through it with you. We traveled through Midwestern tolls for nearly a month, this summer, without realizing that the cc info on our EZ-pass account had expired (got no emails and it wasn't until I pulled up to a gated toll booth on I-90 in Chicago that I learned it wasn't working - that was fun!). I immediately fixed the cc issue, but received a bill for non-payment with penalties a few weeks later. I called, submitted a brief affidavit, and all penalties were dropped.

[Mickeyfan0805]

With 3 vehicles in our family, we have 5 different transponders. We have three EZ-Pass transponders (one for each), a separate transponder for when we are towing, and a suction-cup mounted SunPass that we use when travelling to FL.

As far as the 'mailed bill' system goes - I drove from Detroit to Toronto nearly 15 years ago and received the bill in the mail from Ontario. They've been doing that for quite a while!

[Canuck_Travelle]

NanciL wrote:
We live in NC and travel to Mass several times a year.
We were quite surprised last summer to find the toll booths gone on the Mass Pike.
On our way there several weeks later I received a bill in the mail and I decided to look into paying it, since it was more cost then if I had a transponder. Even though it was only a bit more, just the idea of it irked me.
I checked and found they had recriprocal greements with Maine and NH. and that was all, but after thinking about it I felt that I had a moral obligation to pay and sent in a check.
About a week later I got another bill with a late payment attached.
It was post marked the same date that I mailed the payment.
I wrote on the bill that I had sent it in and wasted another stamp.

Several weeks later I got another bill for my return and they not only had the original late payment, but added more to that.

Needless to say I threw that away and will never pay again there unless I go through a toll booth.

One of the good things I did for myself and family was move out of that state years ago!

Jack L

Jack, that's exactly the example and reason I want to avoid i.e. getting a bill and late charges, penalties, etc.
Quite willing to pay but want to understand how to do it without getting into a mess of bureaucracy.

[Canuck_Travelle]

Thanks everyone for the replies, it does appear that I and others will have to look into getting a transponder or transponders, there are so many Toll Companies that one wonders if they all will be sharing info on the data of plates. The concern I had was that a bill would be sent sometime in the future and not being home would be deemed an infraction and a penalty issued, I have no trouble paying it just trying to sort out the logistics of receiving it.

BTW my daughter living in British Columbia just received a bill from Portugal Highway authorities for $100 US for an unknown reason, unknown to her as it is all in Portuguese in pdf form via email. They vacationed there seven months ago, so it does appear that this problem is wider than our two Countries.

[almcc]

I note that there is a new toll bridge with automated cameras on I-65 in Louisville KY. The new bridge was finished last spring and I didn't get a mail invoice, I assume you only get an invoice if you are a "local".

The 407 in the Toronto area issues mail invoices to out of province/country folks and has an agreement with the Ontario government, you don't get a license renewal if you have unpaid toll charges!