Illinois Drivers Without I-PASS Paid Over $11 Million In Fees

Over $11 million in fees were paid by drivers in Illinois who don't have I-PASS.

As of January 1st, 2018, the rules for the I-PASS transponder changed.

Before that, as long as your vehicle was connected to your account, you received the I-PASS rate. Even if your transponder wasn't in your car.

Too many people were driving on the tollway without it. Which cost the state thousands of dollars to hire employees to check violators license plate numbers to see if they had an I-PASS account.

That's why the rule was changed. Now, you have to keep your transponder properly mounted on the windshield otherwise, you will be charged full price. Many drivers have been hit with it since then.

According to dailyherald.com,

"The tollway hasn't fared too badly under the new rules, which double rates for I-PASS users who miss six or more tolls a month. Previously, owners of cars linked to I-PASS accounts but without transponders were charged the standard tolls. The change generated $11.1 million in fees."

It doesn't even kick in right away.

"An I-PASS user who skips tolls five times a month because there's no transponder or it's not mounted properly is still charged the I-PASS rate. The cycle starts fresh each month."

Besides making money on the fees, Illinois is also saving a lot of money on not having to look up the license plate numbers for attached accounts.

"The tollway saved nearly $8 million by reducing the number of license plate lookups from 87 million to 37 million in 2018."

Not everyone is breaking the rules.

"In all, 367,826 I-PASS accounts were fined, or 8% out of 4.6 million accounts, officials said. That averaged about $30 per account fined."

For info, check out HERE.

I think the state of Illinois gets enough of our money. Do yourself a favor and get an I-PASS. If you go to the trouble of getting one, then make sure it's in your car at all times. That way you're not paying extra fees.

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