Tollway Users May Pay $1 a Month for Transponders

In a move likely to be unpopular with motorists, Orange County toll road officials are considering a $1 monthly charge for transponders, the devices that automatically deduct tolls from prearranged accounts.

The fee--which could be approved next week--would apply only to Fastrak transponders issued by the Transportation Corridor Agencies, which run the San Joaquin Hills, Eastern and Foothill toll roads. Transponders issued by the 91 Express Lanes, which carry a $5 monthly minimum charge, would not be affected.

The $1 surcharge is needed, officials said, to offset the cost of supplying the windshield-mounted devices, which allow motorists to pay their toll without slowing down. In part, officials are concerned about the cost of supplying transponders to drivers who rarely use them--about 45,000 of the 230,000 issued so far.

Toll road officials, who have spent $9.4 million on transponders so far, also are concerned about meeting the eventual cost of replacing the transponders, which last about seven years.

“The transponders are assets for us,” said Colleen Clark, chief financial officer for the Transportation Corridor Agencies. “If they don’t cost our customers anything, then there is no incentive for them to be used.”

But one toll road expert wonders if the agencies are looking for a way to bolster revenue, which is lagging behind projections. At current usage, the surcharge would provide nearly $3 million a year. “That’s a nice chunk of change, isn’t it?” said G.J. “Pete” Fielding, a UC Irvine professor who is a former director of the campus Institute of Transportation Studies.

Others say it makes no sense to charge transponder users--who are the most regular toll road customers--more than those who pay cash.

“I’m afraid it will just alienate our loyal users,” Orange County Supervisor Todd Spitzer said. “It doesn’t make sense to be punitive against the people who use the road.”

Spitzer, chairman for the board that oversees the San Joaquin Hills Corridor, argued at a committee meeting Tuesday for an alternative proposal: a $5 monthly minimum on transponder accounts, similar to that levied by the 91 Express Lanes.

Lisa Telles, a spokeswoman for the agencies, said that while some toll road systems in the country give transponder users a break on tolls, Orange County’s system provides greater convenience.

“On some of the older systems, drivers with transponders still have to slow down at the toll plazas. Giving them a discount encourages them to try the new technology, but here you go through at regular highway speeds,” Telles said. “We think our users are getting a good value.”

Frequent toll road users still may escape the proposed fees. Some board members on Tuesday expressed interest in waiving the fee for regular users of the roads, although who would qualify has not been determined. Members of the board that oversees the Foothill and Eastern toll roads are scheduled to discuss the issue today; both boards are scheduled to vote June 10.