![]() Skeptics of the decrease, however, say making driving cheaper could run counter to the county’s stated goals of moving more people to transit and away from solo driving trips. Officials said lowering costs for commuters was important, particularly as inflation and economic uncertainty make many Houston-area families reassess their budgets. Officials said the increased cost is aimed at moving the added expense of billing to the driver, and away from toll users that go online to resolve their use. For someone HCTRA has to send an invoice demanding payment, the typical $1.50 cost of a single tolling point can increase to $3. Drivers without transponders will be able to use the toll roads, but will pay even more, depending on the circumstances of how they are billed. SHIFTING GEARS: Struggling Houston bike sharing system will be integrated into Metro operationsįor the few remaining drivers, there will be additional changes. Roughly 95 percent of all toll road drivers have a transponder, toll road Executive Director Roberto Treviño said. Those paying with another transponder such as TxTag or the transponders issued by the North Texas Tollway Authority will not pay the lower tolls. The discount will apply only to those with EZTags issued by HCTRA. Someone who passes through two main lane tolling points along the Sam Houston Tollway, for example, would save 60 cents round-trip each day, or $3 per week. With the discount, a toll road user’s five-day weekly commute could drop in price by $10 or more each month. In recent weeks, tolls increased along the Grand Parkway, portions of the Tomball Tollway outside Harris County - maintained by the Texas Department of Transportation - and toll lanes along Texas 288, which is maintained by the private Blueridge Transportation Group under an agreement with TxDOT. The savings, however, only will happen on HCTRA-controlled tollways. “I think it is vitally important we try to help the underbanked,” Precinct 1 Commissioner Rodney Ellis said. The policy changes also will allow people to get EZTags for free, ending the practice of HCTRA charging $15 simply to register a vehicle to use the toll roads. Officials said the price changes will not affect HCTRA’s ability to pay off its debts from borrowing to build or expand toll roads, or its plans to improve trails and bicycling routes around toll roads. The reduction means the toll road authority will forego an estimated $894 million over the next decade, according to a staff analysis. Tuesday's vote marks the first-ever decrease in HCTRA rates, and the first change in tolls since September 2015. The new rates would go into effect in September, once HCTRA finalizes the details and then changes all of its internal billing systems to levy the lower prices. I-45 REBUILD: TxDOT has deal, but many details must be worked out before lifting a shovel ![]() 90A, Hardy Toll Road and Katy Managed Lanes along Interstate 10. The policy changes, announced last week, would drop the price of tolls along the Sam Houston and Westpark tollways, Harris County portions of the Tomball Tollway along Texas 249 and Fort Bend Tollway south of U.S. “To give the taxpayers a little discount is a good thing,” Precinct 3 Commissioner Tom Ramsey said. Harris Commissioners Court on Tuesday approved a 10 percent reduction in toll fees for most drivers, establishing a new rate system as the Harris County Toll Road Authority continues its transition to all-electronic tolling and aims to convince more drivers to get EZTags. ![]() Mark Mulligan/Houston Chronicle Show More Show Lessĭrivers who use Harris County toll roads will see a rollback in their costs, starting this fall. Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday lowered tolls for most drivers by ten percent, including along Westpark Tollway. Scanners are used for toll entry at an entrance for the Westpark Tollway, Thursday, June 16, 2016, in Houston. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Show More Show Less 4 of4 Harris County Commissioners Court on Tuesday lowered tolls for most drivers by ten percent. ![]() Vehicles moves along the Sam Houston Tollway southbound near Memorial Drive on Tuesday, Jan. Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Show More Show Less 3 of4 Melissa Phillip/Staff Photographer Show More Show Less 2 of4Ī truck enters the the Sam Houston Tollway southbound toll gantry near Bellaire Boulevard, on Tuesday, Jan. Vehicles enter the Sam Houston Tollway southbound toll gantry near Bellaire Boulevard, on Tuesday, Jan. ![]()
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