Welcome to DU! The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards. Join the community: Create a free account Support DU (and get rid of ads!): Become a Star Member Latest Breaking News Editorials & Other Articles General Discussion The DU Lounge All Forums Issue Forums Culture Forums Alliance Forums Region Forums Support Forums Help & Search
 

SHRED

(28,136 posts)
Wed Aug 29, 2018, 11:38 PM Aug 2018

Got a Colorado toll road bill

We were driving in Colorado on the E-470 roll road.
I thought for sure they would not be able to run my California plates.

Sure enough...I got a $52.95 bill in the mail.

That is a fucking ripoff OBTW. 😡

33 replies = new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight: NoneDon't highlight anything 5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Got a Colorado toll road bill (Original Post) SHRED Aug 2018 OP
Yeah... I can't imagine how many get caught up in that and it is very expensive... hlthe2b Aug 2018 #1
And now we're getting the I-25 Gap Rorey Aug 2018 #7
Why is it a rip-off? The road is clearly marked as a toll-road, seems like a personal choice. 33taw Aug 2018 #2
Prices weren't marked SHRED Aug 2018 #8
From this Coloradoan, I agree it is a rip-off given NO prices marked. Unless you live/drive Denver hlthe2b Aug 2018 #20
I lived in Boulder for 32 years - moved last year. I chose not to use the tolls because of cost. 33taw Aug 2018 #27
Maybe they thought the fees would be similarly reasonable to those they'd encountered in their own hlthe2b Aug 2018 #28
I found the late payment fees more excessive than the actual toll. 33taw Aug 2018 #32
Try Calling LandOfHopeAndDreams Aug 2018 #3
No penalty SHRED Aug 2018 #6
Wow! LandOfHopeAndDreams Aug 2018 #13
Whoa! How many times did you drive it? Rorey Aug 2018 #4
Just once on our way from Colorado Springs to Loveland SHRED Aug 2018 #5
I'm scratching my head Rorey Aug 2018 #11
Do they have E-Z PASS? 3Hotdogs Aug 2018 #9
Not sure SHRED Aug 2018 #10
We have something similar to EZ-Pass Emoji Guy Aug 2018 #12
Driving the length of the Pa. Pike also dings you more than $50.00 3Hotdogs Aug 2018 #14
you're right mountain grammy Aug 2018 #15
E-470 is fixed price Colorado Liberal Aug 2018 #17
Used it once two years ago mountain grammy Aug 2018 #21
Why was I charged this rate then? SHRED Aug 2018 #23
Call them... They should have number & website on the invoice. They have a decent customer service hlthe2b Aug 2018 #24
I will thanks SHRED Aug 2018 #25
It is. Just moved back to CO from NH JDC Aug 2018 #16
Tolls roads are antithetical to the common good. sandensea Aug 2018 #18
N.J. highway authority is also a rip-off sinicure. 3Hotdogs Aug 2018 #19
We all need all the arts center we can get, but there's better ways to finance it than the tolls. marble falls Aug 2018 #22
But it wasn't about jobs. It was about patronage jobs. 3Hotdogs Aug 2018 #31
+1 sandensea Aug 2018 #29
Oh yeah, they get you every time. CanonRay Aug 2018 #26
I called them SHRED Aug 2018 #30
Sorry that happened. 33taw Aug 2018 #33

hlthe2b

(105,874 posts)
1. Yeah... I can't imagine how many get caught up in that and it is very expensive...
Wed Aug 29, 2018, 11:44 PM
Aug 2018

There is no way to know how much it is costing you ahead of time, either and heaven help you if you miss your exit.

I use it to go to the airport if I am really pressed for time, but generally, I try to allow enough time to go the long way south to I-70 and then East in order to avoid the $$$. Of course the traffic is the punishment for saving a few bucks.

They are merciless if you don't pay it right away... This is what happens when no one wants to pay for infrastructure, I guess.

Rorey

(8,512 posts)
7. And now we're getting the I-25 Gap
Wed Aug 29, 2018, 11:53 PM
Aug 2018

I'm probably going to use that a lot. I absolutely hate that stretch between Monument and Castle Rock.

hlthe2b

(105,874 posts)
20. From this Coloradoan, I agree it is a rip-off given NO prices marked. Unless you live/drive Denver
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 08:35 AM
Aug 2018

regularly, as even one hell of a lot of Coloradoans don't, it is a shock the first time you get the bill.

I followed the Denver tv news as it was being built, but was still taken by surprise how much it cost on my first bill. It was slightly less after getting a transponder, but who does that just traveling across Colorado?

We are forced into toll roads, but there OUGHT to be signage making it clear what it costs, at least to go the full distance and giving drivers an option to get off.

33taw

(2,713 posts)
27. I lived in Boulder for 32 years - moved last year. I chose not to use the tolls because of cost.
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 10:14 AM
Aug 2018

Not sure why someone would use something they don’t know the cost of with the hopes of not being tracked down.

hlthe2b

(105,874 posts)
28. Maybe they thought the fees would be similarly reasonable to those they'd encountered in their own
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 11:13 AM
Aug 2018

states? Maybe they thought there would be a cash payment booth at the end?

Geebus, I have worked/lived/visited nearly every US state... This is not an unreasonable assumption, especially given NO signage to the contrary. I love my state, but we have essentially set up a tourist trap for the monied special interest funding these projects.

33taw

(2,713 posts)
32. I found the late payment fees more excessive than the actual toll.
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 04:20 PM
Aug 2018

Personally, I would rather see toll booths. Hopefully, he can get some of it waived.

 
3. Try Calling
Wed Aug 29, 2018, 11:48 PM
Aug 2018

Sometimes if you call and act like you did not know, they'll let you pay whatever the toll was, rather than with the penalty added in. Worth a shot.

Rorey

(8,512 posts)
4. Whoa! How many times did you drive it?
Wed Aug 29, 2018, 11:49 PM
Aug 2018

I only use it when I'm going to the airport and am running late, or when there's bad weather to consider. I think my biggest bill was less than $20. It's been awhile.

Rorey

(8,512 posts)
11. I'm scratching my head
Wed Aug 29, 2018, 11:59 PM
Aug 2018

I'll just say I'm sorry that happened to you. If you're in the area again, I'd say just stay on I-25.

 

Emoji Guy

(12 posts)
12. We have something similar to EZ-Pass
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 12:09 AM
Aug 2018

But it isn't the same system, so yeah.

🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️🏎️ *vroom*

3Hotdogs

(13,308 posts)
14. Driving the length of the Pa. Pike also dings you more than $50.00
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 12:12 AM
Aug 2018

Prices not marked there either but available on the internet tubes.

mountain grammy

(27,161 posts)
15. you're right
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 12:19 AM
Aug 2018

It's a fucking ripoff.. No set price, depends on traffic and time of day. what bullshit. Just put up toll booths and charge everyone a buck. I've written my state reps often on this. We'll be known as a rip off state.

Colorado Liberal

(152 posts)
17. E-470 is fixed price
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 01:52 AM
Aug 2018

The toll lanes in the middle of I-25 have fluctuating rates, but E-470 is always the same toll amount. With license plate tolling, one-way from the south end to the north end is $21.80. (With E-Z pass it's $14.25). Still expensive, but there's no way it is >$50 for a single one-way trip.

mountain grammy

(27,161 posts)
21. Used it once two years ago
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 08:57 AM
Aug 2018

One way from airport. Got a bill for $36. It’s a rip off just like the I70 express lane.

 

SHRED

(28,136 posts)
23. Why was I charged this rate then?
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 09:43 AM
Aug 2018

Sept 5th is my latest due date to avoid penalty.

Does the rate depend on the vehicle type?

hlthe2b

(105,874 posts)
24. Call them... They should have number & website on the invoice. They have a decent customer service
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 09:46 AM
Aug 2018

so, it wouldn't hurt to plead your case for both explanation of charges and a "break" given you were traveling through the state.

JDC

(10,453 posts)
16. It is. Just moved back to CO from NH
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 12:30 AM
Aug 2018

One round trip to/from DIA cost me more than a month's worth of daily commuter tolls in, out, and around Boston metro.

Total rip off.

I will say, during winter, 470 is clean as a whistle when all other roads are a mess.

sandensea

(22,841 posts)
18. Tolls roads are antithetical to the common good.
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 02:29 AM
Aug 2018

Indeed, many have become little more than rackets since being privatized by way of "concession."

These are not entry gates to a country club, for God's sake.

3Hotdogs

(13,308 posts)
19. N.J. highway authority is also a rip-off sinicure.
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 07:51 AM
Aug 2018

The Garden State Parkway was financed with tolls. The tolls were supposed to end when the bonds were paid. So the bonds get paid, --- No. Lets build the Art Center and we need tolls to pay for that. No one asked why we needed the Art Center.

Now, excess tolls are to be used to pay the public employee pension debt.

But it does give a good salary to politicians who get voted out of office or their relatives.

sandensea

(22,841 posts)
29. +1
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 11:25 AM
Aug 2018

Wherever that money's going, it's not going to maintenance and upkeep of the road itself - that's for sure.

The Garden State Parkway is an excellent example of the need to rescind toll roads generally.

CanonRay

(14,770 posts)
26. Oh yeah, they get you every time.
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 10:06 AM
Aug 2018

That's a very expensive drive, especially if you are towing. I had the same thing on the Massachusetts Turnpike.

 

SHRED

(28,136 posts)
30. I called them
Thu Aug 30, 2018, 11:30 AM
Aug 2018

We were towing a car.
That's why.

No leniency.
They would not budge.
Even though we are out of state and one time.
Fuckers.

Latest Discussions»Region Forums»Colorado»Got a Colorado toll road ...