All-Electronic Toll Collection Update

The NTTA is pleased to report the transition to cashless tolling on the Dallas North Tollway was completed with no major vehicular accidents. We want to thank you, our drivers, for your patience and vigilance during the transition. We anticipate construction continuing through mid-2011 to remove old tolling structures on the DNT. We ask you to continue driving with an eye on safety and patience during the next phase of the transition which will require periodic lane closures. The primary goal during the transition and demolition is the safety of our drivers, staff and contractors.

Demolition of DNT main lane plazas at Parker Road and Keller Springs is tentatively planned for early January.  For the most up-to-date information and specific dates and times, check the www.NTTA.org. 

To receive the latest information about construction related to the transition to cashless tolling, sign up for e-mail updates or visit the cashless tolling pages at NTTA.org.

As we have moved through the transition to cashless tolling, customers have posed questions that we’d like to address:

Q: Have additional tolling points been put in place along the Dallas North Tollway as part of the conversion to cashless tolling?

A: You are correct that we changed tolling locations at and around the Keller Springs Road main lane plaza. However, we did NOT add any additional tolling locations.

• We are no longer collecting tolls at the southbound Keller Springs Road exit ramp, and we are now (as of 12:01 a.m. Dec. 11) collecting tolls at the newly constructed southbound Keller Springs Road entry ramp.
• We are no longer collecting tolls at the northbound Keller Springs Road entry ramp, and we are now (as of 12:01 a.m. Dec. 11) collecting tolls at the newly constructed northbound Keller Springs Road exit ramp.

Q: Why not reopen the cash lanes on President George Bush Turnpike? Wouldn’t this help relieve congestion?

A: Actually, closing these lanes prevents the weaving and merging of traffic which we know causes backups, delays and accidents.  We are, in essence, reducing the obstacles. Having continuous lanes of traffic without the merging and weaving at toll booths has proven to prevent accidents in and around the plazas and booths. Since the transition of the President George Bush Turnpike to cashless tolling in July 2009 we've seen significant improvements:

• Overall incidents and accidents on the President George Bush Turnpike declined by 24 percent in and around toll booths and plazas. 
• The travel time index trended downward with travel times showing improvements over the previous year by 4.4 precent on the President George Bush Turnpike.

Q: Does it make sense to move to cashless tolling when you already have trouble collecting payments from some drivers who don’t have TollTags?

A: The NTTA continues to strengthen our toll collection procedures, and we are actively pursuing collection of all tolls due for travel on NTTA roadways. We owe it to the region, our bond holders and, most importantly, the customers like you who pay their tolls, to collect tolls from every driver. It is important to note that more than 92 percent of drivers on NTTA roadways customers pay their toll bills. Nevertheless, the NTTA continues to adjust its technology and processes to further enhance toll payments across all customer groups. We have adjusted our billing cycles to make the process more straightforward for ZipCash customers, and we are using multiple opportunities to communicate the added costs drivers incur when they don’t pay their toll bills on time. The NTTA is committed to more strictly enforcing the collection of fees for nonpayment. 

The transition to cashless tolling enhances safety for drivers, improves traffic flow and mobility, improves fuel efficiency by eliminating the need for drivers to stop to pay a toll and improves air quality by reducing vehicle idling in lines at toll booths.