Gantry, ZipCash, all-ETC – just what exactly does it all mean?! Deciphering commonly used lingo at the NTTA can be overwhelming at times, especially for new NTTA customers. With that in mind, here are some common terms that make being a TollTag customer easier to understand:

 

A TollTag is the electronic toll collection transponder that can be used on any toll road in Texas and all NTTA roadways, which include the Dallas North Tollway, President George Bush Turnpike, 121 Tollway, Addison Airport Toll Tunnel and Mountain Creek Lake Bridge. There are now more than 1.5 million of these electronic transponders in operation in the North Texas area.

 

When renovations to the Dallas North Tollway's (DNT) southernmost toll plaza temporarily reduced the number of lanes available and caused significant congestion, the time required for transactions in the cash lane created a traffic bottleneck. The NTTA introduced a way to keep the traffic moving—a solution called ZipCash®, based on electronic reading of vehicle license plate numbers. Even without having a TollTag, motorists could “drive now and pay later” at the higher cash rate by having toll invoices sent to their home addresses. The NTTA was able to quickly modify back office processing to handle the new method of customer identification and billing. TollTag penetration of nearly 70 percent of vehicles at the south plaza helped ease the transition away from cash transactions. Perhaps the most profound impact of ZipCash® was the elimination of the need for toll booths at the plaza. The ZipCash® method of payment is now used in operation on the DNT at the Wycliff Toll Plaza and on the 121 Tollway.

 

Based on the success of ZipCash®, the NTTA Board of Directors requested a study on converting the entire NTTA System to all-electronic toll collection (all-ETC). The study identified significant improvements in customer time savings, motorist and employee safety, engineering and construction costs, and reaching regional environmental milestones. The move to all-ETC would also result in significant savings in capital costs, since the planned reconstruction of several toll plazas would no longer be needed. In August 2007, the NTTA Board of Directors approved a gradual system-wide transition to all-ETC. By 2010, there will no longer be toll booths or equipment accepting cash payment on any existing or future NTTA facilities, which will be a total transformation from the traditional toll road model. All-electronic toll collection will improve customer mobility in the region, enhance safety, and improve air quality.

 

The Authority has already put a plan in motion to assist the more than 400 toll collection and vault department employees with placement in other areas of the NTTA or in outside positions. The NTTA’s goal is to successfully transition toll collection and vault employees by the end of the all-ETC conversion through a series of human resources initiatives.