This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
For three weeks, motorists got a free ride in the express lanes of Interstate 15 — thanks to a glitch with the new electronic toll system.
The Utah Department of Transportation decided to refund all the tolls it collected during the new system's first three weeks because of what essentially was a case of false advertising.
Electronic signs warn how much tolls are going to be in each zone, ranging from 25 cents to $1 dollar depending on congestion. Machines are supposed to deduct the toll if cars with transponders enter the zone. Instead, the system was collecting tolls when cars left each zone.
"So sometimes the toll went up while they were in that zone, and they were charged too much," UDOT spokeswoman Tania Mashburn said. "Sometimes tolls went down, and they were charged too little."
Mashburn said because drivers often were not charged the correct amount, UDOT decided to refund all the tolls that had been collected between Aug. 23 — when the new system began — and Sept. 12, after the problem had been corrected.
She said the total refunded was $14,746.
The express lanes may be used for free by vehicles with at least two passengers. But single-rider cars can use them by paying a toll via transponders that may be bought from UDOT for $8.75.
As transponders pass under special signs hanging over the car-pool lanes, tolls are deducted from online accounts established with UDOT. Motorists are able to pull down a shield on the transponders when they have a passenger, so that tolls are not charged in that case.
Lights on signs over the express lanes flash different colors depending on whether a vehicle has a transponder and a toll was paid, which helps law enforcement officers more easily identify potential cheaters.
How to get a trans-ponder
O Toll transponders that allow single-driver cars to use the car-pool lanes cost $8.75.
For info • Visit expresspass.utah.gov.