Local

'Pay by plate' will make paying unpaid tolls cheaper

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Central Florida Expressway sends out 120,000 unpaid toll notices every month.

Drivers who receive the notices are charged a fee of more than $3, which in some cases can be more than the unpaid toll.
Rich Healy has received the notices before, and said he knows how expensive running a toll can be.
“I think it's ridiculous. I'm paying for a service. I'm not sure what the admin fee does,” Healy said. 
But with the expressway moving toward to a pay-as-you go system, in which you "pay by plate," that administration fee will be much smaller.
If a driver doesn’t pay the $1 toll on state toads 408, 429, 417 or 528, the Expressway Authority sends them a notice with the toll amount plus a more than $3 processing fee.

Document: Pay By Plate – Unpaid Toll Notice Comparison Chart

Under the new pay-by-plate system, that same toll will still cost $1, but the processing fee drops to 20 cents for every unpaid toll.
“That's a lot better than the system they have now, because the system they have now doesn't work,” said a driver.
The change comes with the opening of Poinciana Parkway, which will be a cashless toll road.
The pay-by-plate system allows those who do not have a transponder to use the road and get a bill in the mail instead.   
The changes go into effect on May 1. 

Drivers have 30 days to pay notices of unpaid tolls. If drivers don't pay 15 days after that, the Expressway Authority can put a hold on their registrations.