Electronic toll system contract up soon

It's the brains behind every 40 or 50 cents thousands of drivers pay daily at toll plazas. And this summer, the contract with the company that runs the Illinois tollway's electronic toll system is up for grabs.

A five-year $82 million contract with Texas-based Electronic Transaction Consultants expires in late June. The company and tollway came under fire in 2007 and 2008 when countless motorists received hefty fines for toll violations because of a 13-month lag processing delays.

The glitch occurred because of poor communications between ETCC and its predecessor. Although the backlog is cleared up, it scarred drivers who faced unexpected and costly late fees.

Tollway board Director Bill Morris said the agency needed to focus on customer service, noting that late notices "create another level of stress. We want to get the violations out as quickly as we can."

Tollway board members serving on a customer service committee Tuesday recommended the contract with ETCC be extended for one year, allowing time to obtain and evaluate proposals from bidders and a transition process. The contract extension, which would cost about $11 million, requires board approval. ETCC maintains the cameras, antennas and other equipment that collect information as drivers pass toll plazas and it operates the computer software that analyzes license plates and I-PASS data.

Officials also talked about a pilot project to collect dead transponders, which expire after about 81/2 years and are self-contained so batteries can't be replaced. A letter campaign asking 1,750 people in the south suburbs to exchange their dead transponders for new ones received 56 percent compliance so far.

Tollway staff said the pilot project offered ideas for how to handle 2013, when more than 1.2 million transponders will need replacement.

As of April, new transponders will be stamped with an expiration date.

One proposal committee members didn't act on was a survey of what other tollway authorities across North America charge for transponders. Some agencies charge up to $25 to purchase transponders and others have monthly fees of up to $4.50. The tollway does not charge for transponders.