![]() ![]() EZ Tag also works on toll roads in Kansas. The Harris County Toll Road Authority would like to remind drivers that EZ TAG works on all Texas toll roads with electronic tolling lanes, including in Austin and Dallas. Please contact Customer Service Department at (281) 875-3279 for assistance. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.How do I contact Harris County Toll Road Authority? If you have a news tip or question for KPRC Local 2 Investigates, drop them an e-mail or call their tipline at (713) 223-TIPS (8477). To get a TxTAG from the Texas Department of Transportation, click here. To get a Toll Tag from the NTTA, click here. Not doing so could result in toll violations. It is important that you register your license plate with whatever agency you decide to get your tag from. The tolls will still go to the proper toll road system wherever you drive. The HCTRA said since it's not making any money off the tags, they don't care where drivers get them. "Well another aspect to look at is we don't think it's good public policy to give away a public asset. "If our neighbors to the north are doing it this way, maybe we should offer drivers the same convenience here," Davis said to Hanson. The NTTA in Dallas tells us it pays $8.77 a tag, gives them to its customers at no cost and still comes out ahead. In fact, Local 2 Investigates discovered the toll tags from all three agencies are made by the same company. "It doesn't seem like that little thing would be very expensive to manufacture, in my opinion," driver Tom Carmichael said. When you add in the cost of the installation kit, instructions, postage and customer service at brick and mortar EZ Tag stores, the toll road authority said the $15 fee is a wash. HCTRA said it spent $5,230,363.00 to buy the tags. In 2011, the authority collected $5,721,592.65 in new EZ Tag fees. Hanson said each EZ Tag costs HCTRA $7.87. "Yeah, it's a break-even proposition," answered Hanson. "You're saying HCTRA isn't making a penny off of charging drivers?" Davis asked. "Well, obviously, that's their choice to do," he replied. "Why wouldn't people be inclined to do that?" consumer investigator Amy Davis asked HCTRA's Eric Hanson. "Sounds like a much better deal," said driver Kelsey Doyle when KPRC Local 2 told her about the free tags. Because the agencies have agreements with Harris County's Toll Road Authority, you can use the tags from Dallas or Austin on any toll road in the state. Just as you would with an EZ Tag, you'll have to open an account and load money onto it. Both the North Texas Tollway Authority and the Texas Department of Transportation offer tags for free. That statement seems especially true since Local 2 Investigates discovered you don't have to pay a dime for a toll tag. "You're paying to pay," said EZ Tag customer Jennifer Hyland. HCTRA charges $15 for the first three tags and $10 for every tag after that. But before you pay a single toll, you have to buy the actual EZ Tag. A chip embedded in the sticker sends a signal to a device every time you pass through a tolling station that lets the authority know to deduct the amount of the toll from your EZ Tag account. Local 2 Investigates discovered a way to get those toll tags so many of us are buying for free.ĮZ Tags sold by the Harris County Toll Road Authority allow you to breeze through toll booths without stopping. HOUSTON – If you travel any of the tollways in Harris County, you don't have a choice - you're going to pay whatever rate the toll road authority decides.īut there is one fee you can actually avoid.
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