Chicago Toll Road Advice

[8ntruck 9,023]

In our recent travels, we made a wrong turn exiting O'Hara airport and found ourselves going in the wrong direction on a toll road.  Had we made the proper turn, we would not have been on the toll road.  We took the next exit and turned 

 

The toll roads around Chicago are now fully electronic.  I've been on line trying to find our toll - with no success.  All I get is a screen saying that I have entered incorrect information, please try again.  Calls to customer service have not been too helpful, either.  Today's call said I need an account to pay by phone during the 14 day grace period, otherwise I need to call after 30 days to pay by phone - that is what I am going to do.

 

This system is incredibly confusing and inconvenient for the out of state occasional user - the last time I used a toll road in Chicago, I tossed change into a basket at a toll booth.  I don't anticipate needing to use this road system in the near future - certainly not often enough to set up an account.

 

Does anybody know of a method where I could pay this toll on line with just my license plate number and no toll road account?

 

 

[SylvanLakeWH 31,676]

I never go to the Chicago area. This is just one of the reasons. But you probably will get a bill in the mail in a couple months with a picture of your license plate. I've had that in a couple other states.

 

Classic toll road logic - let's spend $20 to collect $4...

[8ntruck 9,023]

I wonder if I'll even get the bill.  Our mailing address is a P.O. box, not the physical address on the car's registration.

 

A couple years ago, I went across the new bridge on I65 over the Ohio River at Louisville.  They used the physical address the toll bill.  The first 2 notices used the physical address and were returned.  The 3rd notice was aladdressed to the physical address, but the postal clerk recognized it and put it in the PO box - and advantage of a small town post office.  By that time, there was a lein on my truck and a $70 penalty.  I argued with the customer service person, pointing out that they got the wrong address and that it is very hard to pay a bill that you don't know about.  No quarter given.  I gave up, paid the bill, and we haven't used that bridge since - we add about 12 miles to around it. 

 

This is why I'm trying to stay ahead of the Chicago deal.

 

Next time I have to go to O'Hara,  we are going to hire a car - let somebody else fight the traffic and worry about tolls.

[Pullstart 70,525]

We picked up an ezpass in Ohio one time, actually two of them.  For the 75 cents per month they cost in rentals, it’s worth having for the few times per year we hit tolls east or west of Michigan.  The savings are close to 50% of the advertised rate as well, so it’s money saved to rent them indefinitely.