Central Texas using scratch cards to solicit transponder accounts in run up to cashless Dec 1

Tollers in Central Texas are using a novel kind of flyer to get out the message about the end of cash tolling - scratch cards. The cards offer free transponder toll miles as prizes in an effort to publicize and recruit new transponder users. Over 80% of transactions on their 183A tollroad northwest of Austin are already by TxTag sticker tag transponders, but they want to boost that number further by December 1 when remaining cash lanes are closed for good.

Steve Pustelnyk director of communications for Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority says they've tried regular flyers. But daily motorists often refuse or discard them.

They are doing radio spots and inserts in local newspapers. Variable message signs are being used too.

But trying to find some way to grab customers' attention with an incentive Pustelnyk thought of the scratch cards, commonly used in social clubs for smallscale gambling and in promotions.

The CTRMA cards have those distinctive glitzy Vegas/Atlantic City style graphics. About 5 x 2.5 inches (125mm x 62mm) they are being given away by toll collectors at toll booths, by a local radio station, at community events, and via sending a self-addressed envelope to the toller.

The 'prizes' revealed by scratching the card are payable as a toll credit added to a TxTag sticker tag toll account. The cards of course also publicize the new toll collection rules when cash collection ceases December 1.

The prize credits are obtained by mailing the winning card to CTRMA along with the number of a TxTag account to be debited. CTRMA then writes checks to TxTag to top up the accounts.

75,000 scratch cards are being given away with the following prizes in sticker tag toll credits:

15 x $100

75 x $50

150 x $25

750 x $10

7500 x $5

With 8490 prizes the motorist has an 11.3% chance of winning a prize toll credit of some kind.

Scratch cards

Scratch cards are a whole small industry used partly for promotions and also for simply for gambling. "Scratchcards are a very popular form of gambling due to their low cost and the opportunity to win instantly, as opposed to waiting for a drawing like many lotteries," says a Wikipedia entry.

A few we found:

http://www.oddsonpromotions.com

http://www.promoprintinggroup.com

http://www.scratchandwincards.com/

Video tolls called pay-by-mail

TxTAG transponder tolls will be 25% off the former cash toll rates which now get called "pay-by-mail" - which also incurs a $1 service charge per toll bill.

Pay-by-mail customers get 30 days to pay their toll bill, which if unpaid then incurs a Notice of Toll Violation and a $15 charge.

Although called pay-by-mail the toll bills can also be paid for by card.

BACKGROUND: 183A tollroad opened in March 2007, providing expressway standard travel into a fringe northwest corridor of the greater Austin metro area in Williamson County Texas. The tollroad is a congestion reliever for US183, a multipurpose signalized arterial that functioned as both a mainstreet of Cedar Park and Leander, and longer distance arterial.

Stable at around 55k toll transactions a day traffic since soon after it began tolling 183A has been running slightly more than  double the traffic forecast in planning studies (Yr1 forecast: av24.6k/day) so the northern extension of the road is being brought forward.

The present 183A tollroad consists of - heading north from TX45 - just 4.5 miles (7.2km) of 3+3 lane toll expressway - followed by 7.5 miles (12km) of untolled frontage roads on either side of an expressway reservation. The 'northern extension' consists building the expressway in what is now the median of the remaining 7.5 miles (12km).

CTRMA is at

http://www.mobilityauthority.com/

COMMENT: CTRMA made a mistake in planning a hybrid toll system, part electronic-only (Lakeline mainline gantries), part open road plus cash (Park Street Mainline). North-South travelers - as opposed to those taking ramps to or from 45Toll - were faced with one mainline plaza that took cash and another which didn't, leading to to confusion and annoyance among motorists and higher than necessary violation rates.

The end of cash toll collection will provide consistency between the two main toll points of CTRMS's 183A Toll.

Now there is only going to be confusion between rules on 183A Toll and the three tollroads run by TxDOT where cash is still collected - 45 Toll, Loop 1 Toll and 130 Toll.

TOLLROADSnews 2008-10-23