Monthly Archives: February 2014
We’re Hiring: Associate Graphic Designer
If you like driving The Toll Roads, imagine how much you’ll enjoy working for The Toll Roads.
We’re hiring an Associate Graphic Designer.
The Transportation Corridor Agencies, operator of California’s largest toll road network, has an opening for an experienced, fullt-time associate graphic designer to support the graphic designer/webmaster in meeting the agencies’ graphic, printing, website maintenance and production, email marketing and presentation needs.
Required is a thorough knowledge of graphic design principals and methods for both electronic and traditional production using Illustrator, In Design, Photoshop, Dreamweaver, Content Management System (CMS) platforms and all Microsoft Office software. Some video editing skills a plus.
A bachelor’s degree in graphic design or a closely related field and approximately two to three years of experience is also required. The salary range is $55,047 – $79,818.
The deadline for submittal is March 14, 2014. For consideration please e-mail your resume to recruit@thetollroads.com or mail to:
Human Resources
Transportation Corridor Agencies
125 Pacifica, Suite 100, Irvine, CA 92618-3304
EOE/V/F/M
www.thetollroads.com
FasTrak Drivers: Keep On Keeping On
In anticipation of the removal of cash toll collection from The Toll Roads in May, last month we introduced four new ways to pay – three ExpressAccount™ types and a One-Time-Toll™ option.
What do these changes mean for FasTrak® Drivers? Nothing. What do FasTrak accountholders need to do now that there are ExpressAccounts? Nothing.
- Keep your FasTrak transponder affixed to your vehicle’s windshield.
- Keep driving in the FasTrak lanes.
- Keep paying the lowest tolls (on average 20 percent less than ExpressAccount and One-Time-Toll tolls).
- Keep replenishing your prepaid FasTrak account using credit card, cash or check.
- Keep using your FasTrak transponder to pay tolls electronically on ALL tolled bridges, lanes and roads in California (including the 91 Express Lanes).
- Keep easily managing your FasTrak account online or with The Toll Roads’ free app.
For years roughly 80 percent of our drivers have paid tolls with FasTrak; last month 83 percent used FasTrak. As we move toward removing cash payment on the roadways, less and less drivers are using cash to pay. Last month less than 13 percent paid with cash; six months ago nearly 16 percent used cash.
Also last month, we introduced the three new ExpressAccount types and people immediately started signing up for the account type that best fits their needs. FasTrak drivers now share their lanes with ExpressAccount drivers. Lower tolls are deducted from a FasTrak account via a vehicle’s transponder and higher tolls are deducted from an ExpessAccount via an image of the vehicle’s license plate.
Do you have a question about FasTrak, ExpressAccounts, One-Time-Toll or The Toll Roads? If so, leave it below as a comment.
NEW LIGHTS INSTALLED AT TOLLING LOCATIONS
As The Toll Roads work toward the May removal of cash toll collection on State Routes 73, 133, 241 and 261, proven state-of-the-art tolling equipment is being installed at every tolling location on the 51 miles of roadway. The equipment supports FasTrak and the three new ExpressAccount payment types introduced in January.
So far, this equipment has been installed at the Irvine Ranch (SR 261), Tomato Springs (SR 241), Orange Grove (SR 133) and Catalina View (SR 73) Mainline Toll Plazas. Drivers will notice that the lights on the overhead gantries at the tolling points have changed. Because the ExpressAccount types use license plate numbers – instead of FasTrak transponders – to collect tolls, each vehicle’s front and back license plate must now be illuminated so that a photo can be taken of each.
Formerly, only black and white photos were taken of license plates using infrared lighting to identify vehicles that did not pay the toll. Now, color images with a greater level of detail are required. These photos ensure that the correct license plate is linked to the corresponding ExpressAccount. Changes to California’s standard license plate also made it necessary to begin taking color photos.
The lights are the same type used on police cars, ambulances and fire trucks around the country as they share the roadway with other drivers. At The Toll Roads’ tolling locations, the light produces a safe, momentary 200 microsecond flash.
Over the last seven years, these lights have been installed in more than 500 toll lanes nationwide to support license plate tolling. Again, we understand that it is not uncommon for motorists to notice the lights when they are first installed, but experience shows that within a couple of weeks of installation drivers grow accustomed to them.
THE TOLL ROADS APP UPDATE FEATURES MORE WAYS TO PAY TOLLS
We’ve released version 2.0 of The Toll Roads’ award-winning app to make paying tolls more convenient. The version’s new functions will make driving The Toll Roads easier after cash toll collection is removed from the roads in May 2014.
The app’s latest update allows customers to sign up for and manage one of the three new ExpressAccount™ types and/or use the new One-Time-Toll™ payment option from their device. The app continues to allow users to sign up for and manage a FasTrak account.
The app can be downloaded from the Apple App or Google Play Stores by typing “FasTrak” or “The Toll Roads” in the search function.
“The Toll Roads continually seek ways to make our customers’ experience fast, reliable and convenient,” said Neil Peterson, CEO of the Transportation Corridor Agencies (TCA), which operates The Toll Roads. “This latest app upgrade is another innovative way to improve our customer service.”
Customers with a FasTrak or ExpressAccount may use the app’s account management features to:
- View account balances
- Make payments
- Edit account information
- Add or remove vehicles, including rental and loaner vehicles
- Request additional FasTrak transponders
- Review recent activity
TCA was the first toll road operator in the nation to offer an app for toll account management. Since its original release in May 2012, nearly 100,000 customers have downloaded a version of The Toll Roads app.
To learn more about the app, click here.
To learn more about the five ways to pay tolls incurred on The Toll Roads, click here.
WHO WANTS $30 IN FREE TOLLS?
Drivers on the 73, 133, 241 and 261 Toll Roads in Orange County can get $30 in free tolls if they open a new FasTrak® or ExpressAccount™ on or before March 31. FasTrak and ExpressAccounts are the fast and convenient ways to pay tolls electronically on The Toll Roads while traveling at highway speeds.
To receive the $30 in free tolls, use promo code FLYER30 when establishing a new account via thetollroads.com or The Toll Roads app, which is available in the Apple App and Google Play Stores.
“We want new customers to know that it pays to be first when you sign up for an ExpressAccount or FasTrak,” said Lisa Telles, The Toll Roads’ chief communications officer. “We’ll be removing cash toll collection soon and $30 in free tolls is a great way to see firsthand how fast and convenient it is to drive The Toll Roads.”
The Toll Roads introduced three new ExpressAccount types last month to give cash-paying customers more choices for how to pay tolls without stopping at toll plazas. TCA will remove all cash toll collection from The Toll Roads in May. Customers can now pay using a FasTrak, an ExpressAccount or the new One-Time-Toll option that is available at thetollroads.com.
To learn more about the five ways to pay tolls on The Toll Roads, click here.
