LOUISVILLE. With tolls in 23 states, over-the-road trucking operations can get lost in the maze of fees, regulations and the fight with tolling authorities to have improperly applied tolls revoked.
Bestpass, a provider of toll management services, is seeking to end all that with its new Complete Pass solution. The transponder replaces all other transponders and is compatible with every tolling authority – 40 in all – to make the task of recording and paying tolls easier.
The company also launched its Freedom Service this week at the Mid-America Trucking Show. The Freedom Service will take all those incorrectly applied, video and violation toll statements and reconcile that on behave of the carrier.
“If you do the math, you realize trucks pay a tremendous burden in tolls,” said John Andrews, president and CEO of Bestpass, adding that MAP-21 mandated single transponder capability and Bestpass has done that before anyone else. “Bestpass has done this without spending any taxpayer dollars or raising a single toll.”
Complete Pass includes all the hardware and serviced needed for a small monthly fee. All billing is handled in a single invoice and the service will provide coverage to about 95% of U.S. roads, missing mostly only HOV lanes where trucks are not allowed.
Optional weigh station bypass compatibility is available. For fleets that already use Bestpass, if their current transponder is doing the job properly, they can keep it. But, Andrews said, if they travel through different tolling authorities and have multiple devices in the cab, the Complete Pass can be used to replace all of those.
The Freedom Service “is like gap insurance,” Andrews explained. “If you have a bridge that we don’t cover, you can use this.”
Bestpass will process violations and submit corrections on behalf of its customers. Customers can also submit their toll bills from outside of the network to have them paid and included in their single monthly bill from Bestpass.
Andrews said that Bestpass provides free standard shipping on the product, allowing the Complete Pass transponder to be sent wherever the truck is, a free protective case and enhanced implementation services for delivery of that transponder. There is also the company’s web portal, www.my.bestpass.com, which Andrews said differs from other providers that provide a web portal for all users – including auto and RVers. The Bestpass portal was designed with truckers in mind.
