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September 18, 2014      6:14 PM

Toll road operators report success in new measures to rake in tolls

Registration holds and vehicle bans now in the toolbox for getting tolls paid

The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority was under fire during a Senate Transportation Committee hearing Thursday morning in regards to the implementation of a law directed at toll road scofflaws.

Chair Sen. Robert Nichols, R-Jacksonville, convened a panel that included the North Texas Tollway Authority, the Central Texas Mobility Authority, the Texas Department of Transportation and the Dallas County Tax Assessor-Collector.

The meeting opened with Sen. Kirk Watson’s, D-Austin, questioning TxDOT executive director Joe Webber and chief financial officer James Bass, via phone, about the responsiveness of the customer service center. Xerox just picked up the contract for the TxTAG call center, and Webber reported performance improvements: shorter wait times; potential text messages to customers; and a completely automated website for payments.

Webber admitted the transition had not been completely smooth, and Watson was skeptical that the change in vendors had answered every problem. Watson said his office still heard from constituents who had spent hours on hold when calling the customer service center to resolve problems.

By Kimberly Reeves