The in basket: I ran info old friend Don Bader at the hardware
store a while ago and he wanted me to know about getting charged an
extra 25 cents to go through the toll booth at the Tacoma Narrows
when he was traveling with a group of antique car owners and joined
them in paying their toll that way, rather than getting
separated.
I was happy to have an explanation for him on the spot,
recalling what I’d been told (twice) by the toll office, that the
state didn’t pay to put transponder readers in the toll plaza when
they got a different kind of transponder, since so few vehicles
with transponders choose to use the toll booths. What he paid was
the toll for having his license read, which is 25 cents more if you
have a Good to Go! account.
I passed along Good to Go! staffer Annie Johnson’s advice the
last time a reader brought this up, that temporarily adding the
license numbers of his traveling companions to his Good to Go!
account will allow them to avoid having to stop at the toll booths
and then rejoin Don and others with transponders beyond the
booth.
Gee, said Don, maybe he’ll add the license numbers of his
daughters (one of whom I coached as a 6-year-old soccer player
years ago) to his account so they won’t have to suffer the lengthy
wait to pay their toll at the booths on Thanksgiving and other
holidays when hundreds of drivers without transponders try to get
home late in the day.
I asked Annie if that’s a good idea, what with holiday season
looming.
The out basket: It’s one way to save the long wait, she
replied.
“A Good To Go! account holder can have up to six
vehicles
(any combination of Pay By Plate and passes) on their account
at one time.
“Customers can add or subtract license
plates to their account either online, by phone
(866-936-8246) or in-person at a Customer Service
Center. They can cross the bridge any time after adding
the plate to (the) account. There is no need to wait.”
Even if Don forgets, a driver without a transponder or plate
in the Good to Go! date base can avoid the delay, via “the Pay By
Mail option where the
registered owner receives a bill in the mail if they don’t
want to stop
at the toll booths,” Annie said. But it’s $6, not the $4.25
had the plate been added to an account.
That would be an attractive option with anyone you suspect
might charge a bunch of crossings to your account without your
permission before you remember to delete them from your
account.
