Drivers face new toll increase when using certain payment method – planning ahead means you pay half
DRIVERS using a popular river crossing are set to face increased tolls for using a certain payment method.
Officials have voted to introduce a “convenience fee” in a push to get drivers to sign up for their in-house payment scheme.
The Mackinac Bridge acts as a vital link road, connecting the two peninsulas ofMichiganat the point where two of the Great Lakes meet.
Opened back in 1957, it supports millions of journeys every year at a rate of about 16,000 a day.
But drivers looking tocross the bridgehave to pay a toll in order to help pay for its maintenance.
Motorists have the choice of paying by eithercredit cardor by using the MacPass.
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The latter is a pre-loaded card bearing a bar code that allows travellers to sail through toll gates, with the money taken out of their account when the code is scanned.
This is designed to reduce queuing fortoll boothswhere drivers have to come to a stop to pay by card.
It also means that the Mackinac Bridge Authority doesn’t have to shell out for credit card providers to administer the payments.
According to the transcript of its latest meeting, the Authority estimates that it paid around $350,000.
As a result, members voted to impose a 2.3% “convenience fee” on top of existing prices forcard paymentsfrom January 2025.
In practice, that means that the toll for a standard car will increase from $4 to $4.09.
I was fined $850 for unknowingly violating a toll lane law 8 times I wasn t notified for months & the fines doubled
Trucks, meanwhile, are charged $5 per axle so could see costs go up by almost $5 to $24.60.
The Authority also voted to eliminateAmerican Expresspayments due to excessive fees.
In contrast, MacPass rates will come down to incentivize greater uptake.
Pass holders will see the initial purchase price slashed from $80 to $40, while refills will drop from $40 to $20.
However, you can avoid the changes completely with a little forward planning.
That’s because drivers who pay in cash will be unaffected by the price adjustments – just make sure you have the correct change in your car.
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