FORT BEND COUNTY, Texas — The Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority said it’s out millions of dollars in lost revenue because repeat violators won’t pay their tolls.
Starting April 18, it will be rolling out a campaign with the Fort Bend County Sheriff’s Office to crack down on top violators.
“It is theft of a lot of revenue,” FBCTRA Deputy Director Lisa Castaneda said.
According to Castaneda, they are out about $10 million in revenue this fiscal year.
“The top violator was over $10,000 and has received 556 notices,” she said.
Starting next week, the FBCTRA is rolling out an enforcement campaign with the FBCSO. Castaneda said deputies will have top violators’ information and will be pinged when they go through a toll. That person can then be pulled over, warned, ticketed or could even have their vehicle seized.
The drivers that will be sought owe $1,000 or more. Right now, more than 3,200 people are on their list, making up about $7 million in lost revenue. The other $3 million belongs to smaller violators.
Castaneda said that since the beginning of the COVID pandemic, the dollar amount from top violators has nearly tripled.
Some violations could be due to confusion. In 2020, the Harris County Toll Road Authority waived fees for a time because it still had toll workers that collected cash. However, Fort Bend was already fully automated and never waived toll fees.
The $7 million the top offenders have racked up is nearly 10% of the FBCTRA’s $70 million yearly revenue.
“The only way that those roads get built is with toll revenue, it’s not tax dollars. So, without it, the roads can’t be designed, maintained, constructed. Everybody needs to pay. It’s not fair to those who are paying,” Castaneda said.