There\u2019s a lot to think about when running your own trucking company. From truck driver training to retention, safety, equipment procurement and more. Yet, there are also regulatory burdens that trucking companies must consider. Take tolling as one example. Did you know that there are over 50 tolling authorities across the country? In all, they cover over six thousand miles of road. Even worse, each has their own methodology for tolling, which causes no shortage of heartburn for trucking companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
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And while we have seen a rise in cashless tolling, that does\nnot mean tolling has become simplified. In fact, the opposite has occurred.\nToll management has become an increasingly byzantine endeavor, whether it comes\ndown to interoperability, license issues, or otherwise; managing toll\nsituations has become more complicated than ever. Many businesses run into\nspecific tolling challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
First, there is a hefty amount of paperwork and\nadministrative tasks that go into managing tolls. You\u2019ve also got to handle\nmultiple transponders, deal with haphazard customer service from vendor\npartners and possibly miss the train where volume discounting is concerned. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Each of these headaches will affect your business\u2019\nefficiency in specific ways, including in wasted time and loss of revenue.\nToday, it is more important than ever to have a streamlined toll management\nprocess in place to keep your business thriving. Now we will discuss the\nchallenges that trucking companies face and how toll management providers can\nhelp to overcome them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drowning in Paperwork<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Fleets who decide to do the work themselves find themselves\ndrowning in paperwork. Interstate providers must deal with multiple tolling\nagencies, invoices, violations, and more. The maze becomes all-consuming and\nthe amount of paperwork involved is mind-numbing. You need a way to support\nyour staff and relieve the pressure valve of paperwork. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Adding insult to injury, approximately 3% of all electronic\ntolls result in a misread, and not disputing these misreads can lead to a bill\nthat is up to 60% more than it should be. How much money are you throwing down\nthe drain because of simple misreads? In the age of ever-decreasing margins,\nwhatever it is, you can\u2019t afford it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n By using a toll management provider, you not only save time\nand expenses by cutting down on administrative work related to managing\nmultiple tolling accounts by consolidating all of them into a single bill, but\nyou\u2019ll have a more meaningful picture of toll usage across the entire fleet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Tolling management providers typically provide their clients\nwith consolidated billing, meaning that all tolling data is contained on a\nsingle, reconciled invoice. This cuts down on the paperwork burden, while\nflagging possible violations that can be better monitored and investigated to\navoid paying for tolls that are, in fact, misreads, and just pay for the tolls\nyour drivers actually incurred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Avoiding the Transponder Shuffle<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n It\u2019s not only having too many individual tolling accounts\nthat can be overwhelming; juggling numerous, individual transponders can add to\nyour administrative burdens. And it doesn\u2019t matter if you\u2019re a small, medium,\nor a large fleet. If you\u2019re going it alone, you\u2019re likely juggling a variety of\ntolling transponders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Keeping track of this transponder data can be as confusing and overwhelming as handling the paperwork coming in from the tolling authority. By going it alone, you\u2019ll need to stay on top of toll usage, and, more specifically, if the truck has the correct transponder(s) for its given route. This will apply particularly in cases of determining misreads and violations that go along with the transponder.<\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n By using a toll management provider, you\u2019ll likely have\naccess to on-demand reporting, which will allow you to filter through all toll\ndata by transponder, truck, state, day, and month. And with just a few clicks\nof a mouse, you\u2019ll have the ability to assign, activate, and deactivate\ntransponders.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ensuring Stellar Customer Service<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Having to deal with a tolling authority\u2019s customer service\nportal can be frustrating and challenging. Some tolling authorities only have\nautomated customer service, and mistakes can only be reconciled in person at a\nlocal office. This can be highly inconvenient for a fleet operation\nheadquartered in another state.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The result: Wasted time and the potential for the payment of\nan unnecessary toll or violation. Using a toll management provider allows you\nto bypass this headache, by relying on the provider\u2019s expertise and connections\nwith the individual tolling authorities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, many toll management providers are created in\npartnership with the municipalities in which they operate in. They understand\nthe hardships and challenges fleets experience, particularly, in relation to\ntolling. You want a provider with industry knowledge that allows it to\nrepresent the fleet\u2019s account with the agencies, making future issues easier\nand quicker to resolve without fleet personnel having to endure\nthe headache<\/a> by trying to manage it on its own.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Cashing in on Discounts<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n By managing their tolls on their own, small and even\nmid-size trucking companies miss out on the volume toll discounts that mega fleets\nwith thousands of vehicles often receive. This is one of the clear advantages\nof using a tolling management provider. In addition to passing on transponder\ndiscounts, many tolling authorities will offer commercial fleets volume\ndiscounts based on frequency of travel or volume of the tolls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n For example, toll management systems give small and mid-size\nfleets access to the highest possible volume discounts, which many fleets would\nlikely not qualify for on their own. These discounts, which are available in\nNew York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Colorado, and elsewhere, can top 20%.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While saving money on tolls directly is an attractive,\nbottom-line goal, improving overall efficiency should be your paramount aim\nwhen managing your fleet\u2019s tolling needs, and this is the result of resolving\nthese challenges head on with a tolling management provider.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While fleets of any size can manage tolls on their own,\nthey\u2019ll likely face serious headache-inducing inefficiencies that will waste\nprecious administrative time and budgetary dollars. Turning to a tolling\nmanagement provider will not only eliminate the headaches of inefficiency, but\ndeliver the benefit of a streamlined, robust handling of your entire fleet\u2019s\ntolling needs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n While there are several tolling management providers\navailable to fleets today that will help your fleet better manage your tolling\nprogram, some are better than others. You want one that delivers a combination\nof four specific set of values that, taken together, to ensure you are handling\nthe toll situation smoothly and by the numbers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This combination of four benefits are comprised of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Accuracy, consisting of:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Expertise, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Consolidation, delivering:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Savings, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rhode Island Defends Itself<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Meanwhile, in New England, a lawyer for the state of Rhode Island had to defend the state\u2019s tolling scheme to the First Circuit court of appeals, where a case currently stands against it. The case was being made that road tolls qualify as a tax. In this case, trucking companies<\/a> would have to bring their lawsuit under a different jurisdiction. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The fact is, there has been a noticeable trend among states\nto move towards a highway tolling scheme aimed at trucking companies and other\ntransportation providers. A study completed by Texas A&M University found\nthat toll costs for trucking companies can often be 3\nto 6 times higher<\/a> than what passenger vehicle operators pay. Nor do toll\nroads benefit truck drivers. <\/p>\n\n\n\n While the jury is still out on exactly how tolls effect trucking companies, much of the anecdotal early evidence points to inordinate cost passed on to the truck drivers. One of the most noticeable effects of a toll increase on the interstate, is the increased costs of running products where they need to go. This cost has increased significantly. Truckers have seen this cost effect on trucking companies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n <\/p>\n\n\n\n Fortunately, knowledgeable trucking companies can turn to\ntechnology for solutions. Toll management systems simply make your life a lot\neasier. Is it time to begin looking into implementing one for your trucking\ncompany?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"