Frustrated drivers using Washington State Department of Transportation’s “Good To Go!” toll system are being urged not to call the government agency to complain about a credit-card billing issue.
From Monday, Dec. 7 to Monday, Dec. 14, more than 1,300 motorists using Good to Go’s automated payment system were being hit with a message informing them of a low or negative balance, according to reports. Others attempting to pay manually were receiving error messages.Good To Go tolls impact the Interstate 405 Express Toll Lanes from Bellevue to Lynnwood, State Route 520 bridge, Tacoma Narrows Bridge and State Route 167 HOT Lanes.
WSDOT’s toll contact, Ethan Bergerson, said the glitch had been fixed by the evening of Dec. 14. It was allegedly fixed when Electronic Transaction Consultants “made a configuration change” to ensure transactions are completed.
“First of all the customers don’t have to take any action. We’re going to fix this for them,” he said. “Just continue driving as normal. For those trying to pay manually, you might have to try the payment again.”
Customers were calling the Good To Go customer service line in such a high volume that wait times were regularly 25 minutes or more, overwhelming WSDOT.
Electronic Transaction Consultants, the vendor WSDOT uses to process billing payments, upgraded its servers to “improve performance and reliability of the system and support customer needs,” according to a release.
The result was anything but, as drivers were hit with notices that their accounts were in the red. WSDOT’s Good to Go pass bills an authorized automatic payment credit card $30 when the subtracting account dips below $8.
“There shouldn’t be any extra fees,” Bergerson said. “The troubles have been intermittent but focused on people using auto-pay.”
The error did not affect payments using checks or direct bank account access.
Customers can check their account balance at MyGoodToGo.com. WSDOT is hoping to resolve any complaints without sending out bills for phantom tolls.
Ryan Murray: 425-453-4602; rmurray@bellevuereporter.com
