Drivers to Bayport Terminal in Houston BEWARE!!

We cruised out of Houston in April and drove to the port. We drove on one of the Harris County Toll Roads to get to our hotel the night before as the hotel was ON the toll road. That was the only way to get there without taking MILES of city streets - and probably getting lost in an unfamiliar city....NOT typically a good idea!! :eek:

There were signs warning that there was no cash pay (I won't even go into the ridiculousness of that concept - a toll road with no way for visitors to pay a toll...on a route that leads to the cruise port where there are obviously going to be lots of tourists and visitors...) but anyway, we saw the signs and assumed it would work the same way it does in Dallas. They would take our lic. plate, and contact us with the toll charge. We would pay it by mail or with a phone call and all would be well. We've done that several times in Dallas with no problem. We assumed it would work the same way so we drove the road we needed to drive.

This week the bill arrived. We were not shocked by this. We had been anticipating the bill's arrival. We expected to pay it. No problem!

What WAS shocking was the charge on the bill!!! 37.75!! -- 4.75 for the toll (again, we expected this part and planned to pay it) PLUS a $33 penalty (which we are now referring to as the "TX Visitor and Tourist Penalty" because it is a penalty to non-residents who would never want to put money on account for a state toll program in a state where they don't live). I have to admit, I was shocked with the AMOUNT of the penalty...that's excessive!!

So, I called them this morning to get the penalty removed just as I've done with Dallas. In Dallas, they bill you for the toll charge (obviously) plus a processing fee....reasonable...nothing excessive....NOTHING like $33!!! After over 45 min. on the phone and talking to a supervisor, it became apparent that they were NOT going to remove their "Visitor and Tourist Penalty". I told them of the absence of the toll booths allowing visitors to pay the toll. I told them of my willingness to pay what we owe (we pay our bills in this house!!) I told them of the fact that I had never been sent an initial bill and given the opportunity to pay the bill before being assessed a 'penalty'. I told them of our Pike Pass here in Oklahoma. Our program is similar to the EZ Tag EXCEPT our toll roads have toll booths for those who don't wish to put $40 on acct with the Toll Authority OR for visitors to our state who would have no reason to purchase our statewide program. There's NO PENALTY FOR VISITORS AND TOURISTS TO OKLAHOMA!! Nothing mattered to this man. He kept insisting that this non-resident purchase their statewide toll program - Amazing!!!

My only recourse was to do that... to get the $33 fee removed.:(

As ridiculous as it seems....that's what I ended up doing. yes...i bought a toll tag program in a state I do NOT live in!!! :confused: (Now I definitely checked the cancellation policy before buying...) It cost me $60 today.

$40 on account (with this state that i don't live in...) a $15 one time NON REFUNDABLE activation...then a SEPARATE charge for the 4.75 toll. I can cancel it all in a few days and get my $40 back....but I'm paying 19.75 to drive that 10 mi. road (4.75+15) I"m willing to do that cause that's still less than $37.75.... I"m saving a little bit of money....

I'm sure there's someone on this board who is going to ream me for posting this...but I'm so upset I don't even care. I'm sure there's someone out there who thinks we should just purchase every toll program for every state in the Union...have them plastered all over our windshields...Who can argue with someone with an opinion like that. hahaha!! :D

Oh...and the clincher?? After I was almost all the way through the process with this purchase, he told me that you have to buy this for each car you drive... If we WERE to decide to keep the EZ Tag for a future cruise (which won't be for a couple of years) then, if we drove another vehicle - or got a new car before then...our EZ Tag wouldn't be effective...we'd STILL get another 37.75 bill!!! (In OK...our Pike pass is linked to our NAME and applies to all vehicles we put on that acct. When we bought a new car, we just called them, gave them the 'new' info and we were set to go. I can drive the toll roads...my husband can drive the toll roads...our son can drive the toll roads...it's all covered on one acct.)

OK...rant over

That. Is. Unbelievable. Your rant is well-deserved. Thanks for the warning!

Wow! Thats bad. :( I imagine its privatly owned and funded?

Here in Colorado its the same, when they were built there were booths and the ability to pay cash. Those were taken out many years ago when they went electronic and read plates. They are designed to be a cash cow and after the roads are paid off then thats exactly what it is. We don't have a penelty near that much but I am sure its coming.

The state just signed a new 50 Year lease!! on the Boulder turnpike (US 36) toll road from Denver-Boulder. Not even built yet and no process for bids from anyone except the company (from Australia) who will hold this cash cow for eternity. It was held/created in secrecy and signed before anyone even knew what was happening. :(

Wow that is excessive and I'll stop complaining about the charges from Tampa who also do not have 'manned' boothes and then charge more than double the tolls for the 'admin' fees.

I drove down over TG and got a bill which I paid, then a couple of months later I got another - thinking it was the bill I had paid and bewildered I opened it to find that DD had been thru numerous tolls when she went to visit over spring break (DH is working in Tampa). She was lost so the charge was eastbound on road 'ABC' and a couple of minutes later was westbound on 'ABC' everyday:confused::confused:

Guess it pays these states not to have 'manned' boothes with all the over charging and no one to ask directions if you are lost:eek::eek::rolleyes:

What a ridiculous system! Sounds like that system needs to make some serious changes.

We have FastTrack here in So. Cal. and it's very user-friendly. If your transponder (little box thing you stick in your window) doesn't beep and deduct money from your account, they just simply match up your license plate to the account and take off the fee - no penalties, no administration fees, nothing. They also have toll booths where you can pay by cash or credit card.

Wow! Thats bad. :( I imagine its privatly owned and funded?

Here in Colorado its the same, when they were built there were booths and the ability to pay cash. Those were taken out many years ago when they went electronic and read plates. They are designed to be a cash cow and after the roads are paid off then thats exactly what it is. We don't have a penelty near that much but I am sure its coming.

 

The state just signed a new 50 Year lease!! on the Boulder turnpike (US 36) toll road from Denver-Boulder. Not even built yet and no process for bids from anyone except the company (from Australia) who will hold this cash cow for eternity. It was held/created in secrecy and signed before anyone even knew what was happening. :(

There was one toll road in ATL when we moved here and it was 25c, apparently it was voted in for 20 years to pay for the road. After a few years it went up to 50c and the 20 years came and went and the toll stayed. People got mad and our governor ran on the promise that he would get rid of it - of course there was no plan for that and they gave excuse after excuse. Last year they decided to get rid of the toll, it closed TG weekend and they are still working on the roads, removing the booths etc. He is running for Governor again and if he hadn't stuck to his promise I'm sure would have no hope of being re-elected cause there were a lot of upset people - but for now the cash cow is gone:D

Thanks for the heads up. A good reason to avoid this port if this is how they treat tourists.

I sure would like the name of the hotel and the road so I can avoid both.

I am taking a cruise out of there in November and I dont wish to contribute to the tourist fund

Or if you never plan on going to that toll road again do not pay it. Sounds like an outrageous rip off of out of state drivers. Thanks for the heads up on this.

just a thought put in a claim with your credit card & I would contact the Texas Toll Company again & ask to speak to a supervisor or a manager to have the charge waived. Plus have them remove all charges for the EZ Tag. Good Luck. We can use our Illinois EZ pass all the way to the East Coast plus i believe in some other States. Explains where we can use it on the Webste plus in IL we get a discount for having the EZpass -instead of paying $1.50 we only pay 75cents. Plus there are signs posted on how to pay if unmanned locations right at the tollbooths.

Please be aware that if you drive the Florida Turnpike on your way to FLL for a Princess cruise and do not have their SunPass, you could also encounter problems, depending upon where you decide to exit. They also have unmanned toll booths at a number of exits, and are going more and more to unmanned booths. The good news is that if you pick up a rental car in FL it is going to have a transponder in it. The bad news is that the rental car company will charge a premium for using it.

They have a SunPass transponder which costs about $20 or so (don't remember exactly, it's been a few years) or a SunPass "patch" that is not transferrable between cars, but costs $5.00 plus tax, and is loaded with $5.00 in tolls, so it just costs you the tax. We've had that for about 5 or 6 years now - you can reload on the web, and almost zero your account out off-season, etc.

That TX fee is truly TX sized!!!! Thanks for the heads up on it!!!

I sure would like the name of the hotel and the road so I can avoid both.

I am taking a cruise out of there in November and I dont wish to contribute to the tourist fund

So would I. We were on some toll roads going in to and out of Houston, but they all had toll booths on them, as well as EZPass. Had we known we would be encountering them we could have brought our transponder along!! Please, the name of the road?

What a ridiculous system! Sounds like that system needs to make some serious changes.

 

We have FastTrack here in So. Cal. and it's very user-friendly. If your transponder (little box thing you stick in your window) doesn't beep and deduct money from your account, they just simply match up your license plate to the account and take off the fee - no penalties, no administration fees, nothing. They also have toll booths where you can pay by cash or credit card.

Yes, you're right about the convenience but I still feel that paying $5-$6 to go over a 2-3 mile bridge is a bit excessive in of itself. For every commuter in the SF Bay area, we have to pay that fee 5 times a week.

Yes, you're right about the convenience but I still feel that paying $5-$6 to go over a 2-3 mile bridge is a bit excessive in of itself. For every commuter in the SF Bay area, we have to pay that fee 5 times a week.

It is just highway robbery, without the guns and action heroes.

Yes, you're right about the convenience but I still feel that paying $5-$6 to go over a 2-3 mile bridge is a bit excessive in of itself. For every commuter in the SF Bay area, we have to pay that fee 5 times a week.

You should see the tolls in NY. It can cost up to $40 in tolls (depending on the route) to go from "upstate" into NYC. The Verazano Bridge is $17. The Tappanzee is $5. It cost me $10+ in tolls just to drive to work each day. Changed jobs, then retired...now I stay out of "the city".:D

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The state just signed a new 50 Year lease!! on the Boulder turnpike (US 36) toll road from Denver-Boulder. Not even built yet and no process for bids from anyone except the company (from Australia) who will hold this cash cow for eternity. It was held/created in secrecy and signed before anyone even knew what was happening. :(

Wow! After originally built as a toll road back in the fifties and then having the toll status removed in the mid sixties because it was paid for (one of the first if not the first toll road in the nation to have that happen) now it will be rebuilt and made a toll road again? The more things change.......

Back in the day the toll was 25¢. I imagine it will be substantially more now even factoring in inflation. :cool:

Just a bit of info..................the Harris County TollRoads are not in any way connected to the Port of Houston and the Bayport terminal.

Yes, the system is unfair, but the Port people have no say in it either.

You can get to Bayport without going any where near the tollroad, reach both airport from port without it.

Another WARNING Spot - The Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco. They do not have any collection toll booths anymore - makes traffic more steady. However, when I was there for the first time this winter since they did this, if I hadn't known about it, I don't think the rental place would have told me what to do. I asked when getting my car and they handed me a brochure on how to get online and sign up for tolls. It worked really well. I told them the license plate number of my car and for how long it would be mine so that every time we went over a bridge, it would take the picture and add to my visa. No problem. However, if I hadn't known. . .

Thank you so much for your warning about the Huston area! Well worth ranting!

I sure would like the name of the hotel and the road so I can avoid both.

I am taking a cruise out of there in November and I dont wish to contribute to the tourist fund

I am also cruising in Nov. Is there a hotel that has a shuttle to the port or a company that we can book and take us to the port. What about taxis?

Just a bit of info..................the Harris County TollRoads are not in any way connected to the Port of Houston and the Bayport terminal.

 

Yes, the system is unfair, but the Port people have no say in it either.

 

You can get to Bayport without going any where near the tollroad, reach both airport from port without it.

Thank you for the info.

Just a bit of info..................the Harris County TollRoads are not in any way connected to the Port of Houston and the Bayport terminal.

 

Yes, the system is unfair, but the Port people have no say in it either.

 

You can get to Bayport without going any where near the tollroad, reach both airport from port without it.

Yes, I know there is no connection between the Toll Authority and Bayport Terminal. ;) I hope others reading this realize that as well.... If you have a hotel in LaPorte..or Seabrook...or many other places, you can avoid this toll road....and I DEFINITELY suggest avoiding this toll road!!!

It's just that our hotel was ON that road... It wasn't a choice we made...except maybe when I was making the reservations....it was a 'have to' situation. (Be aware of this when making hotel reservations...)

I think this thread has kinda evolved into a conversation about toll roads in general - and BELIEVE ME, I have my share of gripes about them in OKla.... :( I was just upset over how my situation/conversation all played out - I purchased something that under normal circumstances, I would NEVER purchase...because that was the ONLY way to get the charges reduced. ugh ugh ugh!!!

I"m still fuming!!! but have to go fix supper now... haha!! :eek:

I am also cruising in Nov. Is there a hotel that has a shuttle to the port or a company that we can book and take us to the port. What about taxis?

We used Execucar for a pick up from the hotel to the pier. For convenience, we chose to stay at a Marriott by the Hobby airport the night before, as we were arriving at different times on the day before the cruise, and DH could take their shuttle back over to the airport to meet my flight and take the luggage off the baggage carousel for me. Everything went quite smoothly.

Yes, you're right about the convenience but I still feel that paying $5-$6 to go over a 2-3 mile bridge is a bit excessive in of itself. For every commuter in the SF Bay area, we have to pay that fee 5 times a week.

"Every commuter"??? I never had a commute in the Bay Area which entailed crossing a bridge. ;)

Most of the original bridge tolls were meant to be temporary - until the bridges were paid for. Of course that didn't happen. The Golden Gate Bridge district also runs buses and ferries to reduce the number of cars crossing the bridge. The tolls are a major source of funding for the mass transit operations.

Of course, the remaining bridges in the Bay Area are operated by the California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS).

Several people have asked for the name of the road....took me a minute to find it, but it's the Sam Houston Northeast Tollway http://https://www.hctra.org/tollroads_map/

Our Hotel was in Baytown - When looking for a hotel, this seemed like an excellent location. The loop (THE DREADED TOLLWAY!!!) appeared to be a good route to get us away from Houston traffic during Friday rush hour. There was a mall and nice casual dining restaurants all around, and the hotels for the most part had good reviews.

It was about 15-20 min from the port and we would have time to drive there the next morning. It seemed like a perfect stop.

Of course had I seen this website (above) during the planning process I would have known it was EZ Tag ONLY...but I didn't. I just assumed it was a toll road and we would pay the toll and that would be the end of it.

So....hoping this info helps others coming after me...and I'm learning some valuable things here too about other ports... This will NEVER happen to me again Folks!!! :(

I am sorry for your poor experience with the HCTRA (Harris County Toll Road Authority). It is true that they have some high penalties for toll road violations. We have a large number of people that refuse to pay to use the toll roads and a large number of those have out of state plates on their cars but have been here a long time using the toll roads and not paying. I fear that you were lumped into that group of people at no fault of yours. I am sure that they were happy to “reduce” the fees with your signing up for the EZ-Tag as that is what they want all of the “violators” to do. As a long time user of the HCTRA toll roads I would like to say thank-you for doing the “right thing” rather than just walking away from the bill.

Now to help other know what they can do to avoid being in this same situation…it is called doing some research before using the toll roads around Houston.

1. There is NOWHERE in Houston which requires the use of ANY toll road. In fact MOST of the toll roads have three lane side roads that move very well and at good speeds, many times at about the same speed as the toll road. Sure you will have some traffic lights.
   
2. As for the toll road bridge over the Houston Ship Channel, I would like to point out that there are FREE routes that can be used. These can be found on Google Maps and include:
   A. The IH-610 bridge, very wide with lots of lanes.
   B. Washburn Tunnel along Federal Road, narrow two way tunnel but is interesting to go through.
   C. The Lynchburg Ferry along the Independence Pkwy, very scenic but can be a wait at times
   D. The Highway 146 Fred Hartman Bridge, very wide with lots of lanes.
   
3. If you CHOOSE to use the toll roads MOST have toll booths where you can pay the tolls. To know where there are toll booths and the cost and where there is no toll booth and EZ-Tag is required this can be found on the HCTRA website by click the link to the “Road Map” of the system or clicking this link https://www.hctra.org/tollroads_map/?CSRT=1031386047019851170 Some computer may not display the map correctly. If some of the system is shown with dashed orange lines it is not correct, try a different computer or browser. (It works fine on my Windows 8 Table and one of my windows 7 computers but not the other one.) If displayed correctly you can hover over the map with your cursor and then click an area to see detailed information on the section of the system. At this point you can hover your mouse over toll road exits/entrances to see if they are manned or not and what the toll is with the EZ-tag or cash.
   
4. Tool Roads that can ONLY be used with an EZ-Tag are well marked before you get on them just watch the signs, these are:
   A. The West Park Toll Road.
   B. Northeast Toll Road.
   C. Fort Bend Toll Road – outside of Beltway 8 only
   D. Grand Parkway (west of Houston)
   
5. Toll tags that can be used for HCTRA and Fort Bend Toll Roads are:
   A. EZ-Tag
   B. TX-Tag
   C. NTTA Toll Tag
   
6. If renting a car ask the rental car company about using the toll roads at the time of booking and/or when picking the car up. Don’t wait until after the fact or you might be in for a delayed surprise also.
   

This is not meant to flame anyone, but offered to assist those traveling to Houston that might use the toll roads. I know all too well about finding toll roads play by different rules in different states. We have used toll roads all across the county and the only thing consistent is that there is no consistency between the states. As Colo Cruiser mentioned, for years the toll roads around Denver had toll booths where you could pay, but no more. We travel there many times a year as my wife’s dad still lives there. We learned when the change was made it is easier for us to just not use the toll road than to deal with the hassles of the toll road.

Happy travels to all.