![]() ![]() There is no required minimum balance as long as you enroll in the automatic reloading program. Like EZ Tag, you have to load $40 onto the tag to begin with, but it does not automatically force you into a reloading program. TxTag (pronounced Tex-tag) is good for the entire state and does not cost money for the tag. You must load $40 onto the tag to begin with and it reloads a minimum of $40 automatically when your balance dips below $10. James Nielsen/ChronicleĮZ Tag can be used in Texas, Oklahoma or Kansas and costs $15 for the tag. During non-HOV times, anyone using the lanes must have an EZ Tag. The Katy Freeway’s managed lanes are open to solo drivers willing to pay during the busiest hours. And the only part that is pay-by-mail is the part of the Grand Parkway from I-10 in Katy to I-69 in Kingwood. The TxDOT toll roads are the only ones in the Houston area that allow pay-by-mail if you don’t have an existing toll account or pay by cash. If it’s a HCTRA toll road, first-time violators may be eligible for a fee reduction, usually in the form of paying either just the toll owed, or the toll plus a processing fee. Some booth operators shut down earlier than that.ĭriving on a toll lane without payment could result in a violation invoice. But cash payment isn’t an option for those traveling late at night - on the west side of the tollway, it’s electronic-only from 11:30 p.m. Houston’s toll roads all take electronic payments, and a select few portions of Sam Houston Tollway accept cash. 31, according to Houston Chronicle transportation reporter Dug Begley. Grand Parkway toll rates are slated to go up in price in 2020 after the Texas Transportation Commission approved new rates on Oct. Tags with a reciprocal agreement are also eligible: Kansas, Oklahoma and Dallas’ tags work around here. TxTag, the state’s electronic toll tag, and EZ Tag, Houston’s toll tag, work on all the toll roads around the area. You can find the rates for the Texas Department of Transportation’s portions of Grand Parkway, Harris County Toll Road Authority and the Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority on each agency’s website. A three-axle vehicle would pay $11.75 regardless of payment form. If you’re paying with cash, that’ll be $5.75. The cost also goes up if you drive a vehicle with more than two axles or hitch a trailer to your vehicle.įor instance, if you get on Sam Houston Tollway at the Fallbrook Drive on-ramp in a two-axle sedan and got off the tollway at Hillcroft Avenue with an electronic tag, you owe $5.10. On toll roads that accept cash or pay-by-mail, you may pay 5 to 25 cents more per checkpoint for not using one of the electronic tags. You pay the sum of charges for whatever distance you go.Įach toll authority sets its own rates, and there are different rates for people paying with something other than an electronic toll tag. Tolls are calculated by sensors at on-ramps, checkpoints and off-ramps. To enable toll avoidance, you must tap “Driving and Navigation” and then “Avoid Tolls.”ĭepends on how far you go, how you’re paying and what vehicle you’re driving. On your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings and select “Maps” from the list. What are things you need to know how to do, Houston? You can find me on Twitter at or by email at See More CollapseĪpple Maps is trickier. The Houston Chronicle wants to simplify that for you.Īs a reporter, I usually ask the questions, but I can’t be the only one wondering how something works. Humans have an innate drive to improve themselves, and we’re always striving to live better, smarter and more efficiently by throwing countless dollars and hours at our problems. I’m Gwendolyn Wu, and I’m writing “Houston How To,” a series on how to navigate the city and its complexities. ![]()
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