Tolls
As of October 1, 2009, the passenger or passengers of two-axle vehicles (such as cars and motorcycles) pay a total of $10.75 to travel the entire length of the turnpike. Tolls are calculated based on the length of the route traveled, and the toll is as little as 30ยข for motorists driving only a short distance (3 miles (4.8 km), for example) on the turnpike. Drivers in vehicles with more than two axles, such as truckers, pay higher tolls.
The turnpike runs on a ticket-based collection system. When entering the turnpike, either at one of the termini or at an interchange, a driver is issued a ticket which indicates the toll plaza at which they entered. When leaving the turnpike, this ticket is used to determine the amount of the toll. If a motorist makes a U-Turn and exits at the same toll plaza he entered at, the KTA charges a "per-minute" fare. Should the ticket be lost, or should the trip take over eighteen hours to complete, the driver must pay the highest possible toll for his exit.
As an alternative to using tickets, motorists can purchase a transponder, known as a K-TAG. K-TAG customers can proceed slowly through the toll plaza without stopping and collecting a ticket or paying toll. The toll is instead paid through one of two payment plans. K-TAG Classic, intended for frequent turnpike users, requires the customer to maintain a prepaid account, which funds are drawn from as needed. The plan intended for intermittent users, My K-TAG, requires an active credit card. My K-TAG keeps track of the tolls accrued by the customer, and automatically charges the user's credit card monthly. K-TAG Classic accounts are subject to a $1 monthly fee per tag, while My K-TAG account holders purchase the tags for $15 each. Tolls for K-TAG users are lower than for cash customers, so a 2-axle vehicle with a K-TAG is charged only $9.25 to travel the entire length of the turnpike. K-TAG Classic users also receive an additional 10 percent discount on tolls. K-TAG was introduced in 1995. K-TAGs are available for purchase at select Walgreens, Dillons and AAA locations. K-TAG is not compatible with the E-ZPass system, nor with neighboring Oklahoma's PikePass.
The Kansas Turnpike is completely self-sustaining. All costs are paid for by the tolls collected; no tax money is used for construction, maintenance, or administration. KTA estimates that 120,000 drivers use the turnpike each day.
Read more about this topic: Kansas Turnpike
Famous quotes containing the word tolls:
“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.... Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in Mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
—John Donne (c. 1572–1631)
“No man is an island entire of itself; every man is a piece of the Continent, a part of the main.... Any man’s death diminishes me because I am involved in Mankind; and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.”
—John Donne (c. 1572–1631)