Case study featuring Phoenix Transportation and PrePass toll payment services.
Phoenix Transportation simplifies toll payments and the dispute process with PrePass.
Dry Van and
Flatbed Freight
INDUSTRY
120 tractors, 13 owner-operators, 300 trailers
150 employees
COMPANY SIZE
Georgetown, KY
LOCATION
Since
1998
1998
PREPASS CUSTOMER
Phoenix Transportation has been a PrePass customer for about
20 years. Mark Barnes, the company’s vice-president of safety and
recruiting, knows better than most people what it’s like to have the
convenience of weigh station bypassing and toll payment services –
and then suddenly being without both.
That’s because there was a nearly two-year period when the
Georgetown, Kentucky fleet had discontinued PrePass Plus.
According to Barnes, this made managing tolls for himself and the
other 150 employees, “pretty cumbersome to manage on our own.”
“We were in desperate need of getting our Compliance Safety and Accountability (CSA) scores better,” Barnes said. “So we dropped PrePass entirely. This would force our drivers to go into the scales and hopefully get clean inspections to help raise our score.”
“Because our drivers like PrePass so much, I know they want to do everything they can to keep it in their trucks. That helps us keep our fleet safety scores where they need to be and keeps them happy.”
While the plan paid off with better CSA scores, looking back, Barnes said he realizes he should have used a better strategy. Phoenix Transportation should have at least kept the toll payment service portion of its PrePass service. That’s because, according to him, PrePass is not only a favorite of drivers, but its absence resulted in other problems. “We had to make sure we paid tolls including getting receipts and dealing with toll violations. It was a pain,” he said, taking up a lot of his time and that of others at the fleet.
Dealing with toll violations
without having PrePass
service was especially
painful because it took up so
much time Barnes said. For
example, it is not uncommon
for a truck to be charged
the wrong toll. “The tolling
companies would send toll
violations repeatedly, with
different statement IDs, and if you didn’t watch it, you would end
up paying the same toll twice.”
When Phoenix Transportation returned to PrePass, Barnes said that pain went away. PrePass was able to handle all the disputes which resulted in “a lot of time saved on my end.”
According to Barnes, another benefit of having PrePass toll payment service is the toll discounts Phoenix Transportation receives as well as the wide area of coverage the service offers. “We upgraded to PrePass Plus because our freight changed and we expanded more out West. We more frequently were incurring tolls from multiple toll authorities.” Consolidating these made good business sense.
After temporarily removing the PrePass service, Barnes said he
completely understands the benefits of PrePass Plus, which for
them includes the PrePass weigh station bypass service combined
with the toll payment service.
“It’s a plus for our drivers not having to stop at the scales and go
through that hassle,” he said. “It’s a luxury to bypass and save time
from not stopping.” Barnes said this is especially true now. Phoenix,
like so many other fleets, is using electronic driver logs, forcing
drivers to strictly adhere to operating on a 14-day schedule. This is
something he said shippers and receivers don’t always understand.
The longer a truck sits at a weigh station, the greater chance the
driver will miss a pick up or delivery window.
Barnes also credits PrePass
weigh station bypass service
with helping Phoenix
Transportation keep its
CSA scores low. It’s a real
incentive for drivers. One
incentive program he is
considering reviving is to
require drivers to maintain
good inspections in order to
keep the PrePass services on
their truck. The drivers value
the service so it helps reinforce good behavior while also helping
with driver retention and recruiting.
“Because our drivers like PrePass so much, I know they want to do
everything they can to keep it in their trucks,” he said. “That helps
us keep our fleet safety scores where they need to be and keeps
them happy.”
PREPASS SERVICES
- Weigh Station Bypass
- Toll Payment Service
BUSINESS NEED
Toll statements from multiple agencies, incorrect charges and toll disputes were becoming increasingly complex and time consuming.
BUSINESS SOLUTION
PrePass Plus combines weigh station bypass with the toll payment service using one transponder and one bill.
BUSINESS RESULTS
The company spends
less time reconciling toll statements and disputing charges. Drivers also spend less time waiting at scale houses, saving money while improving driver satisfaction.
We want to help.
Call and speak with one of our U.S.-based
customer service representatives to get started.
Phoenix Transportation simplifies toll payments and the dispute process with PrePass.
Mark Barnes,
Vice President of Safety and Recruiting
INDUSTRY
Dry Van and Flatbed Freight
COMPANY SIZE
120 tractors, 13 owner-operators, 300 trailers, 150 employees
LOCATION
Georgetown, KY
PP CUSTOMER
Since 1998
PREPASS SERVICES
- Weigh Station Bypass
- Toll Payment Service
BUSINESS NEEDS
Toll statements from multiple agencies, incorrect charges and toll disputes were becoming increasingly complex and time consuming.
BUSINESS SOLUTION
PrePass Plus combines weigh station bypass with the toll payment service using one transponder and one bill.
BUSINESS RESULTS
The company spends less time reconciling toll statements and disputing charges. Drivers also spend less time waiting at scale houses, saving money while improving driver satisfaction.
Phoenix Transportation has been a PrePass customer for about 20 years. Mark Barnes, the company’s vice-president of safety and recruiting, knows better than most people what it’s like to have the convenience of weigh station bypassing and toll payment services – and then suddenly being without both.
That’s because there was a nearly two-year period when the Georgetown, Kentucky fleet had discontinued PrePass Plus. According to Barnes, this made managing tolls for himself and the other 150 employees, “pretty cumbersome to manage on our own.”
“We were in desperate need of getting our Compliance Safety and Accountability (CSA) scores better,” Barnes said. “So we dropped PrePass entirely. This would force our drivers to go into the scales and hopefully get clean inspections to help raise our score.”
“Because our drivers like PrePass so much, I know they want to do everything they can to keep it in their trucks. That helps us keep our fleet safety scores where they need to be and keeps them happy.”
While the plan paid off with better CSA scores, looking back, Barnes said he realizes he should have used a better strategy. Phoenix Transportation should have at least kept the toll payment service portion of its PrePass service. That’s because, according to him, PrePass is not only a favorite of drivers, but its absence resulted in other problems. “We had to make sure we paid tolls including getting receipts and dealing with toll violations. It was a pain,” he said, taking up a lot of his time and that of others at the fleet.
Dealing with toll violations without having PrePass service was especially painful because it took up so much time Barnes said. For example, it is not uncommon for a truck to be charged the wrong toll. “The tolling companies would send toll violations repeatedly, with different statement IDs, and if you didn’t watch it, you would end up paying the same toll twice.”
When Phoenix Transportation returned to PrePass, Barnes said that pain went away. PrePass was able to handle all the disputes which resulted in “a lot of time saved on my end.”
According to Barnes, another benefit of having PrePass toll payment service is the toll discounts Phoenix Transportation receives as well as the wide area of coverage the service offers. “We upgraded to PrePass Plus because our freight changed and we expanded more out West. We more frequently were incurring tolls from multiple toll authorities.” Consolidating these made good business sense.
After temporarily removing the PrePass service, Barnes said he completely understands the benefits of PrePass Plus, which for them includes the PrePass weigh station bypass service combined with the toll payment service.
“It’s a plus for our drivers not having to stop at the scales and go through that hassle,” he said. “It’s a luxury to bypass and save time from not stopping.” Barnes said this is especially true now. Phoenix, like so many other fleets, is using electronic driver logs, forcing drivers to strictly adhere to operating on a 14-day schedule. This is something he said shippers and receivers don’t always understand. The longer a truck sits at a weigh station, the greater chance the driver will miss a pick up or delivery window.
Barnes also credits PrePass weigh station bypass service with helping Phoenix Transportation keep its CSA scores low. It’s a real incentive for drivers. One incentive program he is considering reviving is to require drivers to maintain good inspections in order to keep the PrePass services on their truck. The drivers value the service so it helps reinforce good behavior while also helping with driver retention and recruiting.
“Because our drivers like PrePass so much, I know they want to do everything they can to keep it in their trucks,” he said. “That helps us keep our fleet safety scores where they need to be and keeps them happy.”
We want to help.
Call and speak with one of our U.S.-based customer service representatives to get started.