TxDOT May Transfer TxTag Payment Processing Again

The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) is preparing to hand off the operation of its often-criticized TxTag toll payment system to a new vendor for the third time in the past six years.

The state agency posted on the TxTag website that it is “exploring options” to “transition” TxTag’s payment processing and customer account management to the Harris County Toll Road Authority. That agency is overseen by the Harris County Commissioners Court and manages the toll road system in the Houston area, including the EZ TAG electronic payment system.

For years, TxTag has come under fire for saddling drivers with unexpected or incorrect charges, along with accusations of poor customer service responses to complaints. In a long-running investigation, the Austin television station KXAN uncovered hundreds of billing problems, including drivers receiving unwarranted fines and incorrect statements and being billed for trips they didn’t take. TxTag customers have also shared complaints on social media websites.

The Harris County Toll Road Authority “is an experienced tolling authority that performs toll services as its core business and, if a contract is approved, would provide an enhanced experience for customers,” TxDOT spokesman Adam Hammons said in an emailed statement. TxDOT and the toll authority “are taking the necessary steps to prepare for a transition,” he said.

Hammons didn’t respond to written questions about whether the transition is in response to reports of billing problems, how TxDOT selected the Harris County Toll Road Authority as a vendor or whether there was or would be a competitive bidding process. Documents on the agency’s website indicate that it put out a request for proposals for its toll operations in 2011 and a request for information in 2017.

The transition is expected to happen “in phases” around the end of this year and early next year, according to the information on TxTag's website. The website notes that TxDOT could stop the transition before a “toll services agreement” is executed. It's unclear when TxDOT put the information on the TxTag website disclosing the possible transition.

Officials with the Harris County Toll Road Authority didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment sent via email.

Bruce Bugg, chairman of the Texas Transportation Commission, which oversees TxDOT, didn’t immediately respond to a message left seeking comment.

TxDOT currently works with the global consulting and tech firm Accenture to manage the software system and with the company TTEC Government Solutions for customer service. A TTEC representative declined to comment.

There has been friction between TxDOT and Accenture in the past. In 2022, the agency sent a letter to the company's managing director to “formally communicate documented deficiencies” in its management of the system, including by not responding promptly to a transaction backlog in October of that year, according to KXAN.

Customers would still be able to use their current TxTag after the transition to the Harris County Toll Road Authority, but TxDOT recommends that they log into their account and confirm that their addresses, vehicle information and credit card numbers are up to date and resolve any overdue bills before the transition happens.

After the transition, customers will manage their accounts and view their payments through the Harris County Toll Road Authority’s website.

If the transition happens, it will be the third time since 2019 that TxDOT has switched vendors to manage the payment system, according to media reports and the agency's website. The TxTag service was created in 2006. In the San Antonio area, the service can be used to pay for trips on Texas 130, an alternative to Interstate 35 with a speed limit of 85 miles an hour.

In 2019, TxDOT awarded a contract to IBM to build a software system to process transactions. In 2021, the agency terminated the contract, scolding the company for “lackluster service” after an upgrade to the system led to drivers being overcharged millions of dollars. TxDOT went on to pay back $11.7 million to drivers for the overcharges.

The agency contracted in 2013 with Xerox State and Local Solutions to handle the tolling operations. It would go on to fine Xerox and Conduent State and Local Solutions — a company that split from Xerox in 2017 and assumed the contract — more than $2.4 million for failing to meet performance metrics, according to KXAN.

Last year, after a legislative effort in response to driver complaints, Gov. Greg Abbott signed House Bill 2170, requiring tolling agencies in Texas to let customers know when there were problems processing toll charges through electronic payment systems.

(c)2024 the San Antonio Express-News. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency LLC.