New York Zipcar Drivers Issued Violations After MTA Doesn’t Process Company’s E-ZPass Bill Payment

alt="zipcar1"
src="http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/10/zipcar1.jpg"
width="320" height="480" /> After the Metropolitan
Transportation Authority failed to process Zipcar's payment for the
E-ZPass tolls incurred by its cars operating in New York, members
of the car sharing program were pulled over, had their E-ZPass
transponders confiscated and they were issued violations for using
unfunded devices. When drivers arrived at toll booths they were
directed to pull over and they were delayed while the E-ZPass
devices were taken away and citations were issued. "You're my
hundredth Zipcar!" one MTA officer said excitedly as he wrote a
Zipcar member a violation notice at the Robert F. Kennedy Bridge
toll plaza last weekend.

Zipcar vice president Andrew Kupiec said that the company,
owned by the Avis car rental firm, had found out about problems
with its E-ZPass account payment on that Friday and that they had
taken immediate measures to resolve the problem, even receiving a
fax from the MTA on Friday confirming that the payment had been
made. On Saturday, however, they discovered that the payment hadn't
actually been processed. Because MTA offices were closed, until
payment was confirmed Monday morning, all weekend long Zipcar
members trying to use toll roads, bridges and tunnels were stopped.
Furthermore, even though by Monday morning the MTA knew that the
payment had been made, apparently it takes 24 hours to reactivate
the transponders so Zipcar members using cars in New York had to
pay cash for their tolls until Tuesday. Kupiec said that Zipcar did
not notify customers about the problem over the weekend because
they weren't sure of the extent of the problem. "We wanted to
balance what we knew versus spreading uncertain information to
those unimpacted." He said that the company is implementing
procedures to make sure that what he described as an "unfortunate
situation" wouldn't reoccur. "There will be redundant backup plans
if it's something as simple as an expiration date," said Kupiec,
who also said that affected customers will be refunded their
reservation fees and be compensated for any tolls and fines they
incurred. While Zipcar is taking some blame, the company had
apparently been sent a fax by the MTA erroneously confirming
payment. The transit agency, however, is taking no responsibility
for the snafu and had no apologies for drivers that were
inconvenienced. "We don't want people to use a bad tag that doesn't
have money on it," said MTA spokeswoman Judie Glave. "From time to
time this happens with corporate accounts and private accounts,"
said Glave, "it's as easy as someone has replaced a credit card and
it expires and they forget to give a new expiration date."

from The Truth About Cars http://www.thetruthaboutcars.com

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