MBA Closes Token Lanes, Favors Commuter Card
By Karen Gould

Commuters traveling on the Mackinac Bridge can use a transponder, commuter card, or token to pay for their bridge fare. (Photograph courtesy of the Mackinac Bridge Authority)

The automated toll lanes were closed at the Mackinac Bridge October 8, and since then commuters using tokens have not been able to throw the metal coins into the basket that collected the fare and opened the gate. The automated lanes will eventually be reopened to commuter card users. Toll collectors will continue to accept the metal tokens, a practice that will remain in place, as the two aging automatic coin machines are too expensive to maintain and to replace, said Bob Sweeney, executive secretary of the Mackinac Bridge Authority (MBA). New machines, he said, would cost more than $300,000.

The MBA is moving away from the use of commuter tokens in favor of commuter cards, a change the MBA says would capture lost revenue and reduce expenses. Spurred by failing equipment, high replacement costs, and token abuses, the changeover is expected to be complete by the end of the year.

Commuter cards can already be used in all lanes, whether they are staffed or unstaffed, said Mr. Sweeney. Card readers are installed in each lane.

The MBA is expected to approve the elimination of the commuter discount on tokens when it meets November 1. The non-commuter rate to travel the bridge is $2.50 per crossing. The matter was discussed at the authority's July meeting and reported in The St. Ignace News. By removing the discount, the MBA hopes to curtail abuses in the token system.

Through the bridge's history, toll prices have fluctuated, and a commuter fare was established for frequent travelers, who purchase quantities of tokens, use a commuter card, or a transponder. In August, the MBA announced abuses to the commuter token program now cost the MBA $500,000 annually in bridge revenue.

Abuses take place when retailers resell the metal coins at a discount to vacationers.

The commuter card provides the same discount fare price of $1.50. An advantage to using the card, said Mr. Sweeney, is that it can be used in either staffed or unstaffed toll booth lanes.

Commuter cards have been available to travelers since 2001. The cards, which have an embedded computer chip, require users to pay a minimum of $36 in advance for 24 trips over the bridge, the same price and number of trips available in a roll of tokens. Additional trips, in allotments of 24, can be added to the card by any toll booth operator.

When traveling the bridge, commuters can hand their card to a toll collector to register the trip, or they can wave the plastic card in front of an electronic reader. The trip is deducted from the card, and the gate will open, he said.

The proximity (card) reader has a service life of five years. Per lane, including the gate, the equipment costs approximately $10,000, said Mr. Sweeney, "which is substantially less than the automatic coin machines."

"It's virtually 100% reliable. We haven't had any failures at all with the proximity (card) readers, where the automatic coin machines (ACM) have been pretty marginal as far as operability goes," said Mr. Sweeney. "This time of year, with snow, rain, and temperature variations, we get a lot of breakdowns, a lot of maintenance repairs, and a lot of labor is involved with the ACMs. The last couple of years has been quite a challenge."

First installed in 2001, the two coin machines are past their fiveyear service life, Mr. Sweeney said. To replace them would cost $280,000, and $25,000 in replacement parts also must be spent to cover recurring breakdowns. Several parts are notorious for failing, he said, and the bridge maintenance staff has been repairing some of the parts. The authority has been spending $10,000 a year on new parts, a cost that does not include staff labor.

Another reason the MBA will eliminate the ACM equipment is programming costs. Software used at the bridge was developed inhouse, while the ACM equipment is proprietary equipment supplied by Revenue Markets, a New York company. Any programming changes made by the MBA must be duplicated on the ACM equipment, said Mr. Sweeney, which the company is willing to do for an average fee of about $10,000.

"Any time we have a minor change in any of our software," he said, "if we change our auditing procedures or make some modification to our toll software, then Revenue Markets has to change their equipment software to match our toll software."

The card reading equipment, which is owned by the MBA, can be updated and modified by the staff computer programmer in a few hours.

The transponder is the least popular option chosen by commuters, said Mr. Sweeney, with less than 25 in circulation. For now, limited technology at the bridge allows the transponders to be used at the commuter lanes only.

"The future of our current transponder system is uncertain," he said. "This is relatively expensive and our customer has not really responded to them. The board is still interested in a transponder-type system, and that does offer a lot of potential future benefits. Most toll facilities offer something like this. We'll probably continue to look at it, but the equipment is more expensive than the proximity (card) readers."

Transponders have been available to travelers since 2003.

A transponder is available at the commuter rate of $1.50 per crossing. A transponder offers the convenience of not having to roll down the vehicle window, said Mr. Sweeney, rather, the commuter presses the transponder button when reaching the toll booth gate. An electronic signal registers the trip and opens the gate. Initially, a transponder costs the user $25, of which $10 is refundable, if it is returned. The unit requires a minimum of $36 for 24 bridge crossings.