LEE COUNTY MAKING TOLL FACILITY CHANGES TO LINK WITH SUNPASS

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amy Davies, Lee County Department of Transportation

(239) 479-8589

LEE COUNTY MAKING TOLL FACILITY CHANGES TO LINK WITH

SUNPASS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (August 18, 2003) - Starting Tuesday (Aug. 19), Lee county will be installing new

equipment at the Sanibel Toll Facility to make it compatible, eventually, with Florida's SunPass System

and other integrated toll agencies.

The equipment - antennas and readers - will be installed starting at 7 p.m. Tuesday night until

completion early Friday morning.

Similar equipment will be added this fall to the Cape Coral and Midpoint Memorial bridges toll plazas.

The goal is to integrate Lee County's system with the statewide SunPass System by early 2004.

The cost of the hardware for the project is about $450,000.

Once complete next year, people using transponders for any of the integrated toll systems in the state

will be able to use them on Lee County's toll bridges and vice versa.

With the installing of the new equipment, there may be some bugs to work out, especially with Lee

County's complicated discount toll system. Lee DOT is asking the patience of transponder customers if

they experience problems.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Amy Davies, Lee County Department of Transportation

(239) 479-8589

LEE COUNTY MAKING MIDPOINT TOLL FACILITY CHANGES TO LINK

WITH SUNPASS

FORT MYERS, Fla. (October 3, 2003) - Starting Monday (Oct. 6), Lee County will be installing new

equipment at the Midpoint Bridge Toll Facility to make it compatible, eventually, with Florida's

SunPass System and other integrated toll agencies. The county made similar changes to the Sanibel

Causeway Toll Facility in August.

The equipment - antennas and readers - will be installed starting Monday night until completion by the

weekend.

The goal is to integrate Lee County's system with the statewide SunPass System by early 2004.

The cost of the hardware for the project is about $450,000.

Once the equipment is installed, transponders will issue a "beeping" sound as they go through the toll

plaza. If you want to disable the beep, you must go to the LeeWay Service Center at 1366 Colonial

Boulevard on the Fort Myers side of the Midpoint Memorial Bridge.

Once complete next year, people using transponders for any of the integrated toll systems in the state

will be able to use them on Lee County's toll bridges and vice versa.

With the installing of the new equipment, there may be some bugs to work out, especially with Lee

County's complicated discount toll system. Lee DOT is asking the patience of transponder customers if

they experience problems.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Susan Hopwood, Service Center Manager

(239)-931-0100

[email protected]

LEEWAY® ANNOUNCES COMPATIBILITY WITH SUNPASS AND E-PASS

BEGINNING JUNE 1, 2004

Current Customers Must Reprogram Transponders at Service Center

Fort Myers, FL (April 22, 2004) - Beginning June 1, 2004, LeeWay®

(www.leewayinfo.com)

will be

compatible with SunPass

(www.sunpass.com)

and E-Pass

(www.expresswayauthority.com)

throughout

Florida. LeeWay is Lee County, Florida's electronic toll collection system.

Any LeeWay customer with a positive balance in a Prepaid Toll Account and a reprogrammed

transponder will be eligible to use specially designated SunPass and E-Pass Express lanes. This includes

vehicles with three or more axles.

To automatically reprogram transponders, customers should drive through the LeeWay Test Lane at the

LeeWay Service Center located at 1366 Colonial Boulevard in Fort Myers. The test lane (self service) is

available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

When entering the LeeWay Test Lane, drivers should stop on the first white line, pull forward to the

second white line, and stop again. Wait for the green light to appear on the traffic light. If the green light

does not appear after 15 seconds, the transponder has not been reprogrammed. In that case, customers

should contact the Service Center during regular business hours at 239-931-0100.

Some transponders were reprogrammed before being sold. Customers should contact the Service Center

at 239-931-0100 to see if their transponder needs to be reprogrammed.

LeeWay Discount Program participants need a Prepaid Toll Account to utilize SunPass and E-Pass lanes

so tolls can be deducted electronically. The Service Center staff recommends increasing the

replenishment amount and/or low balance threshold for customers who do not have automatic

replenishment.

Additional facts include:

· If customers do not have available funds in the Prepaid Toll Account, they should be prepared to stop

and pay cash at SunPass and E-Pass toll booths.

· Two transponders in one car (one SunPass and one LeeWay) will be double charged. It is

recommended you have only one transponder. If you take advantage of LeeWay discounts, we suggest

you keep your LeeWay transponder.

· Current customers without a Prepaid Toll Account are invited to call the Service Center at

239-931-0100 if they want to establish one. A Prepaid Toll Account is necessary to have your toll deducted

electronically.

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· Lee County drivers who do not currently use LeeWay can call the Service Center or visit

www.LeeWayInfo.com

to enroll. Using LeeWay enables drivers to take advantage of discounts on the

Lee County toll bridges as well as a reduced rate for electronic toll payment throughout the state of

Florida.

· At this time, SunPass customers are not eligible to purchase a LeeWay discount program. SunPass and

E-Pass customers will be eligible for the Variable Pricing discount at the Cape Coral and Midpoint Toll

Facilities.

· Although the official effective date is June 1, 2004, customers with reprogrammed transponders and a

positive balance in a Prepaid Toll Account will be able to take advantage of SunPass and E-Pass Express

Lanes beginning May 23, 2004. The period of May 23 through May 31 have been designated as an

active test environment.

· An implementation date for SunPass and E-Pass transponders to be accepted in Lee County toll lanes is

targeted for summer 2004.

About LeeWay

LeeWay is Lee County's electronic toll collection system. Tolls are collected on the Sanibel Island

Causeway and Midpoint and Cape Coral Bridges. The system operates using an electronic transponder,

installed on the windshield of the user's vehicle. As the driver passes through a toll plaza, an overhead

antenna reads the transponder, calculates the toll due, and automatically deducts the correct toll amount

from a Prepaid Toll Account.

LeeWay transponders can be purchased at the Service Center for $26.50 including tax. Prepaid Toll

Accounts are required, and a minimum deposit of $30 can be paid by credit card or check. Balances can

be replenished automatically with a credit card or by mailing or delivering payment via credit card,

check or money order to the Service Center.

For more information or to enroll in LeeWay, visit

www.LeeWayinfo.com

or call the LeeWay Service

Center at 239-931-0100.

For media inquiries, please contact Susan Hopwood, Service Center Manager, at 239-931-0100 or

[email protected].

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News-Press

Estimated printed pages: 3

April 10, 2001

Section: National

Page: 1A, 10A

Toll-pay options could be changed

Judith Miller

Staff

News-Press Fort Myers

Coin-drop discounts may become prepaid

By JUDITH MILLER [email protected]

CAPE CORAL - In a look toward the future, county transportation officials are proposing the elimination of two payment options for the toll bridges as a cost- and time-saving measure.

LeeWay officials want to do away with the annual and semi-annual 50-cent coin-drop payment option, a plan subscribed to by about 4,000 Cape Coral residents.

The suggestion came from the Florida Department of Transportation and is the first step in streamlining the county's toll system and making it compatible with the state's, said Scott Gilbertson, director of Lee County's transportation department. "The ultimate goal is to have a seamless toll-paying system throughout the state," he said.

Under the coin-drop program, subscribers pay a flat rate to get the discount to cross the Sanibel Causeway, the Midpoint and Cape Coral bridges or all three with a transponder. They also drop 50 cents in the coin machines each time they cross the bridge or bridges they selected.

"That payment option is going away," Gilbertson said.

Roughly a quarter of the 60,000 transponder users in the county subscribe to the coin-drop program. Of those 14,000 subscribers, about 8,000 elected the Sanibel Causeway-only option 2,300 chose the Midpoint/Cape Coral bridges and the remainder selected all three bridges, consultant Chris Swenson said.

"Instead, subscribers will still pay the flat rate, but the 50 cents will be deducted from a prepaid transponder account," Swenson said.

No other discount programs will be affected for now, he said. "The baskets are not going away," he said.

The change will mean coin-drop subscribers who elect to have prepaid accounts would become eligible for variable pricing, which would further reduce their tolls. Currently, they are not eligible to take part in the program that reduces the toll by half when crossing the bridges at certain times.

Leeanna Mottern of Sanibel selected the Sanibel Causeway-only option. She pays a semi-annual rate of $15 and drops 50 cents in the coin machine each time she returns to the island. The standard toll to cross the causeway is $3.

"I chose that option for economic reasons," she said. "I guess it depends on how much you use the bridge."

She said she saw no problem with the money being deducted from a prepaid account rather than tossing coins into a basket.

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"That seems like a reasonable prospect," she said. "I think they should have a choice of options based on cost." The idea was presented to the Cape Coral City Council on Monday by Kris Cella of Cella & Associates, and Swenson of CRSPE Inc., consultants for LeeWay, as part of a countywide education and information gathering process.

LeeWay first brought the idea to the Lee County Commission a few weeks ago.

Commissioner Bob Janes said the board wanted LeeWay officials to gather more information before the commission voted on the proposal.

Janes said LeeWay officials approached the commissioners several weeks ago with the proposal.

"They're working to get more information," he said. "My feeling is, I wanted to make certain there were no problems with income levels. The fact is, we've started it now and it's hard to take it away."

The measure would require a public hearing, according to Cella.

The cost of collecting 50-cent coin-drops is one of the reasons LeeWay officials would like to eliminate it.

Each transaction costs an average of 22 cents, whereas attended lanes and exact coin lane collections cost about 15 cents, Swenson said.

"It's a hybrid of electronic and cash collection," Gilbertson said.

Long-range plans call for adding express lanes, which are dedicated to transponder only traffic, to the Cape Coral Bridge, such as those already in place at Midpoint, Swenson said.

Attended and coin-only lanes process about 400 transactions per hour, Swenson said. Express lanes can handle 1,400 to 1,800 an hour, Cella told the council.

In order to satisfy DOT's traffic requirements for express lanes on the Cape Coral Bridge, the coin-drop program would have to be eliminated, Swenson said.

Otherwise, the DOT would have to install a split plaza - a new toll plaza - on the Cape Coral side of the bridge.

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News-Press

June 26, 2001

Page: 1A, 6A

Lee may open door to SunPass toll system

Jeff Cull

Staff

News-Press Cape Coral

Coins may soon be thing of the past

By JEFF CULL [email protected]

Motorists may soon be able to drive all over the state without having to dig into their pockets to find toll money.

If the Lee County Commission today approves a proposal to eliminate the 50-cent coin-drop method for paying bridge tolls, the county will be able to connect to other toll collecting agencies in the state.

That means paying tolls on roads such as the Florida Turnpike or Alligator Alley will be as easy as driving through the express lane.

The toll will be automatically deducted from a LeeWay prepaid account.

The county had to get rid of the coin-drop method of collecting tolls to gain entry into the state's SunPass system, said Amy Hughes, the county's transportation program manager.

"None of the other toll roads have the transponder/coin-drop system like we have," she said. "It had to be eliminated to make us compatible."

SunPass electronically connects toll facilities throughout the state.

Although not available to LeeWay subscribers yet, SunPass should be usable in about a year, once computer software systems are updated, Hughes said.

Under the coin-drop program, subscribers pay a flat rate to get a discount to cross the Sanibel Causeway, the Midpoint Memorial and Cape Coral bridges or all three with a transponder. They then drop 50 cents in the coin machines each time they cross the bridge or bridges they select.

If approved, about 15,000 customers who use that program will be forced to convert to a prepaid account or begin paying full fare - $1 for the Cape Coral bridges and $3 for the Sanibel Causeway.

Coin machines for full-fare users will remain available on a limited number of lanes, said Commissioner Andy Coy, who added that he's leaning towards voting for the proposal.

About 66,000 customers use transponders to cross the county's toll bridges.

LeeWay officials said that the minimum to set up a prepaid account is $30, plus a fee for whatever discount program chosen. The account must be replenished up to the $30 level once it reaches a low of $10.

Accounts can be paid by check, money order or credit card, officials said.

Carol Goldwasser, director of toll facilities, said that traffic on the bridges will improve once the coin-drop program is gone.

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A coin-drop lane handles about 400 to 800 cars per hour, while express lanes can accommodate 1,400 to 1,800 cars per hour. Kris Cella, of Cella & Associates, a LeeWay consultant, said that those who convert to prepaid accounts will be eligible for the

variablepricing discounts not previously available to coin-drop customers.

She also said that eliminating the program will save money.

Transactions cost the county 22 cents per trip in coin-drop lanes, but only 15 cents in express lanes. Collecting and sorting the coins accounts for the difference, Cella said.

"It's a good thing for the county, and it's a good thing for the customers," she said.

Two weeks ago, commissioners voted to start charging $25 for transponders instead of a $45 deposit for the electronic devices.

Those coin-drop customers with transponders won't have to buy new ones until the batteries in their current transponder wear out.

Nearly 3,000 coin-drop subscribers have already switched to prepaid accounts, Hughes said. And more are expected before the Nov. 1 deadline.

"Some said that they would convert in October," she said.

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News-Press

April 23, 2004

Page: 1A, 2A

LeeWay reach now statewide

Osvaldo Padilla

Staff

News-Press Fort Myers

Prepaid tolls good on most roads

BY OSVALDO PADILLA [email protected]

Taking a road trip throughout Florida just got easier for thousands of Lee County residents.

Starting June 1, motorists with prepaid LeeWay transponders can use them on just about any toll road in the state. The move will save many drivers time and money.

After years of hearing from drivers who wanted to use their transponders statewide, Lee County transportation officials worked out a deal to allow motorists to pay tolls electronically from the Panhandle to Key Largo with just one account.

LeeWay transponders can be used at SunPass toll booths, which include Alligator Alley, the Florida Turnpike and the Skyway bridge, and at E-Pass booths in the Orlando area.

"It saves time, for me, you and the guy behind me," said Carmain Risi, who anticipates he'll take advantage of the new system when his 12 grandchildren visit Cape Coral. "We'll be going all over the place, Disney and all that."

The transponder, a plastic device about the size of a wallet that attaches to a car windshield or window, sends an electronic signal that pays tolls automatically from drivers' accounts.

Transponders are used by 91,000 Lee County residents on the Midpoint Memorial, Cape Coral and Sanibel bridges. Some people now keep two transponders - one for Lee County and another for elsewhere in Florida.

"It'll be great for me," said Elaine Howe, 45, who crosses Alligator Alley once a month on her way to Fort Lauderdale.

"It (the transponder) just makes a big screaming noise when I go through," the Cape Coral resident said. The screaming soon will be replaced by the comforting beeps that signal the toll has been paid.

"I might be going over more now," she said.

Motorists also will get some small price breaks with the new service.

Toll rates increased on the Florida Turnpike to 7.5 cents per mile for customers who pay cash. People with transponders only pay 6 cents per mile.

Transponder customers qualify for a 10 percent discount on Alligator Alley if they travel the route at least 40 times per month. Cars with the devices get through traffic two to three times as fast as those without.

"You don't have to wait in lines, carrying coins with you. It's very convenient," said Susan Hopwood, LeeWay manager. People with transponders and prepaid accounts pay only 50 cents per trip on Lee County bridges, plus an annual fee,

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depending on which program they select. Drivers get an additional 25 cents knocked off the price on the Midpoint Memorial and Cape Coral bridges during certain off-peak hours.

TRANSPONDER Q&A

Q How much does it cost to program my transponder so that I can use it across the state? A Nothing. If you have a prepaid toll account the money for tolls will be taken out of your account. Q Where can I use my transponder?

A Starting June 1, any toll lane throughout the state with a sign reading SunPass or E-Pass will accept your LeeWay transponder.

Q What if I'm enrolled in the Unlimited Discount Program where I paid a flat fee? Can I access SunPass and E-Pass toll lanes?

A No. Customers have to set up a prepaid LeeWay account to access statewide tolls. Money will be taken out of the account to pay SunPass and E-Pass tolls.

Q Does money in my prepaid account roll over into next year?

A Yes. Regardless of whether you only have a prepaid account or both a prepaid and unlimited account, the money rolls over. If you discontinue your transponder service, you get the leftover money back.

Q How do I reprogram my transponder?

A Drive through the LeeWay Test Lane at the LeeWay service center at 1366 Colonial Blvd., in Fort Myers. Follow the instructions, and devices in the lane will automatically reprogram the transponder. The process takes about 15 seconds. The lane is already open for business, 24 hours per day, seven days per week.

Q What if I don't want to reprogram my transponder?

A You don't have to. If you have an older transponder, it won't work in SunPass or E-Pass lanes. If at any time you get a new transponder, it will be reprogrammed to work statewide.

Q What happens if I have both LeeWay and SunPass transponders?

A If the LeeWay device has been reprogrammed, you could be charged twice when going through a toll. Get rid of one to avoid this problem. SunPass transponders do not work at Lee County tolls.

Q I got a new transponder just a few months ago. Do I need to have it reprogrammed?

A Maybe, maybe not. Some transponders that were bought recently have already been reprogrammed. To find out if yours has been reprogrammed or for any other questions, call LeeWay at 931-0100.

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