DOTD did away with the kiosk and single pass option. You either have to pay $12.50 to set up an account, or pay at the newly established toll booth which means waiting in line. Used to be easy to buy the single pass option on line, but not any more. Either pay more or wait in line.
July 4th there's going to be a 2 mile line at this toll booth, which will also affect the Geaux Pass sticker holders - wait and see!
So, I go up to the NEW kiosk in my vehicle with my TWO registrations in hand, enter the vehicle info, pay with my debit card, make sure I get my receipt because I had my receipt last year and they weren't able to scam me with their violation I received in the mail several months later-then I will be alowed to pass GEAUX? While I am going through Morgan City, I think I will stop at one of the shipbuilders and get 2 giant ferries commissioned and it will be like going to Galveston and eaisier!!!~
I'm glad I don't work at DOTD...what an embaressment to the good workers there that they have to be associated with this JOKE!
I have an email asking Geaux Pass why they did away with the single pass system, which was easy and convenient. If I hear back will post. If anyone knows please share. Hopefully it's not just the additional 12.50 they charge for the sticker. This is a NIGHTMARE!
I was listening to Don Dubuc this morning and there was a guy who called in from the line and said there was a DOTD employee helping the people get their pass at the machine. So why not build a nice shack with an hvac, coffee pot, and potty and let this guy just take the money????
i say give the poor bucket man a break, he deserves the right to be cranky even though its not nice.
think about that poor smuck sitting in 100 degree temps all day making minimum wage and you know people all cop attitudes with him even though its not his fault the system sucks.
i dont think its right for him to give us attitude but hes getting screwed in this deal just like the rest of us so i say its understandable he isnt happy either
i know i sure wouldnt be willing to sit on a bucket in this heat getting complained to at all day by everybody in line trying to get thru
I went through last Wednesday morning at 5:30 a.m.
We were in two separate vehicles. One with the sticker toll tag and one without. The line was about 15 cars long for those having to use the toll machine and there were three DOTD workers there working on it or just assisting the motorists. The line was not so long as to prevent us from getting around to the tag lane and we breezed through.
However, we had to wait 15 minutes for the other vehicle to make it through the pay line and get across the bridge. When we met up, he told us that he was glad he got there when he did because by the time he got through, the line had tripled in length.
Also, once it gets too long, it blocks those with the toll tags from getting around the line to that lane.
It's a mess. We'll see what difference a week makes, but I fully expect there will be long lines encountered on the 4th of July and I don't even want to think what it will be like for the Trapon Rodeo!
I have an idea that DOTD may want to consider for the 4th and the tarpon?
Get a few employees and instead of stationing them on the bridge Give them a pad of receipts and a change apron and station them along La 1 approaching the bridge. They know what the different vehicles have to pay and let them charge the fee and give the driver a receipt.
As long as they do this then traffic shouldn't build up at the toll kiosk and should flow better.
Sams club does something like this in high crowd times . that way when you get to the register everything you have is scanned in already and they scan your card and you pay and go.
Just a thought?
My experience this weekend...
We reached the toll Saturday morning around 6:40 and we got in line behind 25 vehicles. I was curious how this new system would work so i set the timer on my phone when we pulled up. After 11 minutes of waiting 12 vehicles passed through the toll. During the 12 minutes the line grew to over 45 vehicles. Seeing this the DOTD employee picked up a flag and waived all 45+ vehicles through the toll, free of charge!
In an attempt to avoid the line Sunday morning we hit the toll at 4:40AM. With 2 vehicles in front of us it took a total of 4 minutes to get through.
1 minute per vehicle = big problem
just sell the cameras and computer kiosks and use the money to buy a real chair for the toll guy then he can collect the tolls as they drive up like normal toll bridges do. all those employees sending out late fines for blury pictures can now go work in the toll booth or chase toll booth crashers who dont pay and write them tickets, after all your on an island so its not like you can get away lol.
problem solved
its so simple everyone knows thats what MUST be done but those in charge will never allow it.
This is from the DOTD's public info. service page. Dated 6-18. Commenting about the new kiosk system.
This feature is going to greatly enhance motorists’ convenience on the LA 1 Bridge,” said Rhett Desselle, assistant secretary of DOTD operations. “We really wanted to offer an in-lane one-stop-shop that is better, safer and faster, and I think we accomplished our goal.”
Let's send DOTD pictures of the lines that WILL happen again and again. Apparently DOTD's definition of 'convenience and flexibility' is a system that's completely broken and a source of stress for everyone headed to Fourchon/Grand Isle.
Hopefully DOTD won't 'accomplish goals' again anytime soon!
i have an even better idea
lets start a class action lawsuit against the DOTD demanding immediate removal of all obstructions, barricades, and toll stations because they are:
a detriment to buisness on the island
a danger to motorists stuck in the traffic jams
hinder the flow of traffic and cause needless delays
are a public safety hazard caused by burocratic stupidity
with all the toll bridges and roads in the country how hard is it to really come up with a working system.
Who are the big wigs that came up with and voted that this idea is good and will work. They obviously have not tested it anywhere. How could a so called expert in the field ever come up with something that is down right ridiculous. Its going to grand isle for peeps sakes. Just think it was going in and out a major city everyday.
Louisiana govt. is no. 1 in the country for corruption, nepotism, and government pay raises. The 'good ole boys' focus on those things, not transportation issues. This problem will not be solved until it hits the front page of the Advocate or Picayune. Then it will get the Big Wigs' attention.!!
its easy for the guy who spent a month learning the system and all the ways to work around issues so for him it was so easy he could do it in his sleep.
the morons in charge never grasped the idea that the majority of users would be first time users with no clue or previous experience in how this thing works
they just read a report from the guy trained to use it on how easy it was for him
i see in the local paper they will have people working at the toll booths thru middle of to the end of july helping drivers figure out how to figure out the process and enter the correct info.
?????
these guys are utterly clueless, that might help the daily drivers but when are they going to realise its not the same people using this bridge every day. there are hundreds of people crossing the bridge for the first time so it would take at least a full year to teach each person who uses the bridge how to work the machines and even then there will always be tourists who show up and stop all traffic trying to figure it out and find info on a rental car.
This stupid method of collecting tolls is going to end up costing GI a lot of business if they don't get this toll system straightened out. Venice and Cocodrie, and the Miss. Alabama gulf coast are looking better and better.
If I owned a business on the island I would be furious. How hard is it to have a simple toll where you hand money to the cashier and a separate lane if you have a yearly pass where you don't even have to stop.
To simple I guess.
My first trip to Grand Isle was yesterday, the 4th of July. We got to the toll booth about 5 or 5:15. There was a cop car with its lights on in the right lane. I was confused and there were cars behind me so I just went through the lane for the Geaux pass or whatever and didn't stop. Will I get a ticket in the mail or should I expect one?
I had a report that the toll machine was broken yesterday morning so the policeman was there and they were just letting everone through without paying.
Later in the day they set up a table and had several workers manually collecting tolls.
What a novel idea!
You should not get a ticket and if you do, you should fight it.
I have been thru twice within the last 7 days. Last Friday was a bit of a mess because most of the people I watched had NOTHING ready when they pulled up. They would stop, read the kiosk, dig for their wallet, read the kiosk again, then swipe their card, then get confused about the reciept printer!
When we went thru at about 7:00 this past Tuesday evening there were three guys standing at the booth, one of which was taking the cash or credit card from the vehicle, swiping the card, entering the appropriate vehicle type, then handing the card back thru the driver. This went MUCH quicker, but still seemed a little silly! The other two guys were just standing there watching.
Overall, I think the system in place is very poorly designed and needs to be changed, but so far it has not been quite as horrible (for me at least) of an experience as I have been hearing.
I really wish someone would get sleepy and just so happen to fall asleep while pulling onto the bridge and take out the machine. I work down in fourchon and have been late to work cause the line was so backed up with people trying to pay that I couldnt go around them to use the other lane. Word of advice for non toll tag holders, put the tailgate down on your truck and bungee cord ur license plate upward to the trailer.......instant geaux pass.
ok no real help here since i dont know but im told its just like at the kiosk except now its done on the spot at the bridge and you still have to enter your vehicle info just as before.
the kiosks are all closed down now