E-ZPass Authority Hires OSI to Go After $23 million in Fines and Fees

By Cathy Woodruff, Times Union

The free ride may be over for thousands of motorists who owe millions of dollars for breezing through E-ZPass lanes without paying.

The Thruway Authority on Wednesday voted to hire a St. Louis-based collection agency to recoup some of the roughly $23 million in outstanding tolls and fees.

In February, the Times Union reported that the Thruway Authority had failed to collect some $3.4 million in tolls and nearly $20 million in fines or “administrative fees” owed because motorists drove through E-ZPass lanes without paying.

Authority officials said at the time that they would enact a series of get-tough measures, starting with sending out letters in April with itemized accountings of what is owed. Those letters, however, were put on hold, a Thruway Authority spokesman said, while the authority sought proposals from collection agencies and awaited Wednesday’s selection of OSI Collection Services.

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