The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission is stepping up efforts to recover millions in unpaid tolls from trucking companies it says are deliberately avoiding payment. And it’s naming-and-shaming the carriers it accuses of non-payment.
The commission has identified 315 carriers across 26 states that each owe at least $5,000, with total unpaid tolls nearing $5.2 million since April 2024. All have been sent to collections after ignoring multiple invoices.
Executive director Ferzan M. Ahmed said most fleets pay what they owe, but a growing number are either refusing to pay or using tactics to evade tolls.
“These companies are breaking the law by avoiding paying their tolls,” Ahmed said, noting they had been given multiple opportunities to settle their accounts before enforcement action was taken.
Unpaid balances range from $5,000 to nearly $156,000. The largest single debt is tied to Pennsylvania-based NYC Trucking Inc., which owes more than $155,000.
The list includes fleets with registrations in multiple jurisdictions, including Ohio, Illinois, California, Pennsylvania and others. Forty-two of the companies have vehicles registered in Ohio.
To recover the funds, the commission is deploying a mix of enforcement tools, including license plate imaging, mailed invoices, collections actions and registration holds that prevent plate renewals until debts are paid. Legal action is also being considered in some cases.
Tolls unpaid for more than 90 days are automatically escalated, the commission said.
Ahmed said the crackdown is about maintaining the integrity of one of the country’s busiest freight corridors while keeping toll rates as low as possible for compliant carriers.
The move comes amid broader concerns about non-compliance and enforcement gaps in the trucking sector, with regulators increasingly turning to public naming, financial penalties and administrative restrictions to rein in bad actors.
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