The Illinois Tollway is testing two smartphone applications intended to provide timely travel information and pay tolls, officials said Thursday.
The mobile app called SafeTrip would furnish current traffic alerts and roadway conditions via a motorist's phone.
The other app would not replace I-Pass transponders but could act like a "guest pass" to enable out-of-state visitors or infrequent tollway users to pay tolls by phone as their vehicles pass a toll plaza, officials said.
The apps are intended to keep the Tollway as up to date with technology as possible and to appeal to young customers who have grown up with the Internet and cellphones, Executive Director Kristi Lafleur said.
"There's a new generation, the millennials, but also our existing customers who aren't millennials ... who are using their smartphone in every aspect of their lives, and it's only becoming more pervasive," Lafleur said. "We are trying to make the Tollway as accessible as possible to anyone who wants to use it."
The SafeTrip app is being tested by about 30 Tollway employees, but the agency plans to expand the pilot program to include about 100 customers in late January.
Traffic information would be announced over a phone's speaker so motorists won't violate the state law banning the use of hand-held devices while driving.
The app would someday have the ability to announce exit locations for specific destinations along the Tollway system, but the agency hasn't developed procedures for that yet, officials said.
The Tollway is conducting the SafeTrip pilot at no cost to the agency with Information Logistics of Pennsauken, N.J.
The tolling app is being developed in connection with Chicago-based Accenture, which has a six-year, $44 million contract for a new customer service and violations processing system.
Although the app shows promise, many technical issues need to be resolved, and the Tollway does not plan to replace the current I-Pass system that uses transponders, Lafleur said.
Meanwhile, the agency announced that in response to the success of a recent I-Pass discount offer, the Tollway will make permanent the transponder "sale" price that was scheduled to expire Dec. 31.
Under the discount plan, new customers can open an I-Pass account for $30 instead of $50. The cost includes a $10 deposit and $20 for toll-prepayment, according to Shana Whitehead, the Tollway's business systems chief.
In addition, existing customers can reduce the minimum amount needed to replenish their I-Pass accounts to $20 from $40.
Some 28,000 I-Pass accounts were opened since Oct. 1, and about one-quarter of those acted in response to the sale, according to a Tollway survey. In addition, about 58,000 existing customers opted to lower their replenishment amounts, Whitehead said.
Also Thursday, officials announced that the Tollway would conduct a traffic study to determine the safety of raising the speed limit to 70 mph, which was authorized by a new state law.
The measure's sponsor, state Sen. Jim Oberweis, R-Sugar Grove, appeared before the Tollway's board to urge members to move swiftly. No action is expected until sometime next year.
Raising the limit would improve safety by reducing variations among the speed of vehicles on highways, which is more dangerous than high speed itself, Oberweis contends.
The state House and Senate overrode Gov. Pat Quinn's veto of the measure by overwhelming margins.
"That's a pretty strong message," Oberweis said.
©2014 the Chicago Tribune
