Maryland tolls are inconsistent, overcharging, trucker claims

A Maryland truck driver says he has been consistently overcharged at tolling stations, and is warning drivers to take notice of what they’re being charged. 

Truck driver Mike Daman says he has been inconsistently and inaccurately charged at Maryland tolling booths for months, and has been offered little to no help from customer service. 

“It’s been going on since mid-April,” Daman said to Fox 45 News. He says that he travels the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore nearly every day and should be charged the ‘commuter rate’ each time he crosses. Instead, Daman says he is sometimes charged the discounted rate, but many times he sees multiple charges at the standard rate. 

“There are sometimes when its coming in at $1.40 and then I’ll get ten charge in a row at $4 a piece,” he explained. 

These complaints are coming in after an official audit of the Key Bridge tolling system, in which the Maryland Transportation Authority (MDTA) admits that some equipment was overbilling drivers in 2019, but has since been fixed. 

To top it all off, the MDTA has recently transitioned to a new operating system in April – the same time Daman says he began noticing inconsistent tolling charges. The new system, called ‘DriveEzMD,’ allows for the use of EZPass transponders, includes a new website, new payment methods, and even alleged expanded customer service, although that is not Daman’s experience. 

“The last time I called, at least two and a half hours,” said Daman. “About an hour and forty-five to two hours waiting and then 45 minutes just trying to talk to somebody.”

But apparently Daman is not the only one – a motorist named DonnaAnn Ward says she has had similar inaccurate tolling experiences, and says it’s unfortunate that the responsibility for accurate charging falls on the shoulders of citizens. 

“I guess it’s a wake-up call that when you work with systems that are run by the State of Maryland you have to be more vigilant — because once again, the consumer has the burden of knowing if they’re being charged properly and if they’re paying what they owe,” said Ward.

After his poor experience with customer service, “the only way I see this getting resolved is getting the word out,” Daman says. 

On Monday, an MDTA spokesperson reached out with the following statement:

“…one of our E-ZPass Account Specialists is researching Mr. Daman’s case and reaching out to him. However, please note that tolling records are protected by law for the privacy of our customers, so I wouldn’t be able to provide specific details about his case.”

The statement did not mention or address the customer service delays.