Fleet managers have to deal with many ongoing expenses. Fuel and maintenance are the most obvious and often some of the highest, but they’re not the only repeated costs to consider. Fleets must also think about tolls.

There are more than 100 toll roads in the U.S., covering more than 5,000 miles. Any fleet that operates across multiple states will likely have to deal with them at some point. Fleets should adopt a defined toll management approach if they’re a regular expense. Here are five tips for making the most of such a strategy.

1. Use Transponders

One of the most straightforward but effective ways to optimize toll management is to use transponders instead of cash. Several states are eliminating cash toll plazas entirely, but they’re often the better choice even where transponders are optional.

Cash transactions take more time and require additional overhead from highway authorities. Consequently, many toll roads and bridges offer lower rates for transponder users to encourage more drivers to use them. Installing transponders in your fleet will also help drivers avoid traffic at toll plazas, leading to more efficient routes and decreasing fuel spend.

Some toll systems offer volume discounts for prepaid transponders. Look into programs in areas your fleet drives through often to see if you may qualify for any of these discounts.

2. Avoid Peak Hours

Another way to improve toll management is to schedule routes around peak traffic hours on toll roads. Many of these highways change their rates depending on how much traffic they usually see at a given time. For example, the George Washington Bridge in New York is $2 more expensive during peak hours.

That difference may not seem like much, but it can add up over time. Fleets can avoid these higher rates by planning routes so drivers only hit toll roads during off-peak hours. These adjustments aren’t always possible, but it’s worth looking into.

3. Use AI to Your Advantage

Calculating the best times to leave and the best routes to take to minimize tolls can be complicated. Thankfully, you can turn over these complex calculations to automation. Artificial intelligence (AI) route planning can weigh multiple factors to automatically come up with the most affordable, efficient route for each drive.

Sometimes, it’s best to route drivers through different areas, as some states like Arizona have no toll roads or charge lower fees. At others, taking a toll road during off-peak hours may be more economical to get drivers to their destination faster. AI can calculate real-time factors to account for this variability, giving you the best route every time.

4. Look for Errors

Another easy-to-overlook best practice for fleet management is to review billing statements for errors. Transponders are handy, but they’re not always accurate. Misreads and misclassification can result in bills up to 60% higher than they should be.

Always go over billing statements in detail, and keep records of your own for reference. If something seems out of place, look into it. Finding and disputing billing errors could save you a lot of money.

Keep in mind that some errors can come from your own operations. Ensure drivers don’t switch transponders between vehicles, as this could result in the system misclassifying them, potentially raising their rates.

5. Consolidate Your Data

If you follow all these steps, you’ll have a lot of information on your hands. Consolidating that data into a single platform where you can see it all in context is simple but crucial. Managing tolls and routes could take far more time than it needs if you don’t.

A fleet with 100 vehicles can spend 16 hours a month on toll management. A system to consolidate related data and automate basic tasks will help reduce that time, letting employees focus on other, more pressing work.

Better Toll Management Will Save You Time and Money

Toll management can significantly affect a fleet’s efficiency and profitability. These five steps will help any fleet reduce its toll spending and find the most cost-effective routes for each trip. You can then operate as efficiently as possible without fear of unexpected expenses.

The fat lady’s singin’, the swan has his song. Hit the lights on your way out … ’cause baby, we gone.

In 2019, a hedge fund called Alden Global Capital bought out the Tribune Companies.

In the wake of that event – and I do mean wake – several fine national newspapers and at least one legendary radio station ended up eviscerated. Award-winning journalists of skill and long-standing, fine editors and loyal staff were knocked-off like victims in a mob war. Some saw rats early and jumped for the lifeboats, hiring on elsewhere, or starting podcasts, websites or blogs. Some stayed tied to the mast and foundered. None deserved their fate.

Chicago, by God, was a newspaper town. Arguably moreso than New York or the west coast, ink was in our blood. Hardscrabble, dedicated professionals toiled here, from the lowliest copy boy to Pulitzer Prize winners. We were Sandburg and Hecht and Royko. Ebert, Schmich and Zorn. Kass, Kogen, Kupcinet and Condon. Bentley, Telander and Feldman. And of course, the iconic Col. McCormick.

It was a town of tough journalistic mothers who could – and often did – get the story before the rest of them. The cat’s ass, above and below the fold.

Alas, all eras come to an end. The cyber world has effectively lamed print media, rendering it old-school and worse, financially impotent. Even the highest art will fade away without proper stewardship.

Today, exponentially, it’s talent and skill be damned. Money talks and bullshit walks. It’s disgusting to realize that the hedge funders and arbitragers and deeep-pocket investors behind this takeover shit have not one scintilla of regard for the worth, the flesh and bones of its victims. Monetize, baby; all else is the aforementioned “bullshit.”

Yeah, I know that we’re capitalists and that takeovers and mass job-loss have been going on for aeons. Throw a rock and you’ll hit someone who lost a job or jobs in a pogrom. My objection is when the conquerors ham-handedly gobble up businesses they know nothing about. It’s the same as health insurance companies making medical decisions. It’s just WRONG.

Which brings us to little, ol’ ChicagoNow. What started as a Trib side hustle became a vital platform, entertaining and informative, with a talented, diverse group of writers. Some of Our Own went on to write books, form companies, become college instructors, rule the Chicago social and charity scenes, and generally enrich tens of thousands of readers and the world around them. A lot of fine writing has been done here.

Sadly, we scribes who remain at ChicagoNow have it on excellent authority that the site is being shut down.

We don’t know when, as for well over a month now there has been radio silence from on-high, i.e. whomever is running the show, Wizard of Oz-like, behind the curtain. Alden sorely lacks civility; we have no manager and absolutely no one to contact regarding our fate. Even in the cesspool of takeovers, it’s unconscionable.

And so, post by post, most of us are downloading our oeuvre and heading for bylines unknown.

I have known some incredible people in my seven years at ChicagoNow – former community manager extraordinaire Jimmy Greenfield, the incandescent Candace Jordan, our ever-prolific raconteur Howard Moore, controversial political pundit Bob Schneider, and my friends Margaret Laing, Terry Parrilli and Carole Lago. To all others I’ve communed with here, you have my sincere respect and regard.

I’ve no idea where I’m going, but if you Google “Planet Michelle” occasionally, my new digs will show up eventually.

To you who have read the musings of my little monkey brain and came back for more – I thank you. Whenever I felt like I was writing in a bell jar, thinking that there was even one person digging what I was doing made it more than worthwhile.

As my girl Amy Winehouse sang, “We only said goodbye with words.” See you in my next incarnation.

Peace out!

I have read the posts, eloquently penned by fellow CN Bloggers about the demise of our reign here at ChicagoNow. The latest one was by my friend and fella writer at Planet Michelle, and another by I’ve Got the Hippy Shakes

https://www.chicagonow.com/planet-michelle/2022/08/greed-arrogance-integrity-adieu-chicagonow/

https://www.chicagonow.com/hippy-shakes/2022/08/a-change-is-gonna-come/

Please check out the sidebar on the CN page and read them while you can. Don’t be distracted by the June 29th date on the page. That was the last date that anyone updated these pages and unfortunately that is the way this has gone.

Had I not started my time here with such a perfectly competent “cat herder,” I’m sure I would not have gotten as far with this writing thing at all.

Our original boss-man, Jimmy Greenfield was not only my own personal Perry White, but he was supportive, encouraging and gave me plenty of opportunities to challenge myself with my writing.

We had a blogapalooza every month where Jimmy would throw out a challenge topic and we would have one hour to write and post an appropriately themed blog. The first ones were definitely challenging for a novice, but I learned to look forward to them. Not only did it shake the cobwebs off, but it let me know that I could do something I thought was impossible.

After Perry, I mean Jimmy, left, the support and encouragement left with him. My writing waned for a while, but I do believe it is possible to pick up and begin again.

So, that is what myself and my writing buddies will be doing. We will go off and continue to write, but it will not be here at ChicagoNow and it makes me sad.

Some of us have found a new place to blog and I’m sure some of us are still looking for a new home. At any rate, we are on our own to find our way, direction has not been forthcoming.

This is a new beginning for me and although I don’t know where I will land at the moment, I don’t believe you’ve heard the last of me.

I’m sticking around until the bitter end here, hopefully I will have my new digs before the final curtain falls. Thank you for following me.

After what feels like a long wait, and numerous singles, The Kooks return with ten songs. Yes, the album is actually called, 10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark. I’ve only just started to pick it apart but this is the happiest Luke has ever sounded. Baby, wife, and the dream life. What’s it all about?

“I still can’t work it out/What’s It All About?”

For a while now we have seen Instagram alight with photos of The Afghan Whigs working hard in the studio. This week we finally receive new music via a digital, 3-song EP. The lead single “A Line Of Shots” feels like a retrospective of the band itself, running the gambit of everything from 1969 through Black Love. Greg and the boys are still hitting the pavement with a new bounce in their steps. This new albumcannot disappoint! They are all set to release How Do You Burn?, their first album in five years, on September 9.

The boys from Good Morning make a guest appearance on Alan Dunham’s, “Shameful Thing.” I would still love to hear more singles like ‘Morning’s “Country,” but for now, this Dunham collab will do.

The only reason why this Mozzy/2 Chains collab works is because Saweetie delivers those goods. Coming up from the rear, this dime is “Talkin’ bout sex bay-bee,” delivering line after line making both the manly rappers look incompetent.

I’m just a listener in Maude Latour’s world. She continues to impress with each new single. I’ll admit, I’m not heavily into dance music these days, but she’s compelling. I want to know what she’s doing next. Just what is her new style? Pop, rock, or dance?

“Moor Mother” is your “Crazy Cut Of The Week.” UMZANSI is like acid jazz rap. There are no boundaries anymore, that’s obvious, and sometimes you just have to respect a song for what it is. Does it have to be labeled? I hear Kendrick, I hear Outkast. What do you hear?

Oh yeah, Night Moves released another new single. But I’m only adding in “As Innocent Looking As Candy” this week because it’s one of their best thus far. I like this direction, boys, full steam ahead!

Your Jazz Cut Of The Week is from an artist who is making his debut in this spot, Kirk Knuffke, with “Gravity Without Airs.” I hope you got twelve minutes, ’cause we’re about to go on a journey. The piano can make you feel like you’re floating, while the horns are pulling you to the ground, hammering in your ears.

Put your email in da box and click: “Create Subscription!”

As the months wind down I see portents of my retirement in just about everything I do, just about everywhere I look.

That giant box of 100 individually wrapped English Breakfast Tea Bags I placed in the break room cabinet last week? That’s the last box I will ever place in that room; those 100 tea bags pretty closely match the number of days remaining in my tenure.

I’m starting to put together the statistics for the online Lab-Clinician Triannual Quality Assurance Meeting. This is the last one I will be leading, the last time I will present data for 45 minutes while 3 or 4 clinicians pretend to listen. (I don’t blame them, I would be bored too.)

The lab has completed preparation for the College of American Pathologists inspection, the one that will grant us accreditation for another two years. Two years? Within about two months of the inspection, I plan to be strolling the beaches of Florida or maybe whacking tennis balls at an Arizona resort.

Only a handful of monthly invoices to prepare, less than a dozen payrolls to sign off on. One more Thanksgiving, one more Christmas.

And today’s reminder of what’s ahead was the deionized water guy. He’s the dude who has been coming to the lab every two or three months for the last 17 years, delivering the cartridges that create the pure H2O we need to ensure the accuracy of many of our tests.

He is a shy guy who doesn’t say much. He comes into the lab, replaces the old cartridge with the new, and then timidly enters my office to ask me to sign the job order. I doubt he has spoken more than 10 words to anyone else in the lab in his 17 years of servicing us.

Only when I mentioned to him that I hadn’t seen him for a while, did he let me know that I wouldn’t be seeing him ever again–his way of telling me he was retiring. No more lugging cartridges around, no more getting a water spritz when fittings spring a leak.

So the water guy is leaving, and like sand through an hourglass, the days of my career are running out as well. But I am sure that for both me and the water guy, new adventures lie ahead.

Like what you read here? Add your name to our subscription list below. No spam, I promise!
___

———————————–

The fat lady’s singin’, the swan has his song. Hit the lights on your way out … ’cause baby, we gone.

In 2019, a hedge fund called Alden Global Capital bought out the Tribune Companies.

In the wake of that event – and I do mean wake – several fine national newspapers and at least one legendary radio station ended up eviscerated. Award-winning journalists of skill and long-standing, fine editors and loyal staff were knocked-off like victims in a mob war. Some saw rats early and jumped for the lifeboats, hiring on elsewhere, or starting podcasts, websites or blogs. Some stayed tied to the mast and foundered. None deserved their fate.

Chicago, by God, was a newspaper town. Arguably moreso than New York or the west coast, ink was in our blood. Hardscrabble, dedicated professionals toiled here, from the lowliest copy boy to Pulitzer Prize winners. We were Sandburg and Hecht and Royko. Ebert, Schmich and Zorn. Kass, Kogen, Kupcinet and Condon. Bentley, Telander and Feldman. And of course, the iconic Col. McCormick.

It was a town of tough journalistic mothers who could – and often did – get the story before the rest of them. The cat’s ass, above and below the fold.

Alas, all eras come to an end. The cyber world has effectively lamed print media, rendering it old-school and worse, financially impotent. Even the highest art will fade away without proper stewardship.

Today, exponentially, it’s talent and skill be damned. Money talks and bullshit walks. It’s disgusting to realize that the hedge funders and arbitragers and deeep-pocket investors behind this takeover shit have not one scintilla of regard for the worth, the flesh and bones of its victims. Monetize, baby; all else is the aforementioned “bullshit.”

Yeah, I know that we’re capitalists and that takeovers and mass job-loss have been going on for aeons. Throw a rock and you’ll hit someone who lost a job or jobs in a pogrom. My objection is when the conquerors ham-handedly gobble up businesses they know nothing about. It’s the same as health insurance companies making medical decisions. It’s just WRONG.

Which brings us to little, ol’ ChicagoNow. What started as a Trib side hustle became a vital platform, entertaining and informative, with a talented, diverse group of writers. Some of Our Own went on to write books, form companies, become college instructors, rule the Chicago social and charity scenes, and generally enrich tens of thousands of readers and the world around them. A lot of fine writing has been done here.

Sadly, we scribes who remain at ChicagoNow have it on excellent authority that the site is being shut down.

We don’t know when, as for well over a month now there has been radio silence from on-high, i.e. whomever is running the show, Wizard of Oz-like, behind the curtain. Alden sorely lacks civility; we have no manager and absolutely no one to contact regarding our fate. Even in the cesspool of takeovers, it’s unconscionable.

And so, post by post, most of us are downloading our oeuvre and heading for bylines unknown.

I have known some incredible people in my seven years at ChicagoNow – former community manager extraordinaire Jimmy Greenfield, the incandescent Candace Jordan, our ever-prolific raconteur Howard Moore, controversial political pundit Bob Schneider, and my friends Margaret Laing, Terry Parrilli and Carole Lago. To all others I’ve communed with here, you have my sincere respect and regard.

I’ve no idea where I’m going, but if you Google “Planet Michelle” occasionally, my new digs will show up eventually.

To you who have read the musings of my little monkey brain and came back for more – I thank you. Whenever I felt like I was writing in a bell jar, thinking that there was even one person digging what I was doing made it more than worthwhile.

As my girl Amy Winehouse sang, “We only said goodbye with words.” See you in my next incarnation.

Peace out!

I have read the posts, eloquently penned by fellow CN Bloggers about the demise of our reign here at ChicagoNow. The latest one was by my friend and fella writer at Planet Michelle, and another by I’ve Got the Hippy Shakes

https://www.chicagonow.com/planet-michelle/2022/08/greed-arrogance-integrity-adieu-chicagonow/

https://www.chicagonow.com/hippy-shakes/2022/08/a-change-is-gonna-come/

Please check out the sidebar on the CN page and read them while you can. Don’t be distracted by the June 29th date on the page. That was the last date that anyone updated these pages and unfortunately that is the way this has gone.

Had I not started my time here with such a perfectly competent “cat herder,” I’m sure I would not have gotten as far with this writing thing at all.

Our original boss-man, Jimmy Greenfield was not only my own personal Perry White, but he was supportive, encouraging and gave me plenty of opportunities to challenge myself with my writing.

We had a blogapalooza every month where Jimmy would throw out a challenge topic and we would have one hour to write and post an appropriately themed blog. The first ones were definitely challenging for a novice, but I learned to look forward to them. Not only did it shake the cobwebs off, but it let me know that I could do something I thought was impossible.

After Perry, I mean Jimmy, left, the support and encouragement left with him. My writing waned for a while, but I do believe it is possible to pick up and begin again.

So, that is what myself and my writing buddies will be doing. We will go off and continue to write, but it will not be here at ChicagoNow and it makes me sad.

Some of us have found a new place to blog and I’m sure some of us are still looking for a new home. At any rate, we are on our own to find our way, direction has not been forthcoming.

This is a new beginning for me and although I don’t know where I will land at the moment, I don’t believe you’ve heard the last of me.

I’m sticking around until the bitter end here, hopefully I will have my new digs before the final curtain falls. Thank you for following me.

After what feels like a long wait, and numerous singles, The Kooks return with ten songs. Yes, the album is actually called, 10 Tracks To Echo In The Dark. I’ve only just started to pick it apart but this is the happiest Luke has ever sounded. Baby, wife, and the dream life. What’s it all about?

“I still can’t work it out/What’s It All About?”

For a while now we have seen Instagram alight with photos of The Afghan Whigs working hard in the studio. This week we finally receive new music via a digital, 3-song EP. The lead single “A Line Of Shots” feels like a retrospective of the band itself, running the gambit of everything from 1969 through Black Love. Greg and the boys are still hitting the pavement with a new bounce in their steps. This new albumcannot disappoint! They are all set to release How Do You Burn?, their first album in five years, on September 9.

The boys from Good Morning make a guest appearance on Alan Dunham’s, “Shameful Thing.” I would still love to hear more singles like ‘Morning’s “Country,” but for now, this Dunham collab will do.

The only reason why this Mozzy/2 Chains collab works is because Saweetie delivers those goods. Coming up from the rear, this dime is “Talkin’ bout sex bay-bee,” delivering line after line making both the manly rappers look incompetent.

I’m just a listener in Maude Latour’s world. She continues to impress with each new single. I’ll admit, I’m not heavily into dance music these days, but she’s compelling. I want to know what she’s doing next. Just what is her new style? Pop, rock, or dance?

“Moor Mother” is your “Crazy Cut Of The Week.” UMZANSI is like acid jazz rap. There are no boundaries anymore, that’s obvious, and sometimes you just have to respect a song for what it is. Does it have to be labeled? I hear Kendrick, I hear Outkast. What do you hear?

Oh yeah, Night Moves released another new single. But I’m only adding in “As Innocent Looking As Candy” this week because it’s one of their best thus far. I like this direction, boys, full steam ahead!

Your Jazz Cut Of The Week is from an artist who is making his debut in this spot, Kirk Knuffke, with “Gravity Without Airs.” I hope you got twelve minutes, ’cause we’re about to go on a journey. The piano can make you feel like you’re floating, while the horns are pulling you to the ground, hammering in your ears.

Put your email in da box and click: “Create Subscription!”

The fat lady’s singin’, the swan has his song. Hit the lights on your way out … ’cause baby, we gone.

In 2019, a hedge fund called Alden Global Capital bought out the Tribune Companies.

In the wake of that event – and I do mean wake – several fine national newspapers and at least one legendary radio station ended up eviscerated. Award-winning journalists of skill and long-standing, fine editors and loyal staff were knocked-off like victims in a mob war. Some saw rats early and jumped for the lifeboats, hiring on elsewhere, or starting podcasts, websites or blogs. Some stayed tied to the mast and foundered. None deserved their fate.

Chicago, by God, was a newspaper town. Arguably moreso than New York or the west coast, ink was in our blood. Hardscrabble, dedicated professionals toiled here, from the lowliest copy boy to Pulitzer Prize winners. We were Sandburg and Hecht and Royko. Ebert, Schmich and Zorn. Kass, Kogen, Kupcinet and Condon. Bentley, Telander and Feldman. And of course, the iconic Col. McCormick.

It was a town of tough journalistic mothers who could – and often did – get the story before the rest of them. The cat’s ass, above and below the fold.

Alas, all eras come to an end. The cyber world has effectively lamed print media, rendering it old-school and worse, financially impotent. Even the highest art will fade away without proper stewardship.

Today, exponentially, it’s talent and skill be damned. Money talks and bullshit walks. It’s disgusting to realize that the hedge funders and arbitragers and deeep-pocket investors behind this takeover shit have not one scintilla of regard for the worth, the flesh and bones of its victims. Monetize, baby; all else is the aforementioned “bullshit.”

Yeah, I know that we’re capitalists and that takeovers and mass job-loss have been going on for aeons. Throw a rock and you’ll hit someone who lost a job or jobs in a pogrom. My objection is when the conquerors ham-handedly gobble up businesses they know nothing about. It’s the same as health insurance companies making medical decisions. It’s just WRONG.

Which brings us to little, ol’ ChicagoNow. What started as a Trib side hustle became a vital platform, entertaining and informative, with a talented, diverse group of writers. Some of Our Own went on to write books, form companies, become college instructors, rule the Chicago social and charity scenes, and generally enrich tens of thousands of readers and the world around them. A lot of fine writing has been done here.

Sadly, we scribes who remain at ChicagoNow have it on excellent authority that the site is being shut down.

We don’t know when, as for well over a month now there has been radio silence from on-high, i.e. whomever is running the show, Wizard of Oz-like, behind the curtain. Alden sorely lacks civility; we have no manager and absolutely no one to contact regarding our fate. Even in the cesspool of takeovers, it’s unconscionable.

And so, post by post, most of us are downloading our oeuvre and heading for bylines unknown.

I have known some incredible people in my seven years at ChicagoNow – former community manager extraordinaire Jimmy Greenfield, the incandescent Candace Jordan, our ever-prolific raconteur Howard Moore, controversial political pundit Bob Schneider, and my friends Margaret Laing, Terry Parrilli and Carole Lago. To all others I’ve communed with here, you have my sincere respect and regard.

I’ve no idea where I’m going, but if you Google “Planet Michelle” occasionally, my new digs will show up eventually.

To you who have read the musings of my little monkey brain and came back for more – I thank you. Whenever I felt like I was writing in a bell jar, thinking that there was even one person digging what I was doing made it more than worthwhile.

As my girl Amy Winehouse sang, “We only said goodbye with words.” See you in my next incarnation.

Peace out!

I have read the posts, eloquently penned by fellow CN Bloggers about the demise of our reign here at ChicagoNow. The latest one was by my friend and fella writer at Planet Michelle, and another by I’ve Got the Hippy Shakes

https://www.chicagonow.com/planet-michelle/2022/08/greed-arrogance-integrity-adieu-chicagonow/

https://www.chicagonow.com/hippy-shakes/2022/08/a-change-is-gonna-come/

Please check out the sidebar on the CN page and read them while you can. Don’t be distracted by the June 29th date on the page. That was the last date that anyone updated these pages and unfortunately that is the way this has gone.

Had I not started my time here with such a perfectly competent “cat herder,” I’m sure I would not have gotten as far with this writing thing at all.

Our original boss-man, Jimmy Greenfield was not only my own personal Perry White, but he was supportive, encouraging and gave me plenty of opportunities to challenge myself with my writing.

We had a blogapalooza every month where Jimmy would throw out a challenge topic and we would have one hour to write and post an appropriately themed blog. The first ones were definitely challenging for a novice, but I learned to look forward to them. Not only did it shake the cobwebs off, but it let me know that I could do something I thought was impossible.

After Perry, I mean Jimmy, left, the support and encouragement left with him. My writing waned for a while, but I do believe it is possible to pick up and begin again.

So, that is what myself and my writing buddies will be doing. We will go off and continue to write, but it will not be here at ChicagoNow and it makes me sad.

Some of us have found a new place to blog and I’m sure some of us are still looking for a new home. At any rate, we are on our own to find our way, direction has not been forthcoming.

This is a new beginning for me and although I don’t know where I will land at the moment, I don’t believe you’ve heard the last of me.

I’m sticking around until the bitter end here, hopefully I will have my new digs before the final curtain falls. Thank you for following me.