PrePass, the system used by more than 235,000 trucks to bypass weigh stations and safety checkpoints in 24 states at 238 sites, will now use a flat monthly service charge to replace the 99-cent-per-pass fee in effect since 1994. The new monthly charge, $14.99 or less per truck, will be available immediately to all new PrePass customers and will be phased in for current users.
The 25,000 carriers now using the PrePass system will be phased into the new pricing structure over the next 18 months, says Richard Landis, president and CEO of Heavy vehicle Electronic License Plate (HELP) Inc, the PrePass system provider. The pricing structure is based on a sliding scale with $14.99 a month at the top end. The new pricing structure will include discounts based on numbers of vehicles enrolled, but Landis says the Board of Directors for HELP Inc. has not fixed any price points yet.
“We believe the flat monthly charge will significantly enhance the marketability of PrePass to our target market – based on an average time savings of 5 minutes per bypass, and an hourly operating cost of $58, PrePass pays for itself after the first three bypasses each month,” says Walt Keeney, president of Food Express and chairman of HELP Inc.
