Oklahoma Turnpike Authority To Replace PIKEPASS Boxes With Stickers

NewsOn6.com

OKLAHOMA CITY — The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority will begin testing its new PIKEPASS Sticker Tag around the middle of June, OTA announced Thursday. The new sticker tag will replace the existing hard case tag currently in use.

The Oklahoma Turnpike Authority voted Wednesday to purchase the first round of the PIKEPASS Sticker Tags.

An additional 11,000 new type of hard case tags will be purchased as well. These hard case tags have the same technology as the new sticker tag and will be used mainly for motorcycles. The cost to purchase the initial Sticker Tags was $2.92 million.

"This new technology will allow us to be more efficient and hopefully will cut down on the unnecessary misreads and violations we have in our current system," said Jack Damrill, OTA spokesperson.

The OTA has chosen 500 current customers to begin testing the new sticker tag around the middle of June. An additional 25,000 customers will begin testing the Tag in August.

"This second round of testing will also include 15,000 commercial customers, like trucking companies," Damrill said. "It will also include about 10,000 of our regular customers."

Full implementation is expected to begin in October when the Authority plans to discontinue issuing the current hard case tags. Tag agents will not start distributing the PIKEPASS Sticker Tag until after the first of the year. 

Unlike the current hard case tag, the new sticker tag must be mounted correctly in order for it to properly work. The tag will stick to the windshield, but unlike the current tag, it will not beep as it goes through a PIKEPASS reader.