Unpaid Truck Tolls Total $5.2 Million on Ohio Turnpike

In 2024, tolls brought in $240.8 million from commercial vehicles. (Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission)

Ohio Turnpike officials have identified 315 alleged “rogue” trucking companies accused of failing to pay $5.2 million in tolls during the past two years. Some appear to have the characteristics of chameleon carriers.

“Companies are either simply choosing not to pay, or using deliberate toll evasion tactics, or both,” said Ferzan M. Ahmed, executive director of the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission.

The shortfall in owed payments came to light thanks to technology that captures license plate images in the turnpike’s new open road tolling system launched April 10, 2024.

The Ohio Turnpike provides a link between the East and Midwest. More than 12 million commercial vehicles travel this top national freight route yearly, moving some 80 million tons of cargo valued at $575 billion.

The amounts of the unpaid tolls per company range from $155,826 to $5,018 — with these total fees indicating multiple unpaid trips on the 241-mile toll road along Ohio’s northern corridor.

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Ahmed 

“The Ohio Turnpike is one of the nation’s major freight corridors, and the vast majority of commercial trucking companies do the right thing and pay their tolls,” Ahmed said. “But there is a growing number of companies that are breaking the law by avoiding paying their tolls.”

Unpaid tolls are sent to collections after 90 days. In addition, vehicle registrations can be held until toll payments are received.

“Our goal is to provide the safest and best conditions at the lowest toll rate possible on the Ohio Turnpike,” Ahmed added. “These companies are making it more difficult to do so. They have had every opportunity to pay their tolls but have ignored three mailed invoices and have been sent to collections.”

$100 Civil Penalty

Toll evasion is illegal in Ohio. State law prohibits anyone from intentionally avoiding Ohio Turnpike tolls or defrauding the Turnpike Commission. It is illegal to bypass toll points, misuse or tamper with transponders, obscure license plates and change or damage toll collection equipment. Violators can be cited by the commission or police and fined a $100 civil penalty separate from paying the owed tolls.

Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost has been provided with the list of 315 trucking companies and amounts they owe the turnpike, a spokesman told Transport Topics.

The Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission has partnered with the Ohio State Highway Patrol to address toll evasion on the Ohio Turnpike.

Troopers are on the lookout for commercial truck drivers who cover up, obscure or remove their license plates to avoid paying tolls.

So… pic.twitter.com/9IogwLCU9J — Ohio Turnpike (@OhioTurnpike) April 15, 2026

Commercial truck customers completed more than 15.5 million transactions on the turnpike in 2024, according to the latest available figures. Toll charges are the major revenue source for the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission. In 2024, tolls brought in $240.8 million from commercial vehicles. The average toll revenue that year was $15.52 per commercial vehicle trip, according to the commission’s 2024 annual report.

The identified companies came from 26 states, and 42 of the commercial vehicles were registered in Ohio. The turnpike spokesman said many of the companies listed allegedly “are ignoring unpaid invoices or running without a transponder in order to avoid automatic billing.”

Chameleon Carrier Effect

Some of the trucking companies owing tolls exhibit characteristics shared with chameleon carriers, such as business addresses listed to single-family homes.

One company called Super Ego was identified for owing $18,598 and had commercial vehicles with license plates registered in Illinois and Connecticut. A recent CBS “60 Minutes” report on chameleon carriers delved into “Super Ego Holding — a network of commercial trucking and leasing companies based in Serbia and the U.S. … Regulators and former employees call it one of the most notorious chameleon schemes — a ticking time bomb on our nation’s roadways.”