RiverLink ends toll provider’s contract after repeat issues
Indiana and Kentucky decide to search for a new toll service provider for the RiverLink tolling system in Southern Indiana, as frustrations continue to mount over billing errors, long wait times, and poor customer service. The decision comes after two years of ongoing complaints following Electronic Transaction Consultants’ (ETC) takeover of RiverLink’s customer service system in September 2023.
For Southern Indiana residents who regularly travel on the tolled bridges from Clark County into Louisville, this is a long time coming. Since ETC assumed management, the Better Business Bureau’s Louisville office recorded 65 complaints – roughly 28% of all toll-related complaints in the past three years, WDRB-TV in Louisville reports. Additionally, six complaints were filed with the Kentucky Attorney General’s Office and six with the office of Attorney General Todd Rokita (R) late last year.
Tolling is in place on three bridges in Louisville and Southern Indiana – the Lincoln Bridge (I-65 North) and Kennedy Bridge (I-65 South) in downtown Louisville/Jeffersonville, and the Lewis and Clark Bridge (I-265/KY 841) that
connects Prospect, Kentucky and Utica, Indiana.
Along with its subcontractors, ETC manages “back office” tasks such as processing toll transactions, ensuring charges are applied to the correct vehicles, and overseeing customer service. Drivers have reported persistent issues with billing and service under ETC. Complaints include double-billing, lost payments, delayed refunds, and problems with transponders not being read properly over the bridge, resulting in drivers receiving bills for the wrong toll amount.
Since 2023, RiverLink has been the subject of 23,000 disputes across its three bridges, challenging almost $1.4 million in tolls and fees, with 2,300 disputes identified as billing errors.
In August, the Kentucky-Indiana Joint Board, which oversees the Louisville-Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project, had approved a $3 million investment in August to help ETC improve customer wait times, which had ballooned from an average of two minutes to two hours.
But, come September 22, the board at its meeting that day ultimately decided to terminate its contract with ETC and look for a new vendor. We probably won’t see a full transition away from ETC until 2028, though.
ETC will remain in its role through July 31, 2028, unless the transition occurs sooner. The change order authorizes Indiana and Kentucky to initiate procurement efforts for a new back-office and customer service provider.
Under this bi-state initiative, ETC will receive a negotiated termination for convenience. In mediation, the states and ETC agreed to a one-time payment of up to $2 million to reimburse ETC for documented overflow customer-care costs not already covered. The agreement also includes financial incentives tied to performance benchmarks.
In addition, the states will pay up to $250,000 per month in direct costs to staff customer service representatives and $170,000 per month in incentive payments if key performance indicators are met. The states will also assume certain costs such as out-of-state lookups, printing, and storage, estimated at $150,000 per month.
“Beginning procurement efforts for a new toll service provider earlier ensures the best chance of delivering the reliable service RiverLink customers deserve,” Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Jim Gray explains of this decision. “It also means protecting the toll revenue that pays for the Bridges Project which tens of thousands of motorists rely on daily for faster and safer commutes.”
As a refresher, the toll revenue is covering the $1.34 billion that remains unpaid on the bridges project, which was completed almost a decade ago. Tolling is expected to be in place until all financial obligations are met . . . estimated in 2053.
A priority among state transportation leaders right now is improving customer service, and they believe a new provider would be better up to the task. As the states push forward with the provider search, leaders assure that the goal is to restore trust with drivers.
“The states are investing additional dollars during this critical transition period to ensure that customers’ needs are met,” states Indiana Department of Transportation Commissioner Lyndsay Quist. “Our unwavering commitment has been and will continue to be making sure customers get the assistance they need. We believe a new provider will deliver improved service for RiverLink customers and better align with the values and goals of the states.”
No changes are planned to the roadside provider that handles maintenance of bridge crossing detection, classification, and related equipment; that seven-year contract remains with TransCore LP, awarded in August 2022.
This latest RiverLink news came as a bit of a relief to Rep. Wendy Dant Chesser (D) of Jeffersonville, who celebrated on behalf of her constituents who have been dealing with ETC’s customer service issues for a long time.
She tells your favorite transportation newsletter that tolling has been the top concern from her constituents since she took office in the summer of 2024. “Number one is customer service, and number two is financial overcharges,” Rep. Dant Chesser details, citing a case in which a driver was double-billed $1,200 and had to wait 90 days for a refund. She adds that many households could not easily absorb such overcharges, and that billing problems often arise when vehicles are sold or license plates are transferred.
Since taking office, as we have noted in our pages, Rep. Dant Chesser hasn’t shied away from calling out the flaws in RiverLink’s tolling system at times. Going forward, she stresses that resolving open complaints quickly should be a priority, regardless of who the operator is in the future.
“Some level of error is inevitable, but once it’s identified, it has to be resolved quickly,” she asserts. She compares the experience to dealing with a mortgage: paying the debt is mandatory, but poor service makes it unnecessarily difficult.
Rep. Dant Chesser also reminds us that in the wake of the new tolling flexibility for the Governor in HEA 1461-2025, Indiana ought to ensure its current toll systems work properly before adding any new ones in the future.
While it’s not uncommon for motorists to go out of their way to avoid tolls, the added RiverLink billing and customer service headaches likely have not helped the situation with the increased traffic on the two older, non-tolled bridges from southern Indiana into Kentucky – one of which has experienced several safety concerns due to its design and age.
Rep. Dant Chesser does have safety and traffic concerns about the region’s older bridges. The Clark Memorial Bridge, also called the Second Street Bridge, is a particular concern. The bridge’s narrow lanes, sharp speed reductions, and design limitations, dating to the 1930s, create hazards for modern vehicles and contribute to congestion. Many accidents, near-misses, and fatalities are linked to the bridge’s size and drivers’ speeding problems, Rep. Dant Chesser explains.
She hosted a town hall in July to discuss the bridge’s future, and attendees and local officials from Louisville, Jeffersonville, Clarksville, and the Kentuckiana Regional Planning & Development Agency discussed potential solutions, including better speed management through lower limits or increased enforcement with police patrols and flashing signs, reducing lanes from four to three or implementing a reversible center lane to improve traffic flow and safety, and encouraging large trucks to use the I-65 bridge through designated routes or weight limits, supported by a KIPDA Freight Routing Action Plan for downtown Louisville.
The next steps involve sharing these suggestions with local leaders, finalizing a proposal, and submitting it to INDOT and KYTC. Most of the improvements could be implemented without changing existing laws.
Further complicating the issue, she anticipates even heavier use of non-tolled bridges next summer when I-65 into Louisville will close for three months of repairs, potentially worsening congestion.
So, going forward, with commuting patterns expected to shift in the coming months, expect drivers in the southern Indiana/Louisville metro area will likely be watching closely to see what decisions Indiana and Kentucky make in regards to RiverLink’s future.