Subscribe: Thinking about getting a Quick Pass?
Drivers who have been thinking of getting a "Quick Pass" to breeze through the toll of the San José – Caldera highway will have to wait a month or more as the HSBC bank, the only provider of the Quick Pass has run out of units.
The bank, in an exclusive agreement with the Autopistas del Sol, can only put potential users on a waiting list, promising to supply the units by the middle of March at the earliest.
The situation, according to a bank official is due to the early opening the highway.
The highway had been scheduled to open in June, then moved up to March, however, on January 27, Costa Rican president Arias cut the ribbon, opening the new highway to the public.
In addition to the problems of supplying the units, complaints on the use of the Quick Pass has been that the Autopistas has been allowing "manual" paying customers to use the reserved toll lane.
And with that there have been numerous reports of the gate dropping on moving vehicles. It appears that the system cannot tell the difference between the manual opening of the gate by the attendant after taking a manual payment and the automated system. Thus, once the manual payment driver passes, the gate closes in front of the Quick Pass driver, who has to slam the brakes to avoid crashing the gate.
The Quick Pass allows drivers to cross the tolls without stopping. The HBSC charges $30 for non-bank customers, who have to manually add funds to the account and $15 for customers who can opt for the toll charges to be automatically deducted from their bank account.
February 15, 2010 7:15 am
Expat Living
