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The Senate Committee on Transportation held a public hearing to receive an overview and update from the Texas Department of Transportation, including the TxTag system.
 
Lt. Joe Weber, Executive Director, Texas Department of Transportation

  • 223 fatalities have already occurred on state roads and highways in 2015; however, 2014 was recorded as the safest year in TxDOT history
  • $5 billion in additional funding is needed for roadway infrastructure per year to meet existing demands, including $3 billion for mobility, $1 billion for maintenance and $1 billion for energy sector
  • TxDOT is focusing on ‘execution’ this year in building up rural areas, expanding roadways and implementing large-scale projects in Houston and North Tarrant Expressway

 
John Barton, Deputy Executive Director, Texas Department of Transportation

  • Prop One funding invested $1.74 billion into TxDOT
    • 40% to metropolitan planning organizations, 30% to TxDot districts, 15% to TxDot districts, and 15% to energy sectors
  • 800 miles of roadways are anticipated to be rehabilitated –  adding 500 lane miles of additional capacity, replacing 64 bridges and adding 159 passing lanes
  • Prop One will invest 30% of funds to develop the energy sector
  • Xerox has expanded to three call centers and added 60 customer service representatives to respond to slow call times

 
James Bass, CFO, Texas Department of Transportation

  • In 2014, Xerox took over the TxTag system to fix the previously infected system that charged individual cars multiple times the actual amount
  • Excessive late fees due to these inaccuracies will be waived and credited back to customers

 
Laurie Zavadil, Vice President, Xerox

  • Call and answer times have recently been improved but there is significant improvement needed to meet industry standards

 
Q&A

  • Sen. Kirk Watson asked for the longest call wait times experienced for individuals to receive assistance
    • Wait-time is currently two minutes and twenty-seven seconds; time for entire situation to be handled is around 8 minutes
      • Sen. Watson noted someone called the Xerox office yesterday and stayed on hold for over fourteen minutes
    • Sen. Watson asked how many customers were sent pay-by-mail invoices when their accounts should have been charged by their TxTag account
      • About 30,000 people were mistakenly sent a pay-by-mail charge
    • Sen. Watson demanded customers be refunded for overcharged bills and suggested  individuals have longer time limits to refill their TxTag accounts before being charged
      • Over 3.5 million invoices were sent at a later time (averaging a year) after stalled transactions – their late fees will all be waived
  • Sen. Hancock questioned if anyone had made recommendations to purge a certain amount of invoices
    • 800,000 invoices before June 2012 were purged but those in the two-year window were kept
      • Sen. Hancock recognized Xerox had not made a good business decision
    • Sen. Hancock noted there was no clear evidence to correctly invoice customers
  • Sen. Hall personally received a TxTag bill that originally cost $0.65 which eventually added up to $30.00 with additional late fees – he asked if Xerox was performing to the measures of its initial contract
    • Performance measures have not been met so there have been deductions made to the initial contract – call and answer standards are the current top priority for Xerox
    • Sen. Hall asked how much revenue was being collected from tolls and how much was attributed to late fees and fines
      • In the Austin area, total revenue excess of $110 million dollars but the split between tolls and late fees is undetermined
    • Sen. Hall inquired how much it would cost for TxDot to conduct the operation themselves
      • Question left unanswered
  • Sen. Huffines asked for the industry standard of call wait times and challenged Xerox to be accountable for progress in a specified time period
    • Standard in the contract is for 90% of calls to be answered within one minute, 95% within two minutes and 99% within five minutes – handle time is within six minutes
      • Xerox will most likely be able to meet these goals within the next six to eight weeks
  • Sen. Kolkhorst asked if EasyTag has similar problems in the Houston area
    • EasyTag operates by paying at a toll stop or receiving a toll violation, while TxTag provides pay-by-mail opportunities for everyone to drive on toll roads
      • Sen. Kolkhorst questioned whether this option would be a more efficient and effective method for Central Texas
  • Chairman Nichols recommended for Xerox to create a report for call and wait times for the entire customer call experience on a weekly basis to track progress
    • If there is not a significant turnaround within three months, there will be a reevaluation of the current framework for collecting tolls