Virginia family charged nearly $550 in tolls roundtrip on visit to Luray Caverns

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Va. - A Northern Virginia family is speaking with FOX 5 after getting a nearly $550 toll for driving their RV in the I-66 Express Lanes.

The Landry Family took a trip to Luray Caverns last month. John and Julia Landry have six kids. The five oldest were with John in the RV and the youngest was following behind in a caravan. The high cost of the tolls was the total for their way there and back. 

"The amount was so preposterously high," John Landry said.

There are signs at Express Lane entrances that say "Higher Toll For Larger Vehicles." John Landry said he was expecting to pay more than the listed variable pricing amount.

But John and Julia say they were stunned when they saw their EZ Pass deducted multiple times and got the final toll amount for the round trip.

"It’s outrageous. It was unbelievable," Julia Landry added.

This was the first time they’d used the RV in the Express Lanes.

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"Deep down in my gut, I thought this has got to be a mistake. Maybe they, for some reason, didn’t read the transponder and I was getting penalized for using it without it. I wasn’t sure.  So I wasn’t particularly heated, I figured they’d make it right and so I just called to try and explain it," John said.

He filed a complaint with I-66 Express Mobility Partners who collected the toll. They are the private entity in the public-private partnership with the Virginia Department of Transportation.

He got a response from a customer service, denying his request for a refund and he was told that he was charged properly.

"We were ready to spend more but we had no idea how much more it would be. So yeah, it’s a luxury. If we’d have known that, we’d have made a different decision, we would have spent that money on something else," Julia Landry said.

In a statement to FOX 5, I-66 Express Mobility Partners said they are transparent and following their contract agreement with the Commonwealth of Virginia.

There are signs warning vehicles entering if they’re larger, they might be subject to higher tolls. On their website, they list the amount a toll may be multiplied for certain larger vehicles, like an RV.

The website says a three-axle RV could be charged five to seven times the amount listed in a peak travel time, in compliance with their state contract.

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They also say federal regulations prevent them from putting these multiples on road signs.

"The signage on the 66 Express Outside the Beltway conforms with both VDOT and FHWA regulations, and toll factors based on vehicle classification are standards followed by all tolled express facilities in the Northern Virginia region," a spokeswoman said in a statement shared with Fox 5.

The Virginia Department of Transportation added that this current system is what’s approved in the contract between VDOT and I-66 Express Mobility Partners. 

VDOT encourages anyone traveling to look at the website before they leave and understand what the toll structure is before taking a trip, particularly if they’re in a larger vehicle.

VDOT added the current agreement and funding structure has contributed to important infrastructure improvements in Northern Virginia.

John Landry says he has filed complaints with the Virginia Attorney General’s Office and Better Business Bureau with the hopes of creating more transparency or doing something to improve the public trust with this toll structure.

He says, at a minimum, he hopes for something that may give drivers a warning for their first high toll.  

"When you’re a customer getting on the toll road, you would assume they’d be fair in the way that they price you. You’re driving a large vehicle onto a toll road, you’re not logging onto a website to figure out what class your vehicle is and what the toll charge is going to be," John Landry said.