In a recent interview with FreightWaves on the Loaded and Rolling Podcast, Cindy Ellers, chief customer officer at Bestpass, talked about challenges fleets and owner-operators face in 2024 and highlighted recent partnerships and acquisitions by Bestpass.
Bestpass got its start helping clients consolidate all their toll bills in one place and be proactive due to the complexities of dealing with various tolling agencies. But as the freight market changed, customer feedback prompted the company to examine new ways to provide value.
One of the biggest challenges for its fleet customers was cost savings. “Just like everything else in the market, toll rates are increasing. We’re seeing new [tolling] gantries pop up,” said Ellers. But these impacts were being felt differently between large fleets, smaller fleets and owner-operators.
On the for-hire side, small to large fleets want to make sure they can allocate the toll to trips so they can bill it back or price it into their loads. In order to bill back the customer, receiving toll data faster can mean the difference between being reimbursed and eating the cost.
Ellers adds, “If you don’t get the transactions in time, you can miss a window to bill back a customer, or worse, if you price with your toll included and not knowing those costs ahead of time, it can make the difference between a profitable load or ‘paying somebody to haul their stuff’.”
To share some of the scale that tolling costs have for larger fleets, Ellers notes that some are spending hundreds of millions of dollars in tolls. “It’s not the same as two cars in a driveway going through a toll here and there; these [fleets] are traveling coast to coast hitting tolls all over the country, and can make a big difference if not properly managed.”
For owner-operators, keeping track of a toll could mean the difference between having a business or not, especially with current compressed margins and higher rates of fuel and driver salaries. Ellers notes that owner-operators continue to cite higher costs, but lower freight rates over the past 18 months are compounding their cost worries.
Compared to large fleets, owner-operators struggle with bulk savings programs that some tolling agencies offer. Bestpass, which hit around $1.6 billion dollars of tolls processed through its platform in 2023, is able to pass through the discounts that larger fleets receive to owner-operators who use their platform.
Paying agencies on time and especially not missing payments are other benefits Bestpass notes. “Keeping your toll program in compliance generally results in 85% to 95% reductions in violations,” said Ellers. She notes, for example, that a $2 toll violation that isn’t paid could result in an extra $50 fee tacked on to the total.
“Some customers when they’re signing on with us have thousands or even millions of dollars worth of outstanding tolls with individual agencies … especially if you’re running decentralized versus having all your vehicles registered in one place that is receiving all the [toll] notices each day.” Losing track of the notices can cause the late fees and added expenses to spiral out of control. Ellers says one recently onboarded fleet, which owed around $200,000 worth of tolls to an agency, ended up owing more than $1.2 million after various administrative and late fees were applied.
For Bestpass, toll management and customer feedback created opportunities for more features from either partnerships or acquisitions. In February, Bestpass announced a new integration with Geotab, a telematics and transportation solutions platform, to give customers access to toll data and reporting from within their Geotab account.
Last November, Bestpass acquired Fleetworthy Solutions, which provides fleet safety, compliance and risk management solutions. Ellers notes the addition included CPSuite, a platform that combines asset and driver compliance plus tax data that is now augmented with Bestpass’ toll and citations data.
The focus on improving technology and product did not go unnoticed in the FreightTech community. At the 2023 F3 Future of Freight Festival in Chattanooga, Tennessee, Bestpass was a winner of the 2024 FreightTech 25 award and ranked No. 4 overall. The recognition honors innovators and disruptors in the industry.
Ellers notes a big reason behind Bestpass’ success revolves around customer feedback. “It all starts with our customers, So I couldn’t have done it without all of the feedback and great relationships we’ve built with them.”
To learn more, visit www.bestpass.com.
