Politics & Government

Free Tolls on GA 400 During Monday's Rush Hours

If you drive through the GA 400 toll booths during rush hours on Monday, March 25, you can thank Carvana.com for paying your toll.

Driving down GA 400 on Monday, March 25? Leave the quarters behind, and don't worry if your Peach Pass balance is low. Your tolls will be covered.

Carvana, a new, online car -buying site, will cover the tab for motorists during the morning and afternoon commute times.

Free From Tolls
Monday, March 25
7-9 a.m. & 4-6 p.m.

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The online car-buying site is presenting its "Random Acts of Carvana for northbound and southbound commuters.

For those of you unfamiliar with how the pay toll promotion works, SRTA will have people in the both with safety vests to move traffic through tolls booths along,, said Malika Reed Wilkins of the State Road and Tollway Authority (SRTA). Signage will be on the coin collector devices, which will be covered as well.  Carvana employees may be at some of the booths, handing out some marketing materials as well.

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Motorists with a Peach Pass will just drive through those lanes as normal, but no toll will be collected from their Peach Pass account balance.

An estimated 42,000 cars will go through the toll plaza during the four hours (both north and south for 7-9am and 4-6pm). This was based on the Monday traffic for this week last year,  said Colleen Murphy, a marketing representative for Caravana.

As another method to get the public's interest, visitors to Carvana.com have a shot at winning a $100 gas card. The company has 200 of those cards to give out. 

“We chose Atlanta as our launch market due to its welcoming start-up environment, central location amongst Southern states and residents’ nature to embrace new and exciting technologies,” said Carvana President Ernie Garcia in a news release. “We're hoping that if we can improve the commuting experience for Atlanta residents in a small way, they will give us the opportunity to improve their car buying experience in a major way."

Carvana's Atlanta area distribution center and local offices are in Winder, said Murphy.

Claiming to be the first-of-its-kind in the auto industry, Carvana offers potential car buyers the opportunity to browse, finance and purchase a car entirely online, and have it delivered to your door in 48 hours. All vehicles in inventory are less than three years old, include an Experian Autocheck report and are backed by a 7-day, no-questions-asked Test Buy return policy.

Reed Wilkins said SRTA works with a third-party vendor to solidify sponsorships.

"If a company wants a pay toll promotion, they work with a group we have, called Travelers Marketing," she said. "They pay the tolls in advance. And there's administrative costs as well."

But this pay toll promotion is a bit different than all previous times, Reed Wilkins said.

"This is the first time we've ever done the two times in one day. Typically it's just the morning rush. But they asked if they could do the afternoon as well."

"Everyone who is coming through the plaza during that time is free. Even the people who go through Peach Pass and all the electronic lanes during the timeframe that they pay for the sponsorship," she said.

The Atlanta Hawks and American Family Insurance are companies that have offered previous pay toll promotions.

"It's a way for them to connect with motorists and get their brand out as well as do something nice for motorists," she said.


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