Why dont Tolls accept 1 and 2 cent pieces?

Glen_Quagmire

Just wondering does anybody know the reason why tolls bridges namely the east link in Dublin, dont accept 1 and 2 cent pieces in the "coin only" lane?

I understand it may be a hassle to them counting all the small change but at the end of the day is genuine currency and it should be accepted. Im finding myself with all these 1 and 2 cent pieces building up in the car and it be handy using them top pay the toll which is €1.75 as I dont always have a 5 cent piece on me.

yer man!

To make more money for themselves and to encourage people to get a toll tag, they are really handy in fairness.

Glen_Quagmire

They should have to accept the 1 and 2 cent pieces though. Whats the point in having 1 and 2 cent pieces if there not being accepted? Not everybody needs a toll tag because they might only use the toll bridge on occasion.

A better idea would be to scrap the 1 and 2 cent pieces altogether and just have prices in stages of 5 cents.

mydiscworld

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

They should have to accept the 1 and 2 cent pieces though. Whats the point in having 1 and 2 cent pieces if there not being accepted? Not everybody needs a toll tag because they might only use the toll bridge on occasion.

A better idea would be to scrap the 1 and 2 cent pieces altogether and just have prices in stages of 5 cents.

Some countries do prices by 5c only as far as I know. Finland comes to mind.

But yes, if 1c and 2c are legal tender then everyone should have to accept them.

who what when

mydiscworld wrote: »

Some countries do prices by 5c only as far as I know. Finland comes to mind.
.

Australia doesnt even have 1c and 2c equivelents in their currency. At least i didnt encounter one when i was there

Inishowen lady

Imagine being stuck in the car directly behind someone counting out their toll fees in 1c & 2c coins. AAAGGGHHHH

Glen_Quagmire

mydiscworld wrote: »

Some countries do prices by 5c only as far as I know. Finland comes to mind.

But yes, if 1c and 2c are legal tender then everyone should have to accept them.

Thats exactly my point, they should have to accept them by law. Whats the point in having them if i cant use them in certain places.

Next they wont accept 5c pieces either!

jameverywhere

In America this is a point of contention because it costs more to mint pennies than the pennies themselves are worth. HUGE waste of money.

imho, because of inflation, pennies, 1c and 2c pieces, etc., are useless nowadays. Might as well chuck 'em.

ArmaniJeanss

jameverywhere wrote: »

In America this is a point of contention because it costs more to mint pennies than the pennies themselves are worth. HUGE waste of money.

Off topic, but this fact gets trotted out again and again as some sort of killer argument. "OMG it costs more to manufacture such a coin than the coin is actually worth".

But the minting cost is a once-off whereas theoretically the coin can be used in 100s, if not 1000s of transactions during its life span. So its minting cost suddenly pales in comparision as to the sum total of its value over all these transactions.

clintondaly

Why do you have a build up of 1 and 2 cent coins in your car?
Its Trocaire time,give it to Daniel he is the face of Trocaire on this years box.

meercat

drive up to the cashier and give them the coppers
if you use the toll often,then give them €1.50 and the balance in coppers

LeftBlank

meercat wrote: »

drive up to the cashier and give them the coppers
if you use the toll often,then give them €1.50 and the balance in coppers

They are not legally obliged to accept more than 14 coins per transaction.

Louche Lad

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

...

A better idea would be to scrap the 1 and 2 cent pieces altogether and just have prices in stages of 5 cents.

Agreed. And introduce a €5 coin because the notes get so tatty.

Mark200

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

mydiscworld wrote: »

Some countries do prices by 5c only as far as I know. Finland comes to mind.

But yes, if 1c and 2c are legal tender then everyone should have to accept them.

Thats exactly my point, they should have to accept them by law. Whats the point in having them if i cant use them in certain places.

Next they wont accept 5c pieces either!

They don't have to accept it. Legal tender only has to be accepted for the payment of debts. You don't owe them anything - you either give them what they want and use their service, or don't give them what they want and don't use their service.

Victor

All businesses are entitled to state how they intend to do business. Ryanair don't accept cash, never mind coin. Would you insist taxi drivers accept pennies (hundreds / thousands of them)?

LeftBlank wrote: »

They are not legally obliged to accept more than 14 coins per transaction.

Isn't it 50?

Taco Corp

Victor wrote: »

All businesses are entitled to state how they intend to do business. Ryanair don't accept cash, never mind coin. Would you insist taxi drivers accept pennies (hundreds / thousands of them)?

LeftBlank wrote: »

They are not legally obliged to accept more than 14 coins per transaction.

Isn't it 50?

Yup, it's 50

http://www.irishstatutebook.ie/1998/en/act/pub/0038/sec0010.html

AltAccount

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

Just wondering does anybody know the reason why tolls bridges namely the east link in Dublin, dont accept 1 and 2 cent pieces in the "coin only" lane?

I understand it may be a hassle to them counting all the small change but at the end of the day is genuine currency and it should be accepted. Im finding myself with all these 1 and 2 cent pieces building up in the car and it be handy using them top pay the toll which is €1.75 as I dont always have a 5 cent piece on me.

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

Thats exactly my point, they should have to accept them by law. Whats the point in having them if i cant use them in certain places.

Next they wont accept 5c pieces either!

Your complaint is that they won't accept 1, 2 or 5 cent pieces at the coin only lane, stating that they should have to accept them by law.

Go to the teller, let us know if they accept your coppers. Your rant is premature IMHO.

Stark

Mark200 wrote: »

They don't have to accept it. Legal tender only has to be accepted for the payment of debts. You don't owe them anything - you either give them what they want and use their service, or don't give them what they want and don't use their service.

Surely though, by the time you've arrived at the toll booth, you've incurred a debt? It's not like you can say "Sorry, I've decided not to use this road after all".

Carawaystick

Victor wrote: »

All businesses are entitled to state how they intend to do business. Ryanair don't accept cash, never mind coin.

Ryanair do accept cash and coins. Anytime I bought something of them onboard. Unless that's changed since August.

I've also seen people pay for baggage with cash in Hahn

Glen_Quagmire

AltAccount wrote: »

Your complaint is that they won't accept 1, 2 or 5 cent pieces at the coin only lane, stating that they should have to accept them by law.

Go to the teller, let us know if they accept your coppers. Your rant is premature IMHO.

But my point is they should have to accept the coppers in the "coin only" lane so your point about using them in the teller lanes in not valid "IMHO".

yosser hughes

I don't see ehy they don't accept small copper coins. Especially at the automated basket thing. What's the big deal,it would just take a minor adjustment in their coin mechanisms. They just seem to be suiting themselves instead of their customers.

yosser hughes

I don't see ehy they don't accept small copper coins. Especially at the automated basket thing. What's the big deal?It would just take a minor adjustment in their coin mechanisms.
They just seem to be suiting themselves instead of their customers. Customers who have paid for the building of the east link for example, many times over.

Terrontress

if they accepted 1s and 2s, it would be a great way to get rid of them. Throw them en masse in to the bucket and let the machine work out what is in there. Although if the machine does not give change then it might slow things up because when your coins reach €1.14 and you need to work out how to pay the balance.

OP, bring them to a Tesco where the sacat has a little funnel to take the coins instead of a slot.

jameverywhere

ArmaniJeanss wrote: »

Off topic, but this fact gets trotted out again and again as some sort of killer argument. "OMG it costs more to manufacture such a coin than the coin is actually worth".

But the minting cost is a once-off whereas theoretically the coin can be used in 100s, if not 1000s of transactions during its life span. So its minting cost suddenly pales in comparision as to the sum total of its value over all these transactions.

transferring a penny from one hand to another doesn't make it all of a sudden worth 2c ??

still, tho, with inflation, minting pennies is now useless. a penny today is like a 1/4th of a penny howevermany years ago. why bother?

mydiscworld

Glen_Quagmire wrote: »

Thats exactly my point, they should have to accept them by law. Whats the point in having them if i cant use them in certain places.

Next they wont accept 5c pieces either!

Fermoy toll bridge, cash only will not accept 5c pieces either. Not sure if the tellers will.

Louche Lad

jameverywhere wrote: »

transferring a penny from one hand to another doesn't make it all of a sudden worth 2c ??

still, tho, with inflation, minting pennies is now useless. a penny today is like a 1/4th of a penny howevermany years ago. why bother?

Around 5/6ths since the introduction of the euro by my reckoning. Even so, I agree, they're not worth minting and never were.

Dodge

I'd be alomst certain there'd be more internet outrage if the government decided to do away with them

"My break was 92c, now its a SCANDALOUS 95c"

An automated machine not accpeting 1 or 2 cent coins isn't something that should bother most people IMO

Stark

We started phasing out half pennies in the 70s and fully decommissioned them as legal tender at the start of 1987. By my calculations, a 1c coin today is worth 85% of the value of a half penny back in 1987. So we're overdue for phasing them out. There needn't be outrage if fair rounding is done like it is in other EU countries where they phased them out. 92c becomes 90c, 93c becomes 95c etc.

Vic_08

Dodge wrote: »

I'd be alomst certain there'd be more internet outrage if the government decided to do away with them

"My break was 92c, now its a SCANDALOUS 95c"

An automated machine not accpeting 1 or 2 cent coins isn't something that should bother most people IMO

With regards to the East Link, before they raised the toll the automated gate would not accept any coppers. Then they raised the toll by 5c and now suddenly the machines are able to accept 5c coins but not 1c or 2c. it certainly seems arbitrary and rather self-serving.

A no coppers and all tolls rounded to 10c policy is not unreasonable IMO but it is clear that they chose to increase the tolls by 5c as their maximum allowed % increase would not have covered them to put it up by 10c. In that case it is very cheeky for them to still restrict the use of small coins.

The topic of Dublin Bus profiteering from not giving change on board is a regular one on here even though they provide a means to collect change and have a scheme to distribute the excess to charity. I would be willing to bet that the automated toll booth lanes do generate a considerable excess from overpayment. Do the toll companies keep it for themselves?

Carawaystick

Vic_08 wrote: »

The topic of Dublin Bus profiteering from not giving change on board is a regular one on here even though they provide a means to collect change and have a scheme to distribute the excess to charity. I would be willing to bet that the automated toll booth lanes do generate a considerable excess from overpayment. Do the toll companies keep it for themselves?

Considering the nra took (&won) a case against them for illegally overcharging yet there was no refund to overcharged users in that case, the toll companies are highly likely to keep the money for themselves.

InchicoreDude

I'd say the most probable reason is actually the reason you want them to accept coppers. People will use it as a dumping ground for getting rid of their coppers. This means additional effort for the machine [Would it get filled up too quickly], additional effort for the people counting it etc. I know I always get rid of my 10c coins when I think to count out the fare beforehand.

dowlingm

the banks would then charge the toll fellas more to handle the coins at their branches

Victor

And people would spend longer stopped at the tolls.

SeanW

Terrontress wrote: »

if they accepted 1s and 2s, it would be a great way to get rid of them. Throw them en masse in to the bucket and let the machine work out what is in there. Although if the machine does not give change then it might slow things up because when your coins reach €1.14 and you need to work out how to pay the balance.

OP, bring them to a Tesco where the sacat has a little funnel to take the coins instead of a slot.

QFT! Those Tesco self-service machines - used in the quieter hours - is a great way to use the copper coins.