WICHITA, Kan. (KAKE) - A Wichita man who got off of the Kansas Turnpike in East Wichita got a fine in the mail for not paying his toll.

He tells KAKE  there was nowhere at his exit to pay the toll. Sean Royse fell through the cracks as the Kansas Turnpike Authority switched to contactless tolls. He tells us he was looking for another toll booth on his way back to East Wichita.

“When I return I don't see a booth. I go straight up to Kellogg," said Sean Royse.

Royse was on his way home from El Dorado after going fishing. He got on the Kansas Turnpike as normal, but when he took exit 53A into East Wichita he tells us there was no booth.

“There was no booth. I look here again I wasn't sure of what was supposed to happen. I kept the ticket. And a few days later I received a fine in the mail for not paying my toll booth,” said Royse.

KAKE News drove from El Dorado into Wichita and got off at Exit 53A. We couldn't find a toll booth, but we saw a toll system taking photos of license plates. There was also signage, something Royse says he did not see.

"I feel (that) at highway speeds, reading a sign, trying to memorize a website that I’m supposed to pay a fine," he said. "I wasn't looking for that. I was looking for a booth,” said Royse.

The Kansas Turnpike Authority tells KAKE News in a statement in part:


Customers who do not have a K-Tag/compatible transponder should pick up a ticket at entry and pay at a toll booth when exiting. The exception to this is the Kellogg interchange in East Wichita (Kellogg) which opened in February 2021.

So, Royse contacted the turnpike authority.

“Well, I called them and they said they're trying to go contactless. Which I think is good. I don't know how I was supposed to know that. I feel like it's kind of a trap in a way they're sending out these fines,” said Royse.

The Turnpike Authority also tells KAKE News, "Customers who usually pick up a ticket or pay cash should follow the signage and the instructions provided on the ticket. If a customer does not pay their toll at East Wichita (Kellogg) within 10 days, the KTA will charge them a higher rate. If the ticket remains unpaid by the due date, the KTA then bills it as a violation."

Royse says the KTA did end up waiving his fine, reducing the toll to just $1.50 instead of $10. But, he says they told him it was a one-time thing. The Kansas Turnpike Authority told us it's looking to go to all cashless tolling by mid-2024.