EZ-Pass coming to a state near you soon!

[ragingfish]

http://www.usatoday.com/travel...x.htmQuote »Motorists can keep on rolling soonBy Debbie Howlett, USA TODAYThe USA is moving toward a national standard for collecting highway tolls electronically that soon will allow motorists to drive nearly anywhere in the East without stopping for tollbooths.It won't be a free ride, but it will be an easier one — if drivers have E-ZPass. The device, known as a transponder, attaches to the inside of a car and uses radio signals to electronically pay for tolls via credit card. By next year E-ZPass motorists will be able to drive nearly every toll road from Maine to the Mississippi River without stopping to fork over money. For motorists and truckers, it's about convenience. More than 6 billion toll transactions, at an average of $1 each, occur yearly on the USA's 7,000 miles of toll roads."People don't object to paying tolls," says Pat Jones, director of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association, a toll trade group. "They object to stopping and waiting to pay tolls."Five states — Illinois, Indiana, Maine, New Hampshire and Virginia — are joining seven Northeastern states in the E-ZPass consortium. E-ZPass blossomed from one toll plaza on the New York State Thruway 10 years ago to a network that extends from the far Northeast to the Mid-Atlantic and across the nation to the Midwest.The system seems poised to go national. Twelve of the 28 states that impose highway tolls use E-ZPass — and collect 75% of all such tolls, industry experts say.Advocates of electronic collection say it eliminates congestion at tollbooths and reduces time on the road. For many states, that makes toll collection not only invisible but more palatable and profitable. Receipts are generally used to fund road construction.A toll taker can handle 300 cars per hour, says Jack Finn, national director of toll services for the engineering firm HNTB in New Jersey. Dedicated electronic tolling lanes, with reduced speeds through the toll plaza, can process 1,000 cars per lane per hour.But the most efficient of all is a high-speed electronic system, where toll plazas are eliminated altogether. It can manage 2,200 cars per lane per hour. "You can see the impact that can have on a congested roadway," Finn says.Critics of electronic tolling mainly worry about privacy because the system can be used to track a person's movements. In Illinois, a husband used toll records in his divorce case. New York state used E-ZPass records to prove 40 fired workers weren't on their job sites.Most states require subpoenas to look at the records. In New York, the Thruway Authority has received fewer than 200 such requests in six years.Stay positive Nick -- Ohio can't be too far behind!

[Mr. Poopypants]

Ohio doesn't have EZpass?? Heck, WV even has EZpass!

[ebslopp]

We don't have tolls in WI, thank god

[ViciousRR]

We won't have it in WI because we get taxed all to hell. That is why we don't have tolls at all, but are roads sometimes don't show it. I've been on the toll in Maine leaving from Portland, you can fly on the roads there! Made it from Bangor to Presque Isle in and 1.5 hours!Another one I have been threw very fast is the Kansas Turnpike.

[scherry2]

Thats why all the "flatlanders" go to Wisconsin.

[ragingfish]

People in Jersey gripe about paying $0.25 tolls, or even in some cases, a buck or two...but you know what...our major highways are in pretty damn good shape...yeah, they could use some improvement, some need to be expanded or widened, but the pavement rarely has potholes or major blemishes...And EZ-Pass makes it so much more bearable. I can't help but laugh at the out-of-staters (and even residents) who have to wait to pay cash. I just fly right through. Go Go Gadget EZPass!

[champcaracing]

and the roads are still crappy, pothole, construction barrels.......

[dsegundo]

Yeah but at least we're not paying tolls for them. They've had this in Florida. My parents have the FLA Pass...it's neat. THey should have the transponder to be smaller because the one my parents got is huge

[Nervous_Dog]

After driving to Chicago a couple of weeks ago via the Ohio Turnpike, I think I would prefer tolls to the roads we have now in Michigan. I'd rather slow down and throw some change at a basket then have to endure 6 months of the "orange barrel polka" every year.

[Fialchar]

We've had those things for a while in Florida, we also have something called Sunpass (My dad has a garage-door-lookin-thing for it) that does the exact same thing.

[dsegundo]

that's right...it's called sunpass....I always called it the Fla pass because that was the only place that I've sseen them.

[Fialchar]

Yeah, it's kinda cool because it takes a lot less time, but as I'm mainly broke I doubt I'll be getting one anytime soon.For people unaware of how the Sunpass system works, you buy the transponder unit for like, $30 if I remember right, and it obtains a set amount from your bank acount (Like $20) and refills it when it gets down to $5 or so.

[NSimkins]

Quote, originally posted by ragingfish »Stay positive Nick -- Ohio can't be too far behind! Apparently we do have something slightly similar in Ohio but it still requires you to stop at the toll booth.Ready Toll: http://www.ohioturnpike.org/faq_index.html#rfaq1EZ Pass info (why they don't do it here): http://www.ohioturnpike.org/faq_index.html#EFAQ

[ragingfish]

Quote, originally posted by Fialchar »For people unaware of how the Sunpass system works, you buy the transponder unit for like, $30 if I remember right,Dude you have to buy your transponder? That blows! You get up to 4 transponders per account for free in Jersey. YAY JERSEY!

[Faultline]

I find this all so insidious!! just like having "pay bathrooms"with tokens....but dont worry , for convenience sake,we will all be able to purchase transponders to place on our zippers . That way we dont have to look for coinage when we really have to go!!!!

[Stang2Vibe]

PA has had EZpass for about 2 years now. Not too many people seem to use it unless you are traveling on toll roads a lot. Very rarely do I ever have to wait at a toll booth to pay in cash in PA.Since this seems to be strongly encouraged by government entities, I would have to say that this is just another step they are trying to move us toward the conspiracy-laiden "cashless society". No thanks. I'd like to have control over my money, not have my government have control over my money.