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East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

post #1 of 31
1/7/08 at 5:13am
Thread Starter 
With the 10% discount for EZ-Pass users on the NYS Thruway, I'm sort of looking into getting a transponder. However, I've been researching different state's EZ Pass systems, do I have to sign up for EZ Pass with the state that I reside in or can I sign up say from Delaware since the EZ Pass system is shared on most of the interstates in NJ/NY/DE/MA, etc. ????

I know in NJ, there is a $1 per month fee for EZ Pass which negates all the benefits of 10% off the tolls since I am not a daily user (i.e. I don't commute on any toll road and even then, I bike to work anyway.). My weekend trips up north do, but like I said, they are only weekend trips. The times when EZ pass is useful to save on toll time is the time usually I bypass the entire ugly mess by going around the stupid tolls because EZ Pass or not, if the toll lanes are backed up for 2 miles before or after the tolls, EZ-Pass is not going to help much.

Is there a state with no month fees (other than the toll itself and/or a deposit for the transponder) and if so, can anybody sign up there???

Jay
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post #2 of 31
1/7/08 at 7:32am

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

state by state fees
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post #3 of 31
1/7/08 at 8:03am
Thread Starter 

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

So, I guess that is a yes (i.e. you don't have to sign up with the state you live in)?? Looks like the Delaware River Joint toll Bridge Authority is the best place to sign up for. no initial or monthly fee...

Jay
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post #4 of 31
1/7/08 at 1:14pm

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

I am a Virginia resident but I got my EZ Pass on the Pennsylvania Turnpike because their fee was much lower than Virginia's. As long as they get my money, PA certainly doesn't care.
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post #5 of 31
1/7/08 at 1:53pm

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay H
So, I guess that is a yes (i.e. you don't have to sign up with the state you live in)?? Looks like the Delaware River Joint toll Bridge Authority is the best place to sign up for. no initial or monthly fee...

Jay
I signed up a year or so ago just for the occasional road trip I do. The New York State Thruway Authority has the same deal as the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Authority: no fees, neither monthly nor initial, if you pay by credit card. In fact, until this thread I had no idea any authority charged a fee.

You can sign up through the NYS Thruway at either the New Baltimore rest stop gift shop, Guilderland rest stop gift shop, Port Byron rest stop gift shop, Scottsville rest stop gift shop, Pattersonville rest stop gift shop, Seneca rest stop gift shop, Angola rest stop gift shop, or Clarence rest stop gift shop. They'll hand you your transpoder right away at any of these locations.

You can also sign up through the Thruway Authority here:
E-ZPass - Sign Up Now!

The terms and conditions say nothing about having to live within New York State. That makes sense when you think about the number of Canadians that cross the border and make use of E-ZPass.

EDIT: I see that the account service fee is now a PANYNJ fee. Here's the Joint Bridge Authority sign-up:
E-ZPass - Sign Up Now!
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post #6 of 31
1/7/08 at 3:41pm

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

10%? I'm surprised they get anyone to sign up at all, especially if there is a monthly fee for the transponder. Here in Illinois the discount is 50% so there's a much higher adoption rate.
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post #7 of 31
1/7/08 at 4:15pm

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

Quote:
Originally Posted by Michael_K_Sr
10%? I'm surprised they get anyone to sign up at all, especially if there is a monthly fee for the transponder. Here in Illinois the discount is 50% so there's a much higher adoption rate.

I have EZ Pass, and use primarily the PA Turnpike & NJ/PA bridges . I couldn't care less about the discount, that's just the gravy. The real advantage is whizzing by all the people that are stuck at the tolls.

I could be wrong, but I think you only get the "commuter discount" for the authority that you get the EZ pass with. You may want to look into that before you sign up with a state you don't use.

I have it set up with the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, and I get $0.15 off my $0.75 toll coming into PA. I know I don't get a discount on DE Route 1, or on 95 in MD. I have no idea what the current normal toll prices are on the PA Turnpike, so I can't tell if I get a discount there.
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post #8 of 31
1/7/08 at 5:11pm

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

My parents got one in MD and it was free. All of these passes require a deposit of $$$ into your 'account' (i.e. you are pre-paying, not post-paying your tolls). Once it dips down to a certain level, your credit card gets charged a preset amount to 'recharge' the account.

Ohio needs to get off their butt and add this system... they are surrounded by other states who are using EZ pass and they are still stuck in the toll booth age.
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post #9 of 31
1/8/08 at 4:49am
Thread Starter 

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

The NJ EZPass and the NY Port Authority (not the same as NY State EZPASS) charge $1 per month.

the whole scam (and NJ is nothing but corruption and scams) is that NJ put in the EZPass system thinking that it will pay for itself by getting deadbeats and people who try to go through the EZpass lanes w/o a transponder to pay fines and stuff. But for some stupid reason or some legal reason, the state never bothered to really follow up on getting folks to pay and courts are expensive anyway for what.... the odd $1-$5 toll or so... or 35cents on the Garden State Parkway. So, in some infinite wisdom, NJ decided a bit ago to start charging $1/month for each EZ Pass holder as some way to get money.

Of course, most of us aren't idiots, why on earth would somebody sign up for NJ EZPass when you can simply sign up in another state and get it free. Some states charge an initial one-time fee but many do not... I just signed up for the Delaware Joint Bridge Toll Authoritz EZpass and it should arrive soon.

I guess if I needed it right away I could get it at some of the NY Thruway rest areas as Adam says but I just went through the website. Nowhere on the website it says you have to be a resident but they do have a little pulldown menu that is kind of vague and I am still confused that one state can have fees and other states don't and people will still sign up for the fee.

The only reason I can think of anybody signing up in NJ is if there is a good discount plan and you're a commuter who drives on toll roads. Other than that, it doesn't make any sense to me.

jay
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post #10 of 31
1/15/08 at 9:39am
Thread Starter 

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

So, got EZpass on friday, used it this weekend...

How long did it take for you guys to get your internet account access setup? I can't log into my account via the internet, my PIN doesn't work and I had them email my "new password" via their link only to never get any email...

I called up their access line, got in via my PIN and my balance seems to be higher than it should.

I used the toll on sunday 1/13 in the afternoon and called my account Monday 1/14 around 8pm. Does it take a while for a toll to get posted and my account updated? it seems to have missed at least one of my tolls as it should be something like $17 and not $21 as my account said on monday night..

Jay
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post #11 of 31
1/15/08 at 10:24am

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

It's odd how some authorities share systems.

Both the CA BART system and the DC Metro system use identical fare cards. Or at least they sure look the same. After coming back from a DC business trip I had several dollars left on a Metro fare card. I put it into a BART terminal to see what would happen, and the message flashed "WRONG SYSTEM".
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post #12 of 31
1/15/08 at 6:53pm

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

Sometimes it takes 24 hours before I'll see something on there. I don't check it online very often often. I have it with DRJTBA too. From what I remember, I was able to get on right away.

Their website is annoying, which is why I don't check it often. Sometimes I don't see it register as I drive by, but I guess they just add it to my acct by checking my license plate.

Do you get discounts on the other tolls that aren't part of the DRJTBA?
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post #13 of 31
1/16/08 at 5:11am
Thread Starter 

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

Dateline tuesday: finally able to log into my internet account and see both fridays and sunday's toll on the NYS Thruway properly charged, I guess it takes a bit for it to post. However, I also saw a post on Jan 10th from the NJ Turnpike by Giant Stadium so I called the DJBTC folks and had them credit my account for that amt.

I'm kind of wondering if it happen to be in the mail carrier on the 10th and that truck went through an EZpass lane, that it could of activated even if it was in the mailbag or whatever... Are these transceivers RF or line of sight? Could it have possibly been activated while in transit to my house via the postal service?

However, it only activated one of the tags as I got two tags... strange.

[edit ] Come to think of it, it was shipped in a small manila envelop and it had one of those electrostatic ESD bags, however, the transponders weren't inside it (go figure). I gather the ESD bag supposedly shields the transceiver from the receiver but since it wasn't inside the bag, I bet one of my transceivers was activated while the bag might of shielded the other one...

Jay
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post #14 of 31
1/21/08 at 11:49am

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

My Father In Law had the same thing happen. He was going to be travelling up north on and off so he ordered and EZ Pass. It came out of the bag and he got hit for several tolls on the way down I95. He called and they refunded them after a little back and forth.
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post #15 of 31
1/26/08 at 9:36am

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

ANY E-ZPASS ANYWHERE

You can open an E-ZPass account with any member of the Interagency Group, it doesn’t matter where you live. You are not required to maintain you account with an agency in you home state. You can get a free transponder and avoid those pesky account maintenance fees by opening an account with one of the following agencies: the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission the Maryland Transportation Authority, the Peace Bridge Authority of NY & ON, and the Illinois Tollway. The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission charges an annual account fee of $3.00, however their transponders are free, they do not have any other fees.



Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay H
With the 10% discount for EZ-Pass users on the NYS Thruway, I'm sort of looking into getting a transponder. However, I've been researching different state's EZ Pass systems, do I have to sign up for EZ Pass with the state that I reside in or can I sign up say from Delaware since the EZ Pass system is shared on most of the interstates in NJ/NY/DE/MA, etc. ????

I know in NJ, there is a $1 per month fee for EZ Pass which negates all the benefits of 10% off the tolls since I am not a daily user (i.e. I don't commute on any toll road and even then, I bike to work anyway.). My weekend trips up north do, but like I said, they are only weekend trips. The times when EZ pass is useful to save on toll time is the time usually I bypass the entire ugly mess by going around the stupid tolls because EZ Pass or not, if the toll lanes are backed up for 2 miles before or after the tolls, EZ-Pass is not going to help much.

Is there a state with no month fees (other than the toll itself and/or a deposit for the transponder) and if so, can anybody sign up there???

Jay
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post #16 of 31
2/5/08 at 7:48am
Thread Starter 

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

Thanks Michael, I gathered that data before I got my transponder from the Delaware River JTC. I used it alot this past week when I drove to Baxter State park in Maine... seems like most states have 10-15mph EZ pass lanes but NJ is still stuck with 5mph lanes... What is with that although the two Fast EZ pass 60mph lanes are also in NJ, it seems like the next logical step would be to engineer faster EZpass lanes without compromising safety (with the non-EZ pass users who still have to stop and pay).

Jay
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post #17 of 31
2/5/08 at 10:35pm

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay H
Thanks Michael, I gathered that data before I got my transponder from the Delaware River JTC. I used it alot this past week when I drove to Baxter State park in Maine... seems like most states have 10-15mph EZ pass lanes but NJ is still stuck with 5mph lanes... What is with that although the two Fast EZ pass 60mph lanes are also in NJ, it seems like the next logical step would be to engineer faster EZpass lanes without compromising safety (with the non-EZ pass users who still have to stop and pay).
New York and New Jersey pioneered the system. For this reason, these two states are stuck with the most obsolete lanes. NY and NJ did the innovation which the other states that joined up later benefited from.
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post #18 of 31
2/6/08 at 6:27am

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

Quote:
Originally Posted by Adam Lenhardt
New York and New Jersey pioneered the system. For this reason, these two states are stuck with the most obsolete lanes. NY and NJ did the innovation which the other states that joined up later benefited from.
I've been wondering why NY has mostly 5mph lanes -- 20mph lanes are rare -- while Orlando, FL has its 50mph SunCoast toll system.

When I drive I90, I often wonder if the value of tolls to the state are offset by the cost of everyone coming to a stop every 10 miles on the expressway.
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post #19 of 31
2/6/08 at 6:39am
Thread Starter 

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

I may be wrong but I think most of the other states in the NE have EZ-Pass in all lanes, whereas NY/NJ has specific lanes that are EZPASS and the toll lanes don't have the sensors..

I was confused when i was exiting to I-295South near Augusta, ME when they had a sign saying the EZ Pass lanes were closed and I got to the toll and was fiddling around with my wallet trying to get a dollar bill out and then the light turns green... oops, fortunately I saw it and didn't pay twice.

Jay
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post #20 of 31
2/6/08 at 11:17am

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay H
I may be wrong but I think most of the other states in the NE have EZ-Pass in all lanes, whereas NY/NJ has specific lanes that are EZPASS and the toll lanes don't have the sensors..

I was confused when i was exiting to I-295South near Augusta, ME when they had a sign saying the EZ Pass lanes were closed and I got to the toll and was fiddling around with my wallet trying to get a dollar bill out and then the light turns green... oops, fortunately I saw it and didn't pay twice.

Jay
I think NY has EZ Pass for all lanes, not just those marked, at least on I90.
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post #21 of 31
2/6/08 at 2:09pm

Re: East Coasters: Teach me about EZ-Pass

Quote:
Originally Posted by Jay H
I may be wrong but I think most of the other states in the NE have EZ-Pass in all lanes, whereas NY/NJ has specific lanes that are EZPASS and the toll lanes don't have the sensors..
In New York, specific lanes are set aside for EZ-Pass, but all lanes — including the cash lanes — have EZ-Pass available. That's why you'll notice this sign while approaching the tolls on the Thruway:



That said, if I recall correctly from my experience on the Turnpike, Massachusetts (which uses the EZ-Pass compatible "Fast Lane" system) has three types of lanes: Fast Lane only, Cash/Fast Lane Cash Only.
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post #22 of 31
8/14/09 at 7:46am
Thread Starter 
I just found out that the Delaware Joint Bridge Toll Committee (Or something like that) is now starting to charge $1/month for the use of EZ Pass. Up til now, the DRJBTC was one of the few EZ Pass obtainers that had no initial fee and no monthly fee.    But is now after Jun'09 charging $1/ month.

I've read of a few other agencies not charging a fee, including the Peace Bridge (USA and Canada) Authority and also Virginia.   PBA states on it's web site that if you don't ever go through their bridge, they reserve the right to cancel your account.  Virginia doesn't seem to state anything...

 

For those in VA, have you heard of any talk about a monthly fee??   

PA has a $3/yearly fee so that is not too bad.... 

Jay

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post #23 of 31
8/14/09 at 3:39pm
If you already have an E-ZPass, are you allowed to switch?
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post #24 of 31
8/14/09 at 7:43pm
I have Ezpass Ny and It is run by the NYSDOT  NYS Thruway Authority which is probably the most corrupt government entity in the entire world. I get random $25 fines in the mail for "speeding" through tollbooths and "avoiding paying tolls" and am told that I have no way of fighting them and that if I don't pay they will send collectors after me. I hate Ezpass with a passion but because of the deals you get on commuter packages I dont have much of an option. I drive over a bridge to get to work which is normally $1 EACH WAY. With ezpass I only pay 23 cents. So, even with my random fines it still worthwhile.
Edited by Jimi C - 8/15/2009 at 04:07 am GMT
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post #25 of 31
8/14/09 at 8:36pm
NYSDOT does not maintain any tolls, and therefore does not issue E-ZPass transponders. Only the New York State Bridge Authority and New York State Thruway Authority accept E-ZPass for tolls and AFAIK only the Thruway Authority issues transponders. Under the murky rules that govern public authorities in NYS, the Thruway Authority is actually completely seperate from NYSDOT. I have a Thruway transponder, and have never had problems with random fees. Do you always make sure you get the greenlight before proceeding? Some of the lanes require speeds as low as five miles per hour.

Right now, the NY Thruway transponders are actually a good deal; other than the $25 mandatory account balance and the $10 deposit for the transponder, there's no fees above and beyond the tolls.

Charging monthly fees never made much sense to me, because people that use E-ZPass help relieve traffic congestion and mean the agency administering the tolls has to pay less people to sit in the booths collecting tolls. You think they'd want to incentivize EZ-Pass usage, not punish it.
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post #26 of 31
8/14/09 at 9:06pm

You're right. And I knew that. Substitute Thuway authority for NYSDOT in my post. The Thruway authority has no reason to exist. Adam if my tag isnt being read than I dont see how they would even know I went through the tollbooth. At one point they had without reason stopped auto rebilling my credit card without my knowledge and despite this my tag never stopped giving me green lights. I received 7 violation notices in the mail on the same day dating back 2 weeks. I called and asked them why I was not informed by email of my low account balance or violations or the fact that my auto account replenish was stopped. Seeing as I frequently get other emails from them I didn't see why this would be a dfficult task. I was simply told "umm, yea we dont do that" in the thickest brooklyn accent ever.

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post #27 of 31
8/15/09 at 4:23pm
Thread Starter 
Quote:
If you already have an E-ZPass, are you allowed to switch?



Sure, they don't make it as easy as just changing the ID or anything, you do have to return the old transponders and get new ones (which means shipping fees, unless you are close by). That's kind of why I'm debating or not to return them and sign up with VA's DOT Ez-pass system. NJ has had $1 fees for awhile but now the DRJBTC has just implemented them. I think it sucks too and I don't need ezpass to commute, it's just a convenience thing for me.
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post #28 of 31
8/15/09 at 6:20pm
They have cameras at all of the toll plazas to read the license plates of those who dodge the tolls and, I guess, those whose tags don't read. I agree the customer service leaves something to be desired; the only reason I can think of for them to cease auto-billing is that maybe they had a previous expiration date for your credit card and decided not to make any effort to get a new one when that date passed. Once I took a wrong turn and was through the tolls before I'd even known what hit me. I explained the situation to an irritated toll operator at the next exit, filled out a form and got a sternly worded letter in the mail warning me about serious fines if it were to happen again. Both I-90 and I-87 are mostly free around Albany due to complicated network of interchanges and connections between the Thruway to the west and south, the Mass Pike to the east, and the (free) Northway to the North, so like Jay the E-ZPass is mostly a convenience for me too. If I don't have to go more than a hour or so south, I'll usually like Route 9W instead of I-87 to avoid the tolls. I'd imagine that if E-ZPass was part of my daily commute like it is yours, I'd experience some of these random SNAFUs from the system too.
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post #29 of 31
8/15/09 at 7:10pm
Thread Starter 
Adam: of course, usually when I'm on the thruway, its to get to the catskills or the ADKs and on a sunday evening, never do I really go to the thruway from I-87 (the northway), I'm usually taking back roads to Selkirk and get on to exit 22 and then I'm usually getting off at Kingston (exit 19) or Saugerties (exit 20) to avoid traffic there... 

Jay
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post #30 of 31
8/17/09 at 1:28pm
I haven't heard anything about a fee in VA yet but I may not have been paying attention. 
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