E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on several toll bridges and toll roads in the northeastern United States. Each state has its own billing and customer service. All of the states use the same technology, allowing travelers to use the same E-ZPass tag in multiple states. E-ZPass is usually offered as a debit account: tolls are deducted from prepayments made by the users. Users may opt to have prepayments automatically deposited when their account is low, or they may submit prepayments manually. When the E-ZPass network is complete, drivers will be able to drive toll roads from Maine to Virginia without stopping for tolls.
E-ZPass tags are RFID transponders which communicate with equipment built into the toll collection lanes. The most common type of tag is mounted on the inside of the vehicle's windshield behind the rearview mirror. Some vehicles have windshields that block RFID signals. For those vehicles, an externally-mountable tag is offered, typically designed to attach to the vehicle's front license plate mounting points.
Many E-ZPass lanes have speed limits which require cars to slow down significantly (5 and 15 mph are typical). In some areas, however, there is no need to slow down, E-ZPass users utilize dedicated traffic lanes outside the toll booth.
In Massachusetts, E-ZPass is called Fast Lane. In Virginia, it is called Smart Tag.
List of E-ZPass Agencies
The following agencies accept E-ZPass at their toll facilities:
- Massachusetts Turnpike
- Massachusetts Port Authority
- New York State Thruway Authority
- Peace Bridge Authority
- New York State Bridge Authority
- MTA Bridges & Tunnels
- Port Authority of New York and New Jersey
- New Jersey Turnpike Authority (includes Garden State Parkway)
- Atlantic City Expressway
- Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission
- Burlington County Bridge Commission
- Delaware River Port Authority
- Pennsylvania Turnpike
- Delaware River and Bay Authority
- Delaware Department of Transportation
- Maryland Transportation Authority
- West Virginia Turnpike
- Virginia Department of Transportation
- Dulles Greenway
The following agencies will be included in the E-ZPass system by the end of 2005:
- Maine Turnpike Authority
- New Hampshire Turnpike (update)
- Illinois Tollway
- Richmond (VA) Metropolitan Authority
- Pocahontas Parkway Association
The following agencies are either implementing or considering the E-ZPass system: