EZ Pass

[diftw]

We are headed to Topsail this fall and will be going through Louisville. The bridge is now a toll bridge. We also occasionally find ourselves on the toll road. With that being said, I thought it would be a good idea to look into an EZ Pass. Was reading the fine print-do they really charge a $1.00/month administrative fee?

[SidecarFlip]

I wonder if the $1.00 fee is tax deductable?

[Rice]

Dutch_12078 wrote:
NY E-ZPass accounts set up at any NY E-ZPass service center or online have no transponder deposit and no monthly fee with automatic replenishment. However, E-ZPass accounts set up through the NY-NJ Port Authority do have a $1/mo fee, because NJ requires it regardless of where the account holder lives. As you know, the NY-NJ PA added the fee shortly after NJ added it their in-state issued accounts.

Sheeeesh. Really? I'd read about the motorhome plan that NY EZ Pass offers and in researching it I didn't see a monthly fee, so I went to location and signed up for one. And got dinged for the $1/month fee. Apparently I signed up for the "wrong" New York EZ Pass? How is a regular person supposed to know this stuff?

I never in a million years would knowingly sign up for an account with a monthly fee when there are accounts available without it, especially since I'm not routinely in an area with EZ Pass toll roads.

[SidecarFlip]

I still remember a few years ago, heading to New Mexico for a hunt and travelling the Will Rodgers Turnpike late at night (with no change) but plenty of 50 and 100 dollar bills and getting to an unattended toll booth and no way to pay..

I just drove around the gate (set the alarms off) and called it ''oh well'... got to the last booth (attended) and explained to the pretty young lass that I 'ran the previous 3 booths because I had no change to deposit. She let me pay the entire toll (laughing of course) and sent a note to the turnpike authority that I had indeed paid. never heard a word and that was 5 years ago.

Nothing like a 'middle of the night toll booth evasion'.....

Got stuck in the EZ pass lanes on the Illinois Tollway once too. Never heard a word but then I don't have a front plate either (Michigan only has a rear plate) so if the thing took a picture, no way of identifying me.

Legal now with transponders in all 3 vehicles.

Not sure about the Louisville bridge, never go that way anyway.

Last time I was in Louisville I traveled via Lear Jet and got chauffered to the convention center. Went for an exposition.

[lenr]

Not sure if transponders are even used at the Louisville bridges. Most of it is done with photos. You can set up a River Link account to get a discount without buying a transponder, I think. Also the west side bridge may not charge.

[SidecarFlip]

I also find it interesting that most pay-for passage roads are east of the Mississippi with the bulk of them east of the Delaware Water Gap. Pa, Ohio and Indiana turnpikes excepted because those are all privately funded and maintained roads even though they carry Interstate route designations.

[SidecarFlip]

Problem with the Illinois Tollway pass is they charge 10 bucks per transponder. Mass charges nothing and they are both EZ pass.

Can understand Illinois charging 10 bucks per... With billions in underfunded pension issues, they need every penny they can get the grubby mitts on....

Glad I don't live there...lol

[Romer1]

Illinois IPass transponder is not vehicle specific. List all your vehicle by license number and move the transponder to whichever vehicle your are driving. Have one transponder that I move from my car to motorhome as needed. We have 2 transponders, 1 for me and 1 for wife and they combine them for 1 $40 account that gets replenished as required.

[SCClockDr]

When the Commonwealth of Massachusetts shifted away from tollbooths on the Pike & elsewhere they dropped the mandatory use per period and impose a $1.00 service fee when billing for photo tolls.

I applied online and was sent a transponder last fall. I was unable to specify the correct specific vehicle ID for our rig and visited thier office in Auburn to resolve it.

I was told the visit was unnecessary their system would correctly charge me. The CSR offered to provide and setup an additional transponder for just our TV if I intended to travel bobtail.

In Mass I can use the express lanes while towing. In all other states I must use the EZ-Pass/Cash lanes, if available, so the attendant can count the tires & axles.

Even with this convenience I always carry a roll of quarters in our console to lift the gate if the transponder should fail. (Unmanned exit toll) I may abandon this if I have no issues in the next few years.

[Dutch_12078]

jfkmk wrote:

I used to have NJ ez-pass. When they started the monthly fee, I went to NY PA ez-pass. The website wasn't as robust as it may be now, customer service phone support was horrible, so I had to go to a service center. Shortly thereafter, the NY PA started with the same monthly fee. It's not worth $1 per month to switch again.

NY E-ZPass accounts set up at any NY E-ZPass service center or online have no transponder deposit and no monthly fee with automatic replenishment. However, E-ZPass accounts set up through the NY-NJ Port Authority do have a $1/mo fee, because NJ requires it regardless of where the account holder lives. As you know, the NY-NJ PA added the fee shortly after NJ added it their in-state issued accounts.

[jfkmk]

magicbus wrote:
Needed - one sense if humor. :W

Dave

Oh good grief.

[magicbus]

Needed - one sense if humor. :W

Dave

[jfkmk]

magicbus wrote:

jfkmk wrote:
Another thing to consider is where you're most likely going to be driving. I was overcharged by $10 crossing the Delaware River. Because my ez-pass was from NY, it took nearly 4 months to get a refund. I was told I should have had the ez-pass from the Delaware toll commission and it would have occurred immediately.

So it sounds like you are saying you should have a separate ez-pass for every system so when they make a mistake you can get a refund quicker, which kind of defeats the purpose of everyone going to ez-pass!

When I moved to Mass from NJ my usage dropped from pretty much daily to every 4 months or so and it got really annoying to see a $1 charge slowly ratcheting me down to my refill level.

Getting the MA tag was easy, but I cancelled my NJ service via a phone call then the next day I get an email saying my new transponders are on the way. I called again and they said ignore that email, they won't be mailed for 30 days. Two days later my old NJ postmaster called and said she had some ez-pass tags for my closed PO Box and should she give them to my sister. One week later I received them from my sister and sent them all back to ez-pass NJ. A month later I called again asking for my refund and then a week later a check showed up. 😞

Dave

Wow, you sure read a whole lot more into mo post than I said or meant ta say. I never said nor implied folks should have ez-pass transponders from each state they may travel through. I'll explain it again, hopefully you can follow along.

I used to have NJ ez-pass. When they started the monthly fee, I went to NY PA ez-pass. The website wasn't as robust as it may be now, customer service phone support was horrible, so I had to go to a service center. Shortly thereafter, the NY PA started with the same monthly fee. It's not worth $1 per month to switch again.

The second point is I was overcharged by $10 towing my trailer crossing the Delaware River using my NY PA ez-pass. When I called the Delaware River Toll Authority I was told that even though they didn't dispute I was overcharged, NY PA ez-pass needed to call them to request a refund. They also told me that in order to avoid being overcharged again, I should remove the tag, put it in its special bag, pay cash and get a receipt. Ez, huh? They also told me that if I had their ez-pass, the refund would have been immediate rather than taking the 4months if took.

At the time I got the NY PA ez-pass, I was not living in the area I do now. My wife works in PA and crosses the Delaware every day. That, combined with what I need to do when towing, is why I would get the ez-pass located near my house, even if it meant shelling out $1 a month to do so.

I've tried to explain this as simply as I can, Dave. I hope you followed along, but if not, please feel free to ask any questions.

[magicbus]

jfkmk wrote:
Another thing to consider is where you're most likely going to be driving. I was overcharged by $10 crossing the Delaware River. Because my ez-pass was from NY, it took nearly 4 months to get a refund. I was told I should have had the ez-pass from the Delaware toll commission and it would have occurred immediately.

So it sounds like you are saying you should have a separate ez-pass for every system so when they make a mistake you can get a refund quicker, which kind of defeats the purpose of everyone going to ez-pass!

When I moved to Mass from NJ my usage dropped from pretty much daily to every 4 months or so and it got really annoying to see a $1 charge slowly ratcheting me down to my refill level.

Getting the MA tag was easy, but I cancelled my NJ service via a phone call then the next day I get an email saying my new transponders are on the way. I called again and they said ignore that email, they won't be mailed for 30 days. Two days later my old NJ postmaster called and said she had some ez-pass tags for my closed PO Box and should she give them to my sister. One week later I received them from my sister and sent them all back to ez-pass NJ. A month later I called again asking for my refund and then a week later a check showed up. 😞

Dave

[jfkmk]

rk911 wrote:

jfkmk wrote:
True, some charge $1 per month. In the grand scheme of things, I'm not going to sweat $12 per year.

ok but why pay it if you can get the same device elsewhere for no monthly cost?

Because I've already played the game of switching ez-pass providers due to a monthly fee, only to have the new provider start to charge the same fee 6 months later.

Another thing to consider is where you're most likely going to be driving. I was overcharged by $10 crossing the Delaware River. Because my ez-pass was from NY, it took nearly 4 months to get a refund. I was told I should have had the ez-pass from the Delaware toll commission and it would have occurred immediately.