EZ Pass or RV TollPass?

[Kirk]

Don't know about the toll roads you use, but there are no toll plazas on the Florida Turnpike anymore.

The only toll road which has collection plazas that I know of is the Kansas Turnpike. They still use toll tickets there. I was last on it about 8 months ago.

 

[Larry N.]

The Pennsy still had them a decade ago, but it's that long since I was there.

 

[jymbee]

I will continue to stop at toll plazas
Matt

What'sa toll plaza??

 

[airborne_spoon]

remember like 10 0r 15 years ago when the fed passed a law requiring all states to accept any toll pass from any other state? Pepperidge farm remembers.
Apparently there was no do this or else language it was just hey do this if you dont mind please, so basically nobody did it and we still have the crap system we have and you need like a dozen transponders to drive around.

 

[jymbee]

Question for those using the TX Pass: With EZPass you can get a separate transponder to use for your motorhome when you're towing. Does the TX Pass work the same way? IOW, I'm assuming with the TX Pass that you don't keep transponders on both a motorhome and the TOW?

 

[Kirk]

Does the TX Pass work the same way?

Yes. I have a transponder for my car and one for the truck.

I'm assuming with the TX Pass that you don't keep transponders on both a motorhome and the TOW?

I don't have the class A so have not experienced it but a friend who does tow with a transponder on his class A and another on the vehicle he is towing said that each one gets read and is billed separately for 2 axels each. I know from experience that with my truck alone I get billed at a 2-axle rate and towing a tandem trailer it is billed at the 4-axle rate.

Our son used to work for a company that makes software for toll companies to bill customers and he said that all of them use a camera image even with the transponder.

 

[LarsMac]

The only toll road which has collection plazas that I know of is the Kansas Turnpike. They still use toll tickets there. I was last on it about 8 months ago.

Yeah, Kansas still had toll plazas, but if you have a transponder, you can by-pass them.
OK And Kansas both take the TxTag.

 

[Kirk]

Yeah, Kansas still had toll plazas, but if you have a transponder, you can by-pass them.

Only if you have one of the transponders that Kansas Turnpike accepts.

The following transponders are accepted on the Kansas Turnpike:

• K-TAG (Kansas)
• BestPass (multiple states)
• Pikepass (Oklahoma)
• PrePass Plus (multiple states)
• EZ TAG (Texas)
• TxTag (Texas)
• TollTag (Texas)

 

[LarsMac]

Only if you have one of the transponders that Kansas Turnpike accepts.

Um, well, yeah. Thanks for clearing that up.

 

[Heli_av8tor]

It's unacceptable with todays technology that one size doesn't fit all.
I have Illinois's I-Pass and it's good almost no where. I seldom travel east of the Mississippi.

 

[Boat Bum]

Our son used to work for a company that makes software for toll companies to bill customers and he said that all of them use a camera image even with the transponder.

Part of the reason for that with EZpass in Mass is to match the car to the transponder, if it doesn't match you are fined.

 

[jymbee]

Part of the reason for that with EZpass in Mass is to match the car to the transponder, if it doesn't match you are fined.

With so many makes & models that look pretty much alike, I have wonder how they can do that? But I guess if they're got human facial recognition down, identifying autos must be easier.

We've gone through a few tolls in FL without our SunPass and have never gotten any kind of notice in the mail. Of course no system is perfect but they $$$$ states save by not having to build & staff toll booths far exceeds some processing errors. Despite the scofflaws:

Two Staten Island E-ZPass scofflaws have racked up a combined $62,000 in unpaid tolls and penalties by blowing through E-ZPass lanes nearly 2,000 times, court records show.

The pair of fare-beaters have skipped out on $12,000 in tolls and owe an additional $50,000 in extra charges, including a $25 fee for each violation and interest on missed payments.

Jennifer Donnelly of Port Richmond and Christopher O'Toole of Mariners Harbor sped past ungated Port Authority E-ZPass lanes a combined 1,935 times from 2000 to 2009, records show.

Donnelly, O'Toole and A.A. Truck Renting Corp. of Long Island City are the Port Authority's three biggest scofflaws. Together, they owe the agency more than $130,000, officials said.

Thousands of toll scofflaws stiffed the agency out of $6.6 million last year, primarily while crossing the George Washington Bridge, officials said.

Also...

Drivers from other states owed Maryland nearly $11 million in unpaid highway tolls, late fees and fines last year. In New Jersey, out-of-staters skipped out on about $10.5 million last year.

Unlike in-state drivers, out-of-state motorists who evade tolls in those states don’t have to worry about their vehicle registrations or license renewals being held up if they don’t pay outstanding tolls or fines. That can make it a challenge to get them to pay up.

It’s a different story for drivers living in a zone that includes Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New York and Rhode Island. Those states have a reciprocity agreement, meaning that if a driver flouts a toll in any of those states, their home state will go after them—holding up re-registrations, license renewals and the like—until the debt is paid

 

[Boat Bum]

With so many makes & models that look pretty much alike, I have wonder how they can do that? But I guess if they're got human facial recognition down, identifying autos must be easier.

They're matching on the reg plate.

 

[Kirk]

With so many makes & models that look pretty much alike, I have wonder how they can do that?

The photos are of the license plate. In the case where the plate is not readable, none of the toll agencies that my son worked with send a bill even if there is a transponder, but that is pretty rare.

 

[jymbee]

The photos are of the license plate. In the case where the plate is not readable, none of the toll agencies that my son worked with send a bill even if there is a transponder, but that is pretty rare.

I guess I'm not understanding just what's being "matched". Easy to see how they could read the plate, but I thought it was said that the plate has to match the vehicle. IOW, I can't (legally perhaps) take the transponder that's linked to my pickup, and put it on our Honda van. I didn't see just how they can see if the plate matches the model of the vehicle. Hence my facial recognition comment

 

[Boat Bum]

My transponder is registered to my license plate, if the plate doesn't match the transponder (I take it in another car) they will fine my transponder account. At one point I had four transponders in all family cars; they're provided free.

The plate has to match the transponder.

 

[Knobs]

Many (all??) of the toll authorities sell portable transponders. They typically charge a one-time fee for the transponder, and you can move it among your vehicles.

 

[airborne_spoon]

My transponder is registered to my license plate, if the plate doesn't match the transponder (I take it in another car) they will fine my transponder account. At one point I had four transponders in all family cars; they're provided free.

The plate has to match the transponder.

thats insane, in CA i have 1 transponder for 4 vehicles and just move it around as i please. as long as you have the license plate of any one of the vehicles in their system its fine with it and just deducts the toll from your account. Like often i forget to put in in my motorcycle and its fine because that plate is in their system so no fines.

 

[LarsMac]

It's unacceptable with todays technology that one size doesn't fit all.
I have Illinois's I-Pass and it's good almost no where. I seldom travel east of the Mississippi.

According to Illinois tollway website I-Pass is accepted at all E-Z Pass tollways.

 

[Knobs]

How do these systems take travel trailers into account?

I mean, sometimes it's just the truck. Sometimes, it has the RV trailer being towed.

I'm particularly interested in how the systems in TX and OK deal with it.