East Trip - EZPass ??
- Thread starter wls
- Start date
In many states you save as much as 50% using one vs pay by plate or toll booth. (if available)
Plus many states have express lanes for those with transponders. You barely need to slow down.
Plus many states have express lanes for those with transponders. You barely need to slow down.
S. Todd
New Member
I have an I-Pass (Illinois toll road pass). I register all my vehicles and just have to remember to bring the transponder with us in whatever vehicle, including the motorhome, we are traveling in. It works in Illinois, works for crossing the toll bridges on I-65 over the Ohio River (River Link between Indiana & Kentucky), and works in Pennsylvania. I believe it works elsewhere on the East Coast but haven't traveled other places yet so I cannot verify with firsthand knowledge. It is easy to get, and I set it up to renew with another $12 from credit card whenever it needs to. Tolls are now half what they were, and I don't have to do anything but bring the transponder and drive. No more stamps to pay the tolls or any other hassles. I should have gotten it five years earlier. (I don't think it works on the Mackinaw Bridge but that is a joy in itself driving over, so stopping to pay the toll is no big deal there and they still actually will let you pay in person.)
S. Todd
New Member
The I-Pass has no monthly charge so if I don't travel over a toll bridge or road for months or longer our remaining credit on the account remains until we use it. At the time I obtained it, some States' passes had a monthly charge just for having the transponder which is one reason I didn't get one from elsewhere earlier than I did.
EZ-Pass is the best way to pay tolls.
GolfingDave
Senior Member
- Joined
- Jul 31, 2022
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- 1,942
Are other states with the EZ pass converting to the sticker that goes on the windshield.
I know Illinois is.
I know Illinois is.
RhumbleFish
Senior Moment Member
The transponder racket is seeing convergence. Already favoring transponders (eg, I-Pass transponder tolls are HALF the cost of traditional cash collection systems), this works in user's favor as more systems are aligning with reciprocity. All tollways that accept E-ZPass also accept I-Pass. As you're a Michigander, I'd go for an I-Pass that has a little more use for you (eg, for westward and IL trips) and use the reciprocity feature for your Eastern trip rather than open an account/apply for a whole new transponder (Disclaimer: I am a long time I-Pass user). Some advanced I-Pass services might not be available to you (like paying for parking), but I'd suggest that those might not be important for RVing.
From Wiki (note: OLD):
From Wiki (note: OLD):
Controversy surrounded the reciprocal use of I-Pass by Illinois motorists and I-Zoom (now branded as simply E-ZPass) by Indiana motorists on the other state's toll road. Each state charges the other a transaction fee when the out-of-state transponder is used to pay a toll. About 70% of all electronic transactions on the Indiana Toll Road are done with I-Pass transponders, according to Tollway Authority figures. Until January 1, 2010, the fee was absorbed, and I-Pass users paid twice as many Indiana tolls as I-Zoom users paying Illinois tolls. To address this imbalance, ISTHA began charging I-Pass users a three-cent surcharge on each of their Indiana tolls, effective January 1, 2010.[2]
As of September 26, 2005, I-Pass transponders are accepted for the payment of tolls on the E-ZPass system. I-Pass transponders cannot be used to pay for other services such as airport parking where E-ZPass transponders are currently accepted. In the case of older units, only car and motorcycle I-Pass transponders are compatible with the E-ZPass system, and other users with older units (e.g. semi truck operators) must swap their current I-Pass transponder for a transponder compatible with both I-Pass and E-ZPass. (The reverse—use of Northeastern state E-ZPass transponders in I-Pass facilities in Illinois—was actually working as early as May 2005.)
Just my .02. Hope this helps. I could be - and often am - wrong.
Last edited:
RhumbleFish
Senior Moment Member
There's still plenty of those out there. COVID did a lot to drive "no contact" change... as a result, some toll plazas in some states (verified in Illinois and Colorado) went to plate readers. I know that I-Pass is half the toll cost as a traditional stop-and-pay approach, not sure if there's a similar benefit to transponder vs platereaders or not. I don't mind a tollroad as an alternate to existing infrastructure, but - man - I sure hate being artificially forced into some payment model without an alternate.
Chuck_S
Senior Member
For a list of E-ZPass states why ask here just Google "E-ZPass states." Ain't hard at all but if that's too difficult just click here: E-ZPass Group - About E-ZPass.
Usefulness? I can't even get into downtown Richmond or the airport without hitting a toll road. My billing is full of 25¢ and 45¢ tolls.
In many states the toll discount approaches 50% so there's no reason to not have E-ZPass as far as I'm concerned. In fact I have four (4). One in each of my cars and the 4th in my (adult) daughter's car I put in when she was going to college in Pennsylvania over 15 years ago.
-- Chuck
Usefulness? I can't even get into downtown Richmond or the airport without hitting a toll road. My billing is full of 25¢ and 45¢ tolls.
In many states the toll discount approaches 50% so there's no reason to not have E-ZPass as far as I'm concerned. In fact I have four (4). One in each of my cars and the 4th in my (adult) daughter's car I put in when she was going to college in Pennsylvania over 15 years ago.
-- Chuck
Aussieguy
Senior Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2022
- Posts
- 6,150
I get worried that the charge per axel may balloon out
who actually uses it while towing?
what are the costs compared to non towing ..
who actually uses it while towing?
what are the costs compared to non towing ..
Have found EZ-Pass is cheaper than the plate-reader bill by mail by 50% in the mid-Atlantic (North Carolina to New York, including W Va and Penn.
HOWEVER, you need to get a separate EZ-Pass transponder for when you are towing (readily available from Virginia EZ-Pass where I got mine at no extra cost). Otherwise, the EZ-Pass defaults to Maximum toll when a trailer is detected in Delaware, New Jersey, and New York ($54 for a NYC bridge/tunnel). I carry 2 EZ-Pass transponders in my tow vehicle - 1 for vehicle only, and 1 for towing a single axle trailer under 5Klbs (my camper, boats, and utility trailer are all single axle under 5000lbs). The transponder not in use must be kept in a foil lined envelope, so both can't be read at the same time. EZ Pass has transponders for all kinds of vehicle combinations, so save a lot of money by having multiple transponders.
Don't learn all this the hard way like I did. NY tolls use those famous Indian call centers to discuss your problems and collect your payments, guaranteeing your frustration.
Fred W, tired of learning from my own mistakes
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2022 Hyundai Palisade
HOWEVER, you need to get a separate EZ-Pass transponder for when you are towing (readily available from Virginia EZ-Pass where I got mine at no extra cost). Otherwise, the EZ-Pass defaults to Maximum toll when a trailer is detected in Delaware, New Jersey, and New York ($54 for a NYC bridge/tunnel). I carry 2 EZ-Pass transponders in my tow vehicle - 1 for vehicle only, and 1 for towing a single axle trailer under 5Klbs (my camper, boats, and utility trailer are all single axle under 5000lbs). The transponder not in use must be kept in a foil lined envelope, so both can't be read at the same time. EZ Pass has transponders for all kinds of vehicle combinations, so save a lot of money by having multiple transponders.
Don't learn all this the hard way like I did. NY tolls use those famous Indian call centers to discuss your problems and collect your payments, guaranteeing your frustration.
Fred W, tired of learning from my own mistakes
2019 Flagstaff T21TBHW A-frame
2022 Hyundai Palisade
If I were only going through a toll (sure it will change) once every many years a plate reader would be best ?? Since you do not need to keep up with anything else....... and not monthly fees. But I know you have to go with whatever the region requires.
Hard to say? Once every many years?... From one end of the toll road to the other or just a few exits? Traveling in more than one state with tolls?
Again, you typically save 50% using a transponder.
The one I linked to earlier is $15 for the transponder and no monthly fee. You do need to set up an online account and maintain at least $10 in the replenish amount.
Mine (as I said earlier, I have had two) have saved me hundreds of dollars (likely more) both towing and not.
I chose VA EZ-Pass over some of the other states EZ Pass because there are no monthly fees. However, there is an account minimum - when you drop below the minimum your bank account is tagged immediately to bring the account back up to the normal level. Min/normal amounts vary from EZ-Pass to EZ-Pass, and should be looked at when signing up. Sometimes the amounts are somewhat negotiable. Most common is $75 normal, $25 minimum. So I have $75 sitting waiting to use on tolls up and down the East Coast, and have 3 transponders tied to the account (no cost for transponder).
If you use it less than a couple of times/year, the plate reader by mail is just fine - just pay it on time. But if you tow, not all plate readers are equal or discerning, and will default to max toll, rather than the correct toll for your tow. Read my post #14.
Fred W
If you use it less than a couple of times/year, the plate reader by mail is just fine - just pay it on time. But if you tow, not all plate readers are equal or discerning, and will default to max toll, rather than the correct toll for your tow. Read my post #14.
Fred W
Not always true and one of the biggest reasons I left EZ-Pass for UNI.
The UNI transponder allows the ability to link other vehicles/plates to the account (our 5th wheel/other trailers) and you only need one transponder.
When the system detects the trailer AND it is linked to the account, it automagically is applied to your account at the transponder rate.
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