EZPass question

[lothar]

Well, it comes down to two choices - Mass, if discounts in other states apply. Or, PA, if I get the 25% off turnpike tolls in PA. 2 round trips down the NE extension, from before Scranton to the Philly area, and the 25% off would save more than the $6 per year maintenance.

But, if I have a Mass ezpass, AND I still get the PA discount, then it's a no brainer. That is, if this is the case, then there's no reason whatsoever to get the ezpass issued in any other state, hence the original question: do discounts in other states still apply?

After a Google search, your question has been answered.
All E-Z Pass customers(regardless of which state you got your E-Z Pass from) gets the Pennsylvania cash discount.

Drivers who like paying cash on the Pennsylvania Turnpike might want to rethink their loyalty to cold, hard currency -- and toll-takers.
Toll hikes set to go into effect Jan. 6 widen the gap between cash-paying customers and E-ZPass users as the turnpike commission tries to convince drivers to make the switch. The commission is also cutting its annual E-ZPass fee in half.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission first introduced the pricing differential in January 2011. Come 2013, E-ZPass users' current 17 percent discount on turnpike tolls will grow to 25 percent.

"That's for all E-ZPass customers," commission spokesman Bill Capone said Thursday. "Whoever has E-ZPass, you get it."

Behind the widening discount is a 10 percent turnpike toll hike taking effect in the new year for those paying cash as opposed to just 2 percent for E-ZPass users.

http://www.lehighvalleylive.com/breaking-news/index.ssf/2012/11/pennsylvania_turnpike_increase.html

A driver who maintains his E-ZPass account with Pennsylvania pays only $6 a year, compared with $18 for a driver who maintains an account with New Jersey, but the Pennsylvania driver isn't eligible for senior-citizen or "green" vehicle discounts on Delaware River bridges or, starting Friday, any E-ZPass discounts on the New Jersey Turnpike or Garden State Parkway. (All E-ZPass holders enjoy full discounts on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.)

http://articles.philly.com/2011-06-...account-tolling-new-jersey-turnpike-authority

Massachusetts still comes out ahead.
Depends on how much that $3 savings is worth to you.

 

[lothar]

This is news to me too. There is a monthly fee in NY for it now. When they started it there was no fee. So PA is better than MA? Monthly minimums would ruin it for me too. I use a toll road or bridge once in a while, but hate the cash lanes.

Absolutely not.

 

[JEDI]

Then what you need is E-Z Pass Massachusetts...It's what I have. Zero cost for the transponder, zero cost in maintenance fees, and low account balance.
-$0 per month if monthly statements by e-mail
-$0 per internal transponder
-$20 minimum balance (Account is charged a replenishment amount whenever the balance falls below $10, replenishing the account to a balance of $20. If usage exceeds $20 in any given month, the account is charged $40.)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-ZPass#Fees_and_discounts_by_state
In most cases those advertised "xx"% off cash discounts on tolls don't amount to much of anything(at least with my own driving habits in Maryland using a theoretical "Maryland" state E-Z Pass).

http://www.massdot.state.ma.us/highway/TrafficTravelResources/EZPassMAProgram/SignUp.aspx
If you want to sign up, make sure you select Massachusetts first, and then you can fill out your info with your actual state on the next page.
If you select anything other than Massachusetts, it will direct you to your own state's E-Z Pass system.

i use DE. 0 fees, but also 0 discounts because it doesnt give a disc on De bridge which i use to goto NY twice a year.

i used to have Ny till they started charging $1/month fee

 

[nace186]

Then what you need is E-Z Pass Massachusetts...It's what I have. Zero cost for the transponder, zero cost in maintenance fees, and low account balance.
-$0 per month if monthly statements by e-mail
-$0 per internal transponder
-$20 minimum balance (Account is charged a replenishment amount whenever the balance falls below $10, replenishing the account to a balance of $20. If usage exceeds $20 in any given month, the account is charged $40.)

Does that mean if you use more than $20 in a month, they will charge you $40?

 

[DrPizza]

Does that mean if you use more than $20 in a month, they will charge you $40?

It just means that they start you at $40 in your account for you to use up. I'm assuming it's cheaper for them to administer. Each time they debit your account, they probably pay a fee to the credit card processor. Thus, if you went through a $1 toll, and they debited $1 from your checking account, or charged it to your credit card, they're hit with a (not sure exactly what it is) 35 cent fee. But, if they simply charge your card $20, and their computers keep track that now you have $19 on your account - they only have one processing fee with the banking system for the next 20 tolls you go through. But, if you go through more than $20 in tolls in a typical month, they put $40 on your account instead.

 

[DrPizza]

Oh, and thanks everyone. Massachusetts it is. Thanks for finding that PA discounts for other states. (Being a NY resident, I was pretty certain NY wouldn't discount for other states, and I was right.)

 

[lothar]

Does that mean if you use more than $20 in a month, they will charge you $40?

The word "charged" does not mean what you think.
It simply means that if you use more than $20 in a month, they will replenish $40 to your account.

Put it this way...
Person A, with $20 opened his new MA E-Z Pass account in June.
-He spends $10.50 on tolls that month which brought his account down to $9.50
-Because his account balance is now less than $10, E-Z Pass automatically charges his credit/debit card for $10.50 to replenish his account back to the $20 minimum.
-Person A will now have $20 in his E-Z Pass account again.

Person B, has $25 in his MA E-Z Pass account in June.
-He spends $20 in tolls in June which brought his account down to $5.
-Because his account balance is now less than $10 and also because he spent $20 in tolls that month, E-Z Pass automatically charges his credit/debit card $40 to replenish his account back above the $20 minimum.
-Person B will now have $45 in his E-Z Pass account.
-And no, if Person B decides to use $20 in tolls the following month, his account will not be charged because he will still have $25, which is well above the $10 required minimum for replenishment.

They assume that if you use $20 in a month, you're a regular toll user and they'll just replenish more for you which also has the benefit of saving them on merchant fees.
It saves E-Z Pass merchant fees to do it that way, and maintenance costs are kept low for all E-Z Pass users.
Charging a single $50 transaction to your credit card has less merchant fees than charging your card $10 five times.
Regardless of how much you spend on tolls in a single month, your account does not get charged unless it falls below the $10 minimum for replenishment.

 

[lothar]

According to this article from 2012, AAA reports 5 states do not offer the same discounts to out-of-state EZ Pass holders - Maine, New York, Rhode Island, West Virginia and New Jersey.

http://www.pewstates.org/projects/s...-for-out-of-state-e-zpass-drivers-85899381870

Add Maryland and New Hampshire to that list.

 

[nace186]

The word "charged" does not mean what you think.
It simply means that if you use more than $20 in a month, they will replenish $40 to your account.

Put it this way...
Person A, with $20 opened his new MA E-Z Pass account in June.
-He spends $10.50 on tolls that month which brought his account down to $9.50
-Because his account balance is now less than $10, E-Z Pass automatically charges his credit/debit card for $10.50 to replenish his account back to the $20 minimum.
-Person A will now have $20 in his E-Z Pass account again.

Person B, has $25 in his MA E-Z Pass account in June.
-He spends $20 in tolls in June which brought his account down to $5.
-Because his account balance is now less than $10 and also because he spent $20 in tolls that month, E-Z Pass automatically charges his credit/debit card $40 to replenish his account back above the $20 minimum.
-Person B will now have $45 in his E-Z Pass account.
-And no, if Person B decides to use $20 in tolls the following month, his account will not be charged because he will still have $25, which is well above the $10 required minimum for replenishment.

They assume that if you use $20 in a month, you're a regular toll user and they'll just replenish more for you which also has the benefit of saving them on merchant fees.
It saves E-Z Pass merchant fees to do it that way, and maintenance costs are kept low for all E-Z Pass users.
Charging a single $50 transaction to your credit card has less merchant fees than charging your card $10 five times.
Regardless of how much you spend on tolls in a single month, your account does not get charged unless it falls below the $10 minimum for replenishment.

Ahh, I see. Thanks for the explanation. :thumbsup:

 

[Linux23]

This is news to me too. There is a monthly fee in NY for it now. When they started it there was no fee. So PA is better than MA? Monthly minimums would ruin it for me too. I use a toll road or bridge once in a while, but hate the cash lanes.

Yeah, I know. In NJ it started free and now it's $1 every month whether I use it or not.

 

[dbk]

Yeah, I know. In NJ it started free and now it's $1 every month whether I use it or not.

Same thing applies to Northern Virginia, they opened "express lanes" everywhere and began charging people $1 a month. People did have a chance to opt-out of that $1 charge but that would mean no use of the express lanes.

 

[Linux23]

you really think it takes billions of dollars to maintain the roadways?

http://www.state.nj.us/turnpike/investor-relations.html

and tolls are constantly going up. and when you combine the gas taxes with the tolls, they are double screwing us.

they've been working on a bridge by my house since i been in diapers. I am 34 now and they could have built several new bridges over the course of several years which would have cost less and kept up with the traffic demands.

yet the people in charge decided to screw commuters by shutting down various lanes everyday, and pretend they were working on bridge repairs. the construction company working this bridge project is set for life. all they have to do is keep saying the bridge needs repairs for the next 50 years and let the money keep rolling in.

makes me sick

 

[lothar]

Same thing applies to Northern Virginia, they opened "express lanes" everywhere and began charging people $1 a month. People did have a chance to opt-out of that $1 charge but that would mean no use of the express lanes.

What's the difference between "express lanes" and the E-Z Pass lanes in Virginia?
The only time I go to Virginia is when I need to go to Dulles airport and for that I take the no-toll road. I always see a million E-Z Pass tolls during my journey to the airport.

 

[dbk]

What's the difference between "express lanes" and the E-Z Pass lanes in Virginia?
The only time I go to Virginia is when I need to go to Dulles airport and for that I take the no-toll road. I always see a million E-Z Pass tolls during my journey to the airport.

I guess they're the same thing? Before the express lanes were installed here, EZ-Passes were only used to pay the tolls on the Dulles Toll Road and Dulles Greenway.. Express lanes are relatively new here (2012) . It's my understanding that's why people are being charged the $1 fee.

http://www.495expresslanes.com

 

[EagleKeeper]

Picked up an EZ-Pass when was in PA last year.
It paid for itself when crossing the bridge at Annapolis and also driving from Philly to Milwaukee and using the Ill toll roads with the discount. Both in time and tolls fees.

And I get to write off the transponder and tolls as business expense :thumbsup:

They should do better, by just using a photo-plate billing system like in Colorado.
Every three months you get a bill based on times through a toll plaza. No stopping at all - 70mph.

Ill & NJ has that; PA does not - need to slow down

 

[Stifko]

Oh, and thanks everyone. Massachusetts it is. Thanks for finding that PA discounts for other states. (Being a NY resident, I was pretty certain NY wouldn't discount for other states, and I was right.)

So that means if I get a MA EZPass and drive through a NY state toll, I will pay the full price?
The only way to get the discount in NY is to have a NY EZPass?
How much is the discount anyway? The Triboro is $6.50 now I think. The GWB is $13.

 

[jaedaliu]

So that means if I get a MA EZPass and drive through a NY state toll, I will pay the full price?
The only way to get the discount in NY is to have a NY EZPass?
How much is the discount anyway? The Triboro is $6.50 now I think. The GWB is $13.

according to wiki page linked in 2nd post:

At all Port Authority facilities, E‑ZPass discounts are available. At MTA Bridges and Tunnels, $1.70 off cash tolls. $3.40 off round-trip at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge and $1.45 discount at the Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial and Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridges. At all New York State Thruway and New York State Bridge Authority facilities, E‑ZPass discounts apply.

Whatever that means. I love the beauty of sticking up the ez-pass then not worrying about tolls.

 

[imagoon]

Well in Illinios the tolls were supposedly to fund the building of the roads, but that was paid off decades ago. We still pay the same road taxes as everyone else in the state who isn't getting charged tolls. Effectively we are paying for the roads twice, at least here. If they outright abolished all road tax and instead charged us when we got new tags per mile I would be fine with that. However only paying on specific roads on top of tax blows.

IL Tollroads also doesn't get one cent of state funding (baring "special projects" that the state asks them to work on.) They do their own repairs, plowing, mowing etc. At the moment they are self sustaining.

I could use toll roads or the freeways to get to work for nearly 10 years and the tollway was nearly always faster and cleaner. In the middle of a snow storm they would be plowing and salting before the snow actually stuck while the freeways would have 8-10 inches of snow on them etc.

 

[Savij]

Got my statement from my July road trip so I can post actual charges to MA EZPass through the states of MA, NY, OH, IN, IL, and MD.

Do your research into your state and see if there are discounts or not. I know that I have no fees and I do get discounts in MA.

Hope this helps.