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Recently, I received a ticket from the NJ road authorities that stated that I did NOT pay the $1.00 toll at the GSP Essex Toll Plaza over a month ago. Well, I know for a fact that I indeed DID PAY that toll; I probably got one of these defective coin machines when going through the plaza. In light of this event, both my mom and oldest sister think that I should get an EZ Pass. I'm pretty much fine with it, except for the following reason:
I think that the EZ Pass is also used to track and monitor speeding.
When it comes to the GSP and NJ Tpk, I am what you will call a "speed demon". Sometimes, going super slow just isn't an option for me. I just have this feeling that the gov't is going to try and track my speeds and whereabouts with this thing. I like to be incognito.
However, there are many upsides to the EZ pass:
-I do not have to worry about having cash/coins on hand.
-I can use these extra coins for the parking meters in Newark or anyplace else I drive to
-I don't have to wait in the 20-car waiting line that precedes the cash/receipts lanes on the GSP in both Central & North Jersey.
Also, a friend of mine told me that I may have to get the EZ Pass close to where my home address is . Right now, I'm in New Brunswick and my home is close to the AC Expressway (about 80-something miles south of here!!!)...I'm not going home anytime soon! Could I just pick one up at the nearest rest stop or at some EZ Pass agency in Central/North Jersey? That would be many times easier and more useful for me.
I should add that I like to drive around in Central/North Jersey sometimes (but not too often) and go back home once in a blue moon.
Should I bite the EZ Pass bullet? Will it be worth my while?
Yes yes yes it's WORTH IT. We just returned from a vacation to the Outer Banks in NC and didn't have to stop for a toll once. We rarely travel toll roads but when we do we are always sooooo thankful to have the EZPass. We got it through the mail, didn't have to pick one up anywhere. And worrying about the gov't tracking you or your speed is, frankly, paranoia. The convenience is well worth the tradeoffs.
Yes, well worth it.
I got mine through the NY State Thruway...linked it to my credit card so didn't have to pay a deposit for the transponder and set the limit for when they need to recharge my card....very simple if you are going to use a credit card you can do it all online...
Definitely worth it. I always wonder, when I'm breezing by the tolls and all the other lanes are packed with people waiting, why everyone doesn't get it. It is not used to track speeding, I also speed and have had ezpass for 10 years now, no magic tickets in the mail. They would not be allowed by law to single out only those with ezpass. They WANT people to get it and are not going to start sending tickets to pass holders, everyone would get rid of it if they did.
I think that the EZ Pass is also used to track and monitor speeding.
Relax, and take off your tin-foil hat- they're not using EZ-Passes to track speeding- they're simply used to pay tolls. If you're that worried about such conspiracy theories, you'd better throw your cell phone out the window- Big Brother uses the signal to track your whereabouts......
So far we "the people" have not allowed them to use EZPass to issue any time travel tickets. I think if they tried, the outraged masses would storm the castle with lit torches, at least I hope.
I got EZPass from a Delaware agency since years ago they did not charge any monthly fee, Over the years they caught up and now it's a $1.50 a month they charge for having an account. That's my only beef, avoiding a monthly fee if you can. Some agencies, maybe DRJTBC might not charge a monthly fee, you have to check.
If you go to NY occasionally you get a discount from the usual extortion fee to cross the river if you go off peak, in other words you might pat $6 instead of an $8 toll, but the big savings is the cash lines may sometimes be a half hour long while you drive past all that.
And somebody asked, there is virtually no installation, you just velcro tape the transponder near your rear view mirror, mostly if you tie it into a credit or debit card, no deposits, just keep a decent balance in your bank account because they replenish when the balance goes down.
Some traffic agencies have figured out that they can anonymously track EZ Pass tags in order to gauge traffic backups and report traffic delays, but hopefully we will always be eons away from your worries about anybody getting a ticket for exceeding the speed of the Earth.
Otherwise many will return theirs in protest.
Being in transportation, I have extensive background in dealing with E-Z Pass. I've personally been an account holder since about 1998 when the pilot opened on the AC Expressway. I think it is absolutely worth it even though I don't use it every day. It costs me $12 per year for the service, but it easily pays for itself in time savings when I do travel on toll roads. You never know when you might need to take a toll road and since I rarely carry cash it comes in real handy. Just a couple facts:
1. They cannot issue you time travel tickets through E-Z Pass, I'm sure I would have gotten quite a few if they could. However, there is some validity to this. When the system opened in Massachusetts the state police did conduct a trial program where they issued tickets for beating a certain time window on the Mass Pike. It was quickly overturned as not being legal as an officer has to actually witness you speeding and needs to issue the ticket to a person, not a car. No other state has tried it and it has been at least 6 years since it was shot down in Massachusetts.
2. You can get your E-Z Pass from any agency you want. This part really only effects people who may want to take advantage of commuter discounts that are offered. For instance, if you drive a certain bridge everyday you should get your E-Z Pass from that authority if they have a frequent commuter program so you can pre-buy tolls at a discount. Outside of that it doesn't matter where the tag comes from. I would suggest an agency relatively close by in case you ever need to go into their office, but in 12 years of use personal and commercial I have NEVER had to go into an E-Z Pass center.
3. The decision over where to get a pass used to be influenced by whether or not they charged a monthly fee. It started with the NY and NJ authorities charging $1.00 a month to service the account. After a while pretty much every authority did it. The last hold out was the DRBA (Delaware River Bay Authority - Delaware Memorial Bridge), however, they now charge a monthly fee as well. I would still recommend getting your tag from them as they are a much smaller agency and have really good customer service.
4. You should link the tag to a credit card, but I would not link it to your checking account. Once it is linked they are pre-authorized to debit your card to replenish your balance whenever the threshold in your account is hit. Make sure you use a real credit card for this so they can't ding your checking account. Nothing like having $8 in your account and having E-Z Pass debit $20 to put in your toll account, lol.
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I like to be incognito.
)...I'm not going home anytime soon! Could I just pick one up at the nearest rest stop or at some EZ Pass agency in Central/North Jersey? That would be many times easier and more useful for me.
