Best E-Z Pass state?

[Geezer]

Is the NYS throughway open road tolling now too? Just curious as we'll be 4 wheeling it out to MI this summer to visit the kids.

Mostly not. The only open road toll I know of is at the southern end. What they have at many entrances/exits are 20 mph EZ-Pass lanes rather than the usual 5 mph lanes. There is rarely any back up of traffic at any of the EZ-pass lanes.

I'm not sure what routes work best for you, but I rarely take the Thruway when crossing to the west. I normally take I86 west from Binghamton. You can take I88 from Albany to Binghamton. Whether you take I86 or the Thruway, you still pass through Erie, PA.

 

[BikerGeek99]

Open road tolling is actually already being used in Massachusetts.

We saw that in New Jersey a few years ago as well. I'm in Denver for work right now and they are installing that type of tolling thingamabob as well.

 

[El Toro Joe]

Is the NYS throughway open road tolling now too? Just curious as we'll be 4 wheeling it out to MI this summer to visit the kids.

Mostly not. The only open road toll I know of is at the southern end. What they have at many entrances/exits are 20 mph EZ-Pass lanes rather than the usual 5 mph lanes. There is rarely any back up of traffic at any of the EZ-pass lanes.

I'm not sure what routes work best for you, but I rarely take the Thruway when crossing to the west. I normally take I86 west from Binghamton. You can take I88 from Albany to Binghamton. Whether you take I86 or the Thruway, you still pass through Erie, PA.

...and I86 is much more scenic. The Thruway just sucks.

 

[Fred W]

We're headed to Grand Rapids. Avoiding he throughway would add 130 miles to our drive, and add around an hour 45 minutes, but we are traveling with 2 little kids and two dogs (split into two vehicles) so we'll be stopping overnight near the half way point anyway. And no tolls on I84! Good idea, thanks.

 

[JIMMY REB]

I don't have a toll transponder thing or an atm card. spend less than 5.00 a year on tolls. I hate toll roads. I hate big brother.

 

[Fred W]

I hate toll roads.

That's a bit ironic since the Maine Turnpike (I-95) is a major toll road from Kittery all the way to Gardiner. Unless you want to spend all day getting up to Portland, you pay the toll that far at least, and that's about $3 last I looked. Sure you can take the coastal route I295 from there on up "for free".

As I'm sure you are well aware all the lake, mountain, and Down East shoreline visitors from points south use the turnpike every weekend of the year. So, every one of those out-of-staters is helping you pay for that turnpike, otherwise it would all come out of your taxes, whether you use the road or not.

You should love that toll road.

 

[Geezer]

We're headed to Grand Rapids. Avoiding he throughway would add 130 miles to our drive, and add around an hour 45 minutes, but we are traveling with 2 little kids and two dogs (split into two vehicles) so we'll be stopping overnight near the half way point anyway. And no tolls on I84! Good idea, thanks.

Not I84, I86 is the route across the Southern Tier of NY. It replaced most of NY17 a little at a time over the past twenty years. I84 is further south and goes to Scranton, PA. No tolls on I88 or I86. The only tolls you'll hit are the west half of Ohio on I80/I90 and the stretch of I80/I90 in Indiana to I69 if you go that way.

 

[BigOgre]

Not I84, I86 is the route across the Southern Tier of NY. It replaced most of NY17 a little at a time over the past twenty years.

They've made some nice improvements on that route, right? Every time I'm up that way I see something different it seems. Although now it takes a little extra effort to find that local diner whenever you feel like stopping.

 

[Fred W]

Yeah, I mean I86. Just a typo.

Not going as far as Indiana. Heading to Grand Rapids, Michigan so we'll cut northward from Toledo.

 

[TomInPA]

I read through this thread with great interest since PA just added another turnpike spur to the "cashless" riders only club. It saddens me how folks, many with the disposable income to ride a nice expensive bike, are just sometimes (too often) not right in the head.
These are the reasons you DONT WANT a transponder.

1) it is tied to your bank account. Right now it may be only the state that auto-debits your funds, but how long will that last, and do you really trust the state or their 3rd party company they outsource it to to get it right?

2) having a radio transponder attached to my car that knows when I enter and exit the turnpike is way too big brother for my tastes. I guarantee that they are analyzing the data from these transponders to determine what parts of the turnpike will net the biggest speeding ticket revenues even though they are not currently targeting the individuals YET!

3) by supporting EZpass you ARE helping to cut state worker jobs and making it harder for people who don't believe in credit or a cashless society to get along

4) myself being old enough to remember face to face business practices, I can tell you with authority that NOTHING GOOD comes out of kiosk/self-service based business. it is ALWAYS to the advantage to the business and NEVER to the advantage of the consumer. PA has been having a legislative fight between the governor and representatives for going on two years now. The result is that literally noone is left in state offices to take calls over problems they are having with the state government. Tom Wolfe has been laying the workers off to the point where you simply cannot get things straightenned out when you need to. I waited five months for a Pub Utilities Commission guy to get to me on a complaint I had against the electric company. Cash is king! You pay it for services rendered at the time those services are rendered and if you're not getting the service you contract for then you don't pay. Try that when the other side already has your bank account info and you cannot metaphorically reach across the table and grab them by the throat to get their attention.

I just could not disagree more with every point here. This is the kind of thinking that keeps Pennsylvania in the liquor control/ state store business.

The day is quickly coming where toll plazas are not going to be present. You will probably have the choice to be billed based on your license plate, or to use an electronic tolling system like E-Z Pass. Personally, I can't wait. The turnpike needs more exits to service rural areas and offer an escape route when an accident or weather causes closures. I hate tolls, but I like the fast-pass lanes where I can pass under the readers at 55+ MPH and never slow down for a toll booth.

An E-Z Pass account in PA provides a detailed accounting of every transaction and lets you choose how to pay. Not only are tolls with E-Z pass discounted, but I can get the data for expense reports. Cash is king? Sheesh!

 

[Uncle Hud]

JIMMY REB posted: I don't have a toll transponder thing or an atm card. spend less than 5.00 a year on tolls. I hate toll roads. I hate big brother.

You must not go very far. Toll roads are the new thing in highway construction, and even I've dropped a few bucks on the Maine Turnpike. It pretends to be I-95, but double-taxed me by collecting a "toll".

Oh yeah: you got a cousin named Johnny?

 

[08FJR4ME]

As much as I hate to do it. It is done. The bastages will now have another way of monitoring me. Signed up for Easy Pass today.

Sum, bitch I hate technology,

Dave

 

[Fred W]

You won't hate it the next time you breeze through the toll booths without having to stop and dig for change when crossing the Hudson River eastbound, Dave.

Every bridge crossing the Hudson south of Albany seems to be a toll bridge (only pay going east bound).

Its hard for us New Englanders to get to the good riding spots in the southeast without crossing the Hudson.

I think the last place you can cross for free is way up in Troy.

 

[08FJR4ME]

Agreed, They tagged me when I broght the 2015 home from PA. I got charged all the extra fees when I got the notice in the mail. So I said what the hell. I will be going to NJ in a couple of weeks so rather than get wacked more money again I bit the bullet.

Dave

 

[Fred W]

Back to the subject of this thread, another thing to consider when you decide which state to get your EZ Pass from is what kind of discounts they give for in-staters, and which states you'll be using it in primarily.

In NH we get a discount for using EZ Pass transponders (vs cash or photo tolls) plus the motorcycle toll is even more discounted if your EZ Pass is registered as a Motorcycle (can't be used in a car). Not sure what other states will discount or how much.

 

[TomInPA]

PA also discounts all E-Z pass tolls from the posted rate by 15%, and a motorcycle is discounted further. I am not even sure if the other states have a specific motorcycle toll rate. The motorcycle transponder is a special weatherized unit.

 

[Ignacio]

DE looks good (no ongoing fees), but is there a better state?Do you have to mount the device on your screen, just keep it in your pocket or tank bag, or waive it in the tollway?

If only there were some place on the internet that had this information in a convenient place....oh wait there is! Thank you Wikipedia.

It even allows people to crowd source, update, and add information on the fly! Maybe some folks that want to add motorcycle-specific information will contribute.

 

[BigOgre]

NY E-ZPass does offer a mcy specific tag with differing rates. Just as an example, here's a link for the city's bridge and tunnel crossings showing the rates for various vehicles, including motorcycles, and the discounts for using E-ZPass. For those interested in the Thruway specifically, here's a link to the various discount plans offered by the NYS Thruway Authority.

One other aspect of having something like E-ZPass that we hear about from time to time here is congestion pricing. Open road tolling will probably make this concept much easier to implement. Whether it helps alleviate congestion or just helps the City's and State's coffers will remain to be seen.