Talk:E-ZPass

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This article needs major revision - first off it needs to open with what IS E-Zpass, not some disconnected and complex blurb about functionality.

"All of the states use the same technology, allowing travelers to use the same E-ZPass tag in multiple states."

Really? I tried to use mine in a neighboring state once and it gave an error... - Omegatron July 8, 2005 04:00 (UTC)
It's supposed to work (inter-operate). It's possible that some data-processing glitch occurred. Maybe they're running on Windows?
Atlant 8 July 2005 12:35 (UTC)
Probably.  :-) I'll try again next time. - Omegatron July 8, 2005 12:53 (UTC)

I edited the section on discounts, since Massport (which owns the Tobin Bridge) does provide discounts to tagholders from other agencies. So it was misleading to say that the 3 New England turnpike authorities (which implies all of the authorities in the region) don't provide non-member discounts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.190.166.162 (talk) 18:12, 2 November 2007 (UTC)

Contents

[edit] Massachusetts and Virginia

I could be wrong but is Massachusetts' Fast Lane and Virginia's Smart Tag programs actually part of E-ZPass? I went onto their respective sites and I couldn't find any references to E-ZPass. Any clarification is appreciated. Misterrick 21:41, 28 July 2005 (UTC).

Massachusetts' "Fast Lane" is definitely part of the E-ZPass world. When it was rolling out, there was a lot of debate as to whether naming it something else was stupid; I certainly think "Yes!" but no one was asking me. :-) I also find it offensive that the whole thing is now an advert for Citizens Bank (or some bank).
Atlant 20:54, 28 July 2005 (UTC)
Virginia's Smart Tag has been a part of E-ZPass since October 27, 2004 [1]. In fact, Virginia now seems to call the program 'Smart Tag/E-ZPass' as you can see in the Smart Tag FAQ. Plus, Virginia has an E-ZPass page. SterlingNorth 08:25, 2 August 2005 (UTC)

[edit] ETC systems outside of the E-ZPass Interagency Group

Fee information regarding Colorado's EXpressToll ETC system was added to the "Account fees by agency" table. I removed the EXpressToll informaton from the fee table because this article is dedicated to covering the E-ZPass system and the various member agencies of the E-ZPass Interagency Group all of whom use compatible hardware manufactured by MARK IV Corporation. The Colorado EXpressToll system uses completely different hardware manufactured by SIRIT and is not interoperable with the E-ZPass network and probably never will be. The purpose of the fee table is to allow potential subscribers the opportunity to choose an E-ZPass agency from whom to order a transponder based on the fees charged and then in turn, use that transponder on all E-ZPass toll facilities. A more appropriate location for EXpressToll information may be the articles covering Colorado's E-470 toll expressway and Colorado's Northwest Parkway.

--Frankiesoxx 22:35, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Speeding tickets

I heard somewhre that someone received a speeding ticket in the mail because they got to their exit more quickly than possible if they'd have followed the limit and E-ZPass picked up on this. If this is true, should we add mention of it to the article? -Phantom784 22:32, 31 December 2005 (UTC)

That sounds absurd to me. Few people actually follow the speed limit. Though, I think it's possible to get a speeding ticket if going through the toll booth faster than the posted limit. -Aude (talk | contribs) 23:49, 31 December 2005 (UTC)
That actually doesn't sound too absurd to me and may be done in the future.

--Gloriamarie 19:58, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

Typically, I think the legality of this (tracking your average speed) may have something to do with the fact that an entry/exit time on a road (i.e. NYS Thruway, NJ Tpk, MassPike) could be used to calculate the average speed, but all the speeding tickets I've gotten are a record of me speeding at a certain place and time. With just an average, there may be some requirement to change existing traffic laws to include this mean value and to use toll entry/exit as a speed detection device much like a Radar/laser or calibrated spedometer is already listed on the books.

--Rhearnct 09:47, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

The E-ZPass members do not track speeds for any enforcement purpose. In Northern New Jersey and New York City speeds are tracked but the tag identifyer is encrypted to prevent direct identification of the user. This information is used to identify congestion points and average speeds. Speeding through a toll plaza may result in the loss of your E-ZPass for a period of time depending on the frequency of the abuse.

Actually, this is true, sort of -- I got a 'warning' in the mail for exceeding the toll speed limit of 15 (I was doing about 35); there was no fine, though, only the threat to revoke my EZ-pass.

--151.196.29.69 15:13, 18 February 2007 (UTC)

Getting a speeding ticket due to E-ZPass is an urban legend. A bill was even passed in NJ to make that illegal. No one would use E-ZPass if it could result in speeding tickets. ;-)

Double Think 02:47, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Privacy Concerns

Something could perhaps be made of the privacy concerns surrounding the EZPass adoption-- that there is an electronic record of everywhere you go that takes the EZPass. I might do this myself later but wanted to bring up the idea, anyway.

--Gloriamarie 19:58, 28 October 2006 (UTC)

I have added a U.S. government privacy implications document that encompasses E-ZPass as part of the overall U.S. Department of Transportation set of programs for an ITS (Intelligent Transportation Systems).

Then along came Peter, who deleted it.

Double Think 00:43, 25 March 2007 (UTC)

If someone does get around to including privacy concerns in the article, here's a source for E-ZPass customer information being released in divorce cases (with alleged infidelity), among other legal cases: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20070810/ap_on_re_us/e_z_divorces
150.209.64.96 19:25, 11 August 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Largest ETC system in the US/World?

How could we verify whether EZ-Pass is the largest ETC system in the US and possibly in the world based on the number of registered tags and vehicles processed?

--Rhearnct 09:43, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

This is a serious response, not spam: try asking the question at uclue.com for say $20. If they find the answer, they will state the sources.

Double Think 00:13, 24 March 2007 (UTC) There are around 9 million E-ZPass accounts represented by over 16 million transponders on the road. This was stated by Jim Crawford, E-ZPass interagency Group Executive Director during a toll industry conference in Austin, TX during April 2007.

[edit] Ping Peter

Peter,

The E-ZPass page said it suffered from a lack of cites, and so I provided new information with an authoritative cite, http://orwellian.org/public_ITS_docs/ITS_001.pdf . I see you've done a major reformatting of what I entered.

That's fine, I am not good at all for formatting things Wikipedia style.

But I do have extensive information to contribute, and your Wiki page says that you specialize in the reformatting. Great!

Now tell me what should be done about the privacy concerns document that I had put up, http://orwellian.org/public_ITS_docs/ITS_009.pdf , and that you deleted all reference to.

That document, along with many others, can no longer be found on the Net. I managed to squirrel them away before they were wiped out.

Then there is the large amount of information I have that is split between being oriented for commercial versus non-commercial transponders. And I used the phrase in the commercial text "E-ZPass type transponders, which you changed. I don't know if the planned rollout for all commercial vehicles' transponders is properly called E-ZPass.

A problem here is that E-ZPass is a transponder that is going to inter-operate with the U.S. DOT's larger ITS plans, so how do we integrate or at least slightly overlap the transponder information? One of my problems with Wikipedia is that it tends to break information up into such small segments that it becomes uninformative without the most persistent clicking around.

I have an update on the required electronic license plates for Britain. I'm not sure if it happened that way. See:

http://news.independent.co.uk/uk/transport/article334686.ece


  2. From 2006 Britain will be the first country where
  3. every journey by every car will be monitored
  4. By Steve Connor, Science Editor
  5. Published: 22 December 2005

  7. Britain is to become the first country in the world where
  8. the movements of all vehicles on the roads are recorded.
  9. A new national surveillance system will hold the records
  10. for at least two years.

  12. Using a network of cameras that can automatically read
  13. every passing number plate, the plan is to build a huge
  14. database of vehicle movements so that the police and
  15. security services can analyse any journey a driver has
  16. made over several years.

Could you make the update?

You've put in red 'Automated Vehicle Identification'. I can end up providing a separate section for that, but could you update for E-ZPass specifically this addition:

http://orwellian.org/public_ITS_docs/ITS_009.pdf pdf page 128-129

Vehicle probes offer real-time traffic information over a section of the roadway as opposed to “localized” data offered by point detection devices. Two commonly used methods are the acquisition of Automated Vehicle Identification (AVI) data and Automated Vehicle Location (AVL) data. AVI systems have been used in Electronic Toll and Traffic Management (ETTM) functions and electronic commercial vehicle clearance operations. Vehicles may be identified using signals emitting from an onboard transponder and recorded by a roadside reader.

If we can work together, Wikipedia will be much improved for E-ZPass and a few other sections, because I have the definitive U.S. government cites.

Note that the British use of license reading cameras are an AVI technology.

Regarding transponders being updated by a driver before beginning a commercial journey, the information I have is a bit scattered, but is nevertheless important.

In http://orwellian.org/public_ITS_docs/ITS_005.pdf on pdf page 35 has on it:

Vehicles are equipped with electronic tags (transponders) ...Various techniques may be used to store driver and load information on the tag. These units are equipped with tag readers that allow them to interface with vehicle transponders and mobile computers that look up credential and safety records....Core infrastructure systems such as CDLIS may be queried either directly or indirectly to gather safety, license, and enforcement information about the carrier, vehicle, and driver.

On pdf page 43 is what looks like the actual layout in the writeable area of the vehicle's transponder for storing driver information. Remember that above on page 35 it refers to storing driver information on the transponder.

There's another reference to driver info on page 48.

How do we load up the E-ZPass/transponder page with this info?

Thanks, Double Think 11:52, 24 March 2007 (UTC)

Hey there...first off I'm Paul, not peter...not sure where you got the peter. Regardless, I got rid of the privacy section because it was little more than a table of contents. The main thing to remember is that the whole thing must read like a narrative, in a more or less detached, formal tone. Feel free to put the text as you want it below, and then I can work on formatting and referencing it properly. I'm little busy right now, but will do my best to put it into the main article. Cheers! —lensovet–talk – 07:21, 26 March 2007 (UTC)

Note to all from EZ-PAL: The referenced CVISN (truck monitoring/weigh station bypass application) data is not used at all in the E-ZPass tag and in fact none of the existing (thru 2007) CVISN tags on trucks contain that data, either. The coding formats and over the air protocols are different between the 2 systems but the common concept is that the tag has a unique ID code. There is no personal info in an E-ZPass nor a truck tag. Also, at the present time, there is no link between USDOT and E-ZPass. E-ZPass is an independent, proprietary, network just for toll collection, some parking and traffic management. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.49.165.197 (talk) 04:05, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

[edit] Fair use rationale for Image:Tollbarrier night.jpg

Image:Tollbarrier night.jpg is being used on this article. I notice the image page specifies that the image is being used under fair use but there is no explanation or rationale as to why its use in this Wikipedia article constitutes fair use. In addition to the boilerplate fair use template, you must also write out on the image description page a specific explanation or rationale for why using this image in each article is consistent with fair use.

Please go to the image description page and edit it to include a fair use rationale. Using one of the templates at Wikipedia:Fair use rationale guideline is an easy way to insure that your image is in compliance with Wikipedia policy, but remember that you must complete the template. Do not simply insert a blank template on an image page.

If there is other fair use media, consider checking that you have specified the fair use rationale on the other images used on this page. Note that any fair use images uploaded after 4 May, 2006, and lacking such an explanation will be deleted one week after they have been uploaded, as described on criteria for speedy deletion. If you have any questions please ask them at the Media copyright questions page. Thank you.

BetacommandBot 04:46, 20 July 2007 (UTC)

You wrote:

> Those wishing to pay using their E-ZPass accounts simply insert the ticket into the machine reader.

When you write "simply," you have to ask what details you're leaving out.

I.e., do you need your EZPass Device to use the machine reader? This is a big question, because you might not want to leave your EZPass in the car, long term at the airport, so it doesn't get stolen. Options are to leave it home or put it in your wife's pocketbook, depending on if you're going to need it to use that machine reader. Please mention the EZPass device in the payment procedure, thanks.

-Nei1-

[edit] Repeal of administrative fees in NY

"However, as such a fee was considered to threaten the efficiency of moving traffic faster with lower tolls, New York State Republican Senator Michael Balboni sponsored Bill S06331 to prohibit administrative service fees on E-ZPass accounts. The Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority repealed the monthly account fee on June 1, 2006."

I did a search to confirm this, because I am switching away from DRBA, which went from the best deal to the worst when they imposed the $1.50 monthly fee as of 2008-01-01. However, I couldn't find Balboni connected with the bill in question on the NY State Assembly web site. (http://www.assembly.state.ny.us/leg/?bn=S06331&sh=t)

Any reference for this claim?

Isaacsf (talk) 17:14, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] Dead link

During several automated bot runs the following external link was found to be unavailable. Please check if the link is in fact down and fix or remove it in that case!


The web page has been saved by the Internet Archive. Please consider linking to an appropriate archived version: [2]. --Stwalkerbot 23:19, 22 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] United Kingdom

The article says that this is required in England for all cars. BUT we are discussing not the EZ Pass system but transponder technology which belongs in a separate article. Student7 (talk) 01:35, 20 March 2008 (UTC)