On Labor Day weekend, I took Megan to her parent's house in Wilkes-Barre. And along the way, I somehow managed to lose the Turnpike ticket. For being such a tiny slip of paper, it sure has a lot of importance on that road. When we approached the toll booth without a ticket, we were charged the highest fare for our class, which is over $20. That was my breaking point. I finally decided to get EZPass.
Today was my first day of using it, and I honestly can't believe I didn't do this sooner. For one thing, New Jersey has placed high-speed EZPass lanes all over the place, so I paid my first toll with EZPass at 55 MPH, which, admittedly, is pretty fucking cool.
There are other benefits as well. The first benefit is obvious; don't need to wait in long lines, which is extremely nice. You also never have to roll your windows down in bad weather, which will be very nice come winter time. And how could I possibly overlook the fact that I no longer have to deal with rude toll collectors? Honestly, Lansdale PA has some of the rudest toll collectors I have ever had to deal with!
For the longest time, I wouldn't buy into EZ-Pass. For one thing, EZ-Pass was cracked in the past, so I never trusted it with my account information. It's a wireless system, so it's inherently problematic and insecure.
On top of that, there was the fiasco on the New Jersey Turnpike where EZPass users were automatically fined for speeding when they exited the turnpike. They took a timestamp of when you entered the road, timestamp of when you exited, then compared that time to the distance you travelled and the posted speed limit in the area, and issued tickets accordingly. They stopped doing this when people received the tickets and got up in arms about it, but the potential for abuse is still there.
Then there are the health concerns. EZ-Pass readers are essentially microwaves, and constant exposure to that isn't ideal for living creatures. This isn't a huge problem for humans in rural areas, but if you live in a city with lots of toll booths around (read: New York City), it might be a concern. I can only wonder what kinds of radiation toll booth workers are being exposed to.
Lastly, EZPass is a scam for toll road owners, in terms of the fact that it lets them reduce the number of toll collectors, reduce their expenses, and maximize their profits, all while passing none of this benefit on to regular old citizens like you and I. The cost of tolls isn't going down, despite the fact that large numbers of toll workers have been laid off. Many toll booths in New Jersey had their staff cut by 50% after EZ-Pass was installed. Yet we haven't seen a single reduced toll. When EZ-Pass first came to the Philadelpia area, the Delaware River Port Authority offered drivers a reduced toll rate; $2.70 for EZ-Pass users, $3.00 for cash. Once they reached a significant number of EZ-Pass users, that discount was taken away. Currently they offer a discount for commuters, but you have to cross one of the valid DRPA bridges over 20 times each month to receive that discount. Prior to EZ-Pass, they used to offer a window sticker system. You would pay $25.25 for your first toll, and then a quarter each time you crossed the bridge. This meant for a commuter crossing 20 times each month, you paid $30 a month. Under the EZ-Pass plan, you pay at least $40.
So, given all of this credible concerns, why did I bother getting EZ-Pass? In the end, it came down to convenience. Like all electronics that can possibly invade our lives and reduce our privacy, EZ-Pass is incredibly convenient. You never have to worry about losing a ticket and spending $20 or more at a single toll. You never have to fumble with loose change. You don't even have to stop the car or roll down you window. In my first day of using it, I saved at least 5 minutes, simply from not having to sit in line at a backed up toll booth. Call me greedy, selfish, whatever, but I value my time, and not having to sit in a queue any more than I have to is so key. In short, I love it, and somehow in my mind I have justified the use of this system. Maybe I shouldn't have, maybe I'll go back to paying tolls with cash. But between the rude toll takers, the long lines, and the lost time, EZ-Pass is better than the alternative, and probably will continue to be for quite some time.