As if the NYC strike isn't bad enough news for northern NJ commuters, the Turnpike is dropping its rush hour and weekend discounts for EZ Pass as of January 1. It will generate an extra $17 million in toll revenue. This was approved a year ago but most commuters seem unaware of it- and the Turnpike Authority has spent no time publicizing it, either. (The Parkway used to have a discount but they dropped it in 2002.)
Between the lack of a discount and the $1/month fee EZ Pass charges us, we now pay MORE to use the automated system than the toll-taker lanes. Don't you remember when EZ Pass was proposed, it was supposed to save us money? So much for that. Oh well. It's easier and much faster, so we'll all keep on keepin' on. As they expected us to.
(Cross-posted at BlueJersey.net)
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4 comments:
I contend thatit's not even that much faster any more, now that the majority of people have easy pass, so the exact chane and cash only lanes have less traffic. Of course, I could be making that up to feel better about the fact that I won't get EZ Pass.
Yeah...I wouldn't touch that EZ Pass thing with a ten-foot pole. It's volunteering to be surveilled.
Besides, I've got $.70.
I love the E-ZPass, no matter what. Its much faster than it used to be for 2 reasons:
1 - More places are knocking down the toll booths along the Parkway and going high-speed/booth-free.
2 - The hicks, rubes and low-tech E-ZPass haters have finaly figured out that they are in the wrong lane and they no longer drive up to an E-ZPass booth and then try to back up or go sideways across the toll lanes.
Is there a reason why all lanes in NJ aren't EZ Pass -- I had to sit in a queue for 10 minutes to use my EZPass, when I could have paid cash and gotten through quicker.
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