Does using an EZ-Pass save you money?

LONG ISLAND CITY (WABC) -- Most people use EZ-Pass to help save time and money. However, it turns out that the only people who are getting the EZ-Pass discount at the Queens Midtown Tunnel tolls are the ones who got their EZ-Pass transponders from a New York agency. Everyone else is paying the same as cash.

0 "Why shouldn't everyone be paying the same amount? It doesn't make sense," said driver Glen Braica.

Most drivers assume they'll get a break on the tolls for using EZ-Pass, but according to a recent AAA study, drivers traveling out-of-state may be paying the same as the cash customers.

"One of the benefits of getting EZ-Pass is that you don't pay the cash rates, so what is the point of having it?" said Valeria Bonamonte.

The higher tolls affect hundreds of thousands of commuters who travel between New York and New Jersey for work. For example, if you got your EZ-Pass transponder from New Jersey, you'll pay 10 dollars and 40 cents to drive the length of the Turnpike. If you get your transponder from New York, you'll pay $13.80, which is thesame as the cash lanes, and a 33 percent increase.

The New York EZ-Pass users will get the discount at the MTA bridges and tunnels and will pay $4.80. But the out of state drivers will pay 25 percent more, at six dollars.

"Every time you turn around, they're trying to charge motorists more, it has got to stop," said Robert Sinclair from AAA.

Sinclair also wonders how higher tolls for out-of-state drivers will affect the busy summer tourist season.

"Here you are putting this grand impediment for people who want to come visit our area," he added.

This is not just a tri-state phenomenon. New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Maine are also charging different rates depending on where your EZ-Pass is from.

"The rates should be the same because we all live in one country," said driver Mandeep Kumar.

---
Get Eyewitness News Delivered

Facebook | Twitter | Newsletters | Text Alerts

(Copyright ©2012 WABC-TV/DT. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New York News »

new york city, new york news, jen maxfield

View the original article here

Discounts end for out-of-state E-ZPass drivers in NJ

  Eyewitness NewsWOODBRIDGE -- The cheaper rides on the New Jersey Turnpike are over Friday for drivers whose E-ZPass transmitters were issued by other states.

Through Thursday, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority gave all E-ZPass users a discount for travel in off-peak hours.

Now, the price break is only for drivers with New Jersey-issued E-ZPasses.

Other toll road authorities have been making similar charges.

Only New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority and New York State Thruway offer off-peak discounts, but only to motorists with E-ZPass accounts from the customer service centers in that state.

New Jersey has been marketing its E-ZPass elsewhere. Drivers don't have to live in the state to get the transmitter from there.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »

new jersey, new jersey news

View the original article here

Authority ends E-ZPass break for non-NJ customers

  Eyewitness NewsWOODBRIDGE, N.J. -- Drivers who have E-ZPass accounts in other states soon won't get off-peak discounts when they pass through New Jersey.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority voted unanimously to end the discounts on Tuesday, spokesman Tom Feeney said. The change will go into effect on July 1 and will affect Class 1, or passenger, vehicles traveling on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The authority estimated that E-ZPass users who set up their accounts in other states will now pay about 34 percent more during off-peak travel through New Jersey. New Jersey E-ZPass customers won't be affected by the change.

Off-peak hours are defined as anytime Monday through Friday except for 7 a.m. to 9 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

The new rates would raise an estimated $16 million a year, Feeney said. Projections for July 1 through the end of the year were not available.

Other states, including Delaware and New York, already use similar pricing models for in-state and out-of-state accounts, Feeney said.

Anyone can set up an E-ZPass account in New Jersey, even non-residents, and E-Z-Pass customers can have accounts in more than one state.

---
Do you have something to add to this story? Click here to contact Eyewitness News.

(Copyright ©2011 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) Get more New Jersey News »

new jersey, new jersey news

View the original article here