VA & MD going to NO CASH tolls

 

Got a notice from VDOT yesterday through Nextdoor.com that the George P. Coleman bridge (Yorktown to Gloucester) and the Powhite Pkwy in Richmond are now NO CASH.

If you don't have EZPASS, you will be billed for the toll. VDOT has reduced the mandatory $35.00 minimum deposit to $20.00. The transponder will be mailed to you. If you go through the NO CASH gates, you will be billed for the toll as normal (to owner of vehicle determined by license plate). If paid using the EZPASS account within 5 days, no administrative fees will be applied.

All toll roads in VA will eventually be NO CASH, so if you don't have EZPASS the owner of the vehicle will be getting some hefty bills! The Powhite Pkwy will accept the toll in exact change in coins.

I already have EZPASS, so it's not a problem for me.

See the article about MD & VA at: https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2020/03/va-to-drop-e-zpass-minim...

Also see VDOT page at Facebook.

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Metricman DriveSmart 76 Williamsburg, VA

Pennsylvania

metricman wrote:

Got a notice from VDOT yesterday through Nextdoor.com that the George P. Coleman bridge (Yorktown to Gloucester) and the Powhite Pkwy in Richmond are now NO CASH.

If you don't have EZPASS, you will be billed for the toll. VDOT has reduced the mandatory $35.00 minimum deposit to $20.00. The transponder will be mailed to you. If you go through the NO CASH gates, you will be billed for the toll as normal (to owner of vehicle determined by license plate). If paid using the EZPASS account within 5 days, no administrative fees will be applied.

All toll roads in VA will eventually be NO CASH, so if you don't have EZPASS the owner of the vehicle will be getting some hefty bills! The Powhite Pkwy will accept the toll in exact change in coins.

I already have EZPASS, so it's not a problem for me.

See the article about MD & VA at: https://wtop.com/dc-transit/2020/03/va-to-drop-e-zpass-minim...

Also see VDOT page at Facebook.

I was on the PA turnpike a few days ago and they have gone EZPass or bill you too, no tickets, they're doing it because of the COVID-19 thing as well.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

all

irrelevant now but some of the controversy was one rate for E-ZPass of one toll authority, cash rate for others.

Then in metro NYC the fact that car pool discounts would go away. they did not Jan 2020, but were scheduled to do so by early 2021.

An example $7.75 v. $16 at the hudson river crossings, or $12.24 v. $19 at the Verrazzano, $2.80 v. $7.00 at the Henry Hudson. That spread is huge, is it not? Unlike 5% for E-ZPass on the thruway.

Everybody (except PA?) does it, MD, DE, blah blah blah, only not as extreme as NY.

but would it be a fair statement this is irrelevant today? Who wants to drive into NYC?

I'm surprised that we in PA are what the 5th largest state in the USA (correct me if wrong)? We don't even have a light at a toll booth, that acknowledges the toll has been paid, and we've even determined they are not needed. We have a regressive flat income tax, I could go on.

Maybe the trend is good. Now you have RI troopers pulling over NYS cars, DE troopers walking up to cars with PA tags, etc. It likely will always be state v. state going forward. All the way back to that tune Bobby Weir sung, singin' I got mine and you got yours.

Texas has been either toll tag or 'no cash' for years

Texas has been either toll tag or 'no cash' for years. It prevents traffic bottlenecks since no toll gates are needed and eliminates employees needed to handle the cash lanes.

If you have a Texas toll tag the toll charges (including airport parking) are automatically billed to your toll tag account and paid using your linked credit card information. If you do not have a toll tag the toll charges are billed to the owner of the vehicle per registration information. Toll tag users are charged less (which is justified) because there is far less administration costs compared to non-toll tag 'no cash' users where paper billing is required using USPS mailing.

If the no cash vehicle owner is a Texas resident they are prevented from renewing their required annual vehicle registration/inspection if they have an unpaid balance. I do not know how it is handled if the vehicle is registered in another state and the owner has an unpaid balance.

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Politicians and Diapers must be changed often for the exact same reason...

Debt collectors pursue unpaid tolls even for out-of-State driver

Some states including Maryland as of 2019
https://wtop.com/maryland/2019/05/new-toll-collections-other...
sell unpaid toll accounts to private debt collection firms which are licensed to work in other states. Debt collectors are happy to pursue out-of-state drivers ignoring the fines because they think they're immune from having to pay. These accounts get sold in bulk for a small fraction of their value and the debt collector tries to get the full amount of the original toll and all the extra fees assessed by the toll authority with the force of law behind debt collection, just as if someone had skipped out on paying a credit card bill. It's a great equalizer for people who think they can ignore tolls and fines since they live out-of-state; but on the other hand, debt collectors can be extremely abusive and behave immorally as well.

Bottom line: if you get mail about an out-of-state toll or fine, DON'T ignore it. Best advice is to quickly settle up if it's correct, or fight it if it isn't, because the late payment fees can range well into the hundreds of dollars for what was originally a 50 cent toll or a $20 parking ticket.

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"141 could draw faster than he, but Irving was looking for 143..."

Tolls

$7.75? Wow. We put in the brand new 10 lane suspension bridge to replace the Port Mann on the Trans-Canada, charging a toll of about $3.60 Canadian and traffic counts went DOWN from the previous 5 lane bridge.
People would go to the traffic jams on the circa 1936 Pattullo bridge which had 4 lanes so narrow most trucks would drive across blocking both lanes.
In the last provincial election, one party promised to drop tolls entirely, one promised to cut them in half. Guess which party ended up in government?

that

doug r wrote:

$7.75? Wow. We put in the brand new 10 lane suspension bridge to replace the Port Mann on the Trans-Canada, charging a toll of about $3.60 Canadian and traffic counts went DOWN from the previous 5 lane bridge.
People would go to the traffic jams on the circa 1936 Pattullo bridge which had 4 lanes so narrow most trucks would drive across blocking both lanes.
In the last provincial election, one party promised to drop tolls entirely, one promised to cut them in half. Guess which party ended up in government?

$7.75 is the car pool rate, $16 is cash. Makes me wonder, if a bridge is from 1932, where's the charter. Did it say one day it could be $16? Or a bridge from 1964, did they say in the charter one day it would be $19?

Heck when I moved to Phila the bridges were $1 and $2, and no there weren't horses and buggies, I drove a car in 1999! Now they're $5.

To me, still a bargain is the Tappan Zee or Gov Mario M Cuomo. Nice looking cable stayed. And if you have an out of state E-ZPass not a big deal, $5 instead of $4.72.

Here in PA, if you take 95 south from NJ into PA, now that even the Scudder Falls Bridge has a $1.25 E-ZPass or $2.60 toll by plate, since last summer. Never had one since I lived here in 1999!

NYC

johnnatash4 wrote:
doug r wrote:

$7.75? Wow. We put in the brand new 10 lane suspension bridge to replace the Port Mann on the Trans-Canada, charging a toll of about $3.60 Canadian and traffic counts went DOWN from the previous 5 lane bridge.
People would go to the traffic jams on the circa 1936 Pattullo bridge which had 4 lanes so narrow most trucks would drive across blocking both lanes.
In the last provincial election, one party promised to drop tolls entirely, one promised to cut them in half. Guess which party ended up in government?

$7.75 is the car pool rate, $16 is cash. Makes me wonder, if a bridge is from 1932, where's the charter. Did it say one day it could be $16? Or a bridge from 1964, did they say in the charter one day it would be $19?

Heck when I moved to Phila the bridges were $1 and $2, and no there weren't horses and buggies, I drove a car in 1999! Now they're $5.

To me, still a bargain is the Tappan Zee or Gov Mario M Cuomo. Nice looking cable stayed. And if you have an out of state E-ZPass not a big deal, $5 instead of $4.72.

Here in PA, if you take 95 south from NJ into PA, now that even the Scudder Falls Bridge has a $1.25 E-ZPass or $2.60 toll by plate, since last summer. Never had one since I lived here in 1999!

Whenever I go to my brother in laws home in Patchogue, Long Island, NY, from my home just outside west Philly, PA between tolls and gas it's $150 round trip. The worst is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge ... EZ Pass $12.24 ... Toll by mail $19.00. Might be a little less today with gas so low currently, but we're not allowed, are we.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

and

soberbyker wrote:
johnnatash4 wrote:
doug r wrote:

$7.75? Wow. We put in the brand new 10 lane suspension bridge to replace the Port Mann on the Trans-Canada, charging a toll of about $3.60 Canadian and traffic counts went DOWN from the previous 5 lane bridge.
People would go to the traffic jams on the circa 1936 Pattullo bridge which had 4 lanes so narrow most trucks would drive across blocking both lanes.
In the last provincial election, one party promised to drop tolls entirely, one promised to cut them in half. Guess which party ended up in government?

$7.75 is the car pool rate, $16 is cash. Makes me wonder, if a bridge is from 1932, where's the charter. Did it say one day it could be $16? Or a bridge from 1964, did they say in the charter one day it would be $19?

Heck when I moved to Phila the bridges were $1 and $2, and no there weren't horses and buggies, I drove a car in 1999! Now they're $5.

To me, still a bargain is the Tappan Zee or Gov Mario M Cuomo. Nice looking cable stayed. And if you have an out of state E-ZPass not a big deal, $5 instead of $4.72.

Here in PA, if you take 95 south from NJ into PA, now that even the Scudder Falls Bridge has a $1.25 E-ZPass or $2.60 toll by plate, since last summer. Never had one since I lived here in 1999!

Whenever I go to my brother in laws home in Patchogue, Long Island, NY, from my home just outside west Philly, PA between tolls and gas it's $150 round trip. The worst is the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge ... EZ Pass $12.24 ... Toll by mail $19.00. Might be a little less today with gas so low currently, but we're not allowed, are we.

Without a NY E-ZPass it's $19 period for the Verrazzano.

No, as I understand it, we can't even drive to Delaware to pickup tires that we already paid for down there.

out of state E-ZPass

johnnatash4 wrote:

...

To me, still a bargain is the Tappan Zee or Gov Mario M Cuomo. Nice looking cable stayed. And if you have an out of state E-ZPass not a big deal, $5 instead of $4.72.

...

I should have seen this coming but didn't. To abuse George Orwell, when viewed from one state, some states are more equal than others.

This question is abstract as I currently have no plans to be in the north-east: for an alien (I live in Colorado) are there better or worse E-ZPasses?

EZPass

minke wrote:

I should have seen this coming but didn't. To abuse George Orwell, when viewed from one state, some states are more equal than others.

This question is abstract as I currently have no plans to be in the north-east: for an alien (I live in Colorado) are there better or worse E-ZPasses?

EZPass is supposed to be the same everywhere it's honored regardless of what state issues it, but apparently some states give favoritism to 'home state' passes by giving bigger discounts. You can order an EZPass from any state you want, you don't have to be a resident of that state.

I live in PA and PA doesn't play favorites, all passes get the same discount, with one exception, in PA they also issue a motorcycle (MC) specific EZPass and that gets a better deal than a car pass, only in PA. In other states the PA MC pass pays the same as cars.

A while back, on Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) bridges, motorcycles would get a discount if you went through the cash lane but would pay the car rate if you used EZPass, today motorcycles are in the same class as cars.

According to johnnatash4 New York gives people who have a New York issued pass a better discount when in New York, but it would be the same as all others outside of New York.

So to answer your question if you did plan to travel the northeast figure on which state has the best for 'home state' passes for the area you plan on visiting. Also check to see if there is an annual fee for having the pass and whether or not you need to carry a minimum balance on that pass.

I used to have a DRPA issued pass, when EZPass first came out, there was no fee attached to them. However when the pass became more and more popular they started charging a dollar a month for the pass so I switched to a PA issued pass at $3 a year.

IMHO I think that all states that are part of the EZPass system should treat them all the same, fees, tolls, balances, etc., no matter where it was issued.

--
. 2 Garmin DriveSmart 61 LMT-S, Nuvi 2689, 2 Nuvi 2460, Zumo 550, Zumo 450, Uniden R3 radar detector with GPS built in, includes RLC info. Uconnect 430N Garmin based, built into my Jeep. .

I

work in NJ, so I need a NJ E-ZPass to get the bridge discount in Phila. NJ charges $1/mo., but the discount is $18/mo. if I make 18 trips.

Since NY is free and has no residency requirement, I have a NY account and use it in NY.

The only drawback is if it comes down to a vehicle's plate, it's one or the other. Then again, we are allowed to use E-ZPass tags in rental cars. The rental cars' plates are already registered with a toll authority to protect themselves from violations.

I have e-zpass so no worries

I have e-zpass so no worries for me

NO CASH is Great

The I-91/I-84 interchange was always a drag for the tolls. Even when EZPass was included, it was a drag because the tolls were built for old fashioned hand collection. Had to slow to like 5 MPH to get through the toll. Because it was a tollway, people were required to read the ticket and figure out how much was owed.

Now that interchange has been completely revamped for contactless and there isn't a slightest remainder of the old toll collection booths. It's almost natural and organic. It is still so very strange driving through there without even slowing down. I feel an instinct to slow down, but there is no reason whatsoever.

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When you are dead, you don’t know that you are dead. It is only difficult for the others. It is the same when you are stupid.