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New York MTA vetoes Kentucky's membership in E-ZPass

Started by hbelkins, October 12, 2015, 09:16:27 PM

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cl94

Quote from: hbelkins on October 21, 2015, 02:04:49 PM
Quote from: cl94 on October 20, 2015, 09:36:28 PM
Given the current state of political affairs, I wouldn't be so certain that everything remains in the county clerk's office for much longer, either

Not the county clerk, the circuit clerk. That's an easily forgiven mistake because a lot of Kentuckians get the offices confused. The official titles are county court clerk and circuit court clerk. They have vastly different duties.


Jeesh. And I thought New York had a crazy system. So each county has its own circuit court clerk?
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jeffandnicole

Quote from: vdeane on October 20, 2015, 08:19:38 PM
Honestly, I'd rather the rest of the country just adopt E-ZPass.  If the other states had jumped on the E-ZPass system when electronic tolling was being deployed in the rest of the US, we wouldn't have these issues now.  Why did they feel the need to reinvent the wheel?

You have to remember as well that in the early days of EZ Pass, only a few states accepted EZ Pass.  Virginia had their own system.  Indiana had their own system.  Maryland had their own system.  It took a while before those states accepted EZ Pass.  While we look back now and think of it as being quick, quite a number of years went by before everything merged together. 

Virginia, for example, started out their electronic toll system accepting only Fastoll in 1996, which was rebranded as Smart Tag in 1998.  In 2004 EZ Pass was accepted in Virginia, and in 2008 they retired the Smart Tag name completely.

Due to fortunate planning by a few states that understood the transponders would need to be used across multiple agencies, EZ Pass and the Interagency group was born.  And because every state in the northeast portion of the country had luckily went with the same technology platform, agencies that weren't originally with the Interagency Group were able to merge in relatively easily.

EZ Pass may not have even stuck if it wasn't for some what could be now considered miscues in other states.  Florida has 5 toll roads...and each toll road's electronic toll system worked specifically for that toll road only.  If one state had 5 different systems with just thousands of users each, and a half-dozen states had 1 system with millions of users crossing between states, the clear winner in the electronic toll race was going to be the one reaching a lot more people at once.

It really isn't much different than the national credit card companies that exist - Visa, MasterCard, Discover, AmEx, and some other smaller players.   They just needed to work together to get their cards accepted everywhere at one time.  And remember here too...gotta think back to the days of the carbon copy receipts, which retailers had to send in to the various card companies.  Just like electronic tolling, the credit card processing is seamless now, but it wasn't always that way.

Brandon

Quote from: vdeane on October 21, 2015, 01:18:38 PM
The tape method of attaching the stickers has always struck me as inelegant.

Stickers have no concept of elegance. :bigass:

/Bonus points for those who get the parody.
"If you think this has a happy ending, you haven't been paying attention." - Ramsay Bolton

"Symbolic of his struggle against reality." - Reg

Duke87

Quote from: hbelkins on October 21, 2015, 02:04:49 PM
Moving driver licensing duties from the circuit clerk's office to KYTC would result in KYTC having to obtain office space in each of the 120 counties, plus possibly satellite offices in some of the larger counties. It would result in an additional expense.

Doesn't KYTC already handle vehicle registrations, though? Why would they need more offices to issue licenses than they have to register vehicles?

Quote from: vdeane on October 21, 2015, 01:18:38 PM
The tape method of attaching the stickers has always struck me as inelegant.

But it works, and it allows you to use your account in multiple vehicles without having to shell out money for a new one.

I've had the same EZpass tag for more than six years and in that time it has been affixed to two cars I've owned and used in several rentals. If I had mounted my SunPass as instructed I would have lost it when I sold my last car. And, in the meantime, my old car would have had a perpetual sign on it saying "owner of this vehicle can afford to routinely drive to Florida, therefore there may be nice things in here you can steal if you break in". NO THANKS.

Of course, the latter concerns would vanish if the sticker in question were used locally or the nationally accepted standard. I have no qualms leaving my EZpass mounted since my license plates already reveal I'm from a place where EZpass is used.

And frankly I'd be fine mounting a sticker normally and surrendering the portability IF we banned rental agencies from charging fees for use of their toll payment equipment. So long as that remains common practice I'm gonna continue with the BYO tag.
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

hbelkins

Quote from: Duke87 on October 21, 2015, 10:30:29 PM
Quote from: hbelkins on October 21, 2015, 02:04:49 PM
Moving driver licensing duties from the circuit clerk's office to KYTC would result in KYTC having to obtain office space in each of the 120 counties, plus possibly satellite offices in some of the larger counties. It would result in an additional expense.

Doesn't KYTC already handle vehicle registrations, though? Why would they need more offices to issue licenses than they have to register vehicles?

Yes, but vehicle licensing is done in the county clerk's office, not in a separate KYTC office. If the driver licensing operation was moved out of the circuit clerk's office, there would have to be another location for it.

Quote from: cl94 on October 21, 2015, 02:09:56 PM
Jeesh. And I thought New York had a crazy system. So each county has its own circuit court clerk?

Yes, and it's an elected partisan position (6-year term). County clerks are elected for four-year terms as partisan officials, circuit clerks are elected for six-year terms as partisan officials.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

1995hoo

QuoteAnd, in the meantime, my old car would have had a perpetual sign on it saying "owner of this vehicle can afford to routinely drive to Florida, therefore there may be nice things in here you can steal if you break in". NO THANKS.

That might be giving thieves too much credit. The sticker tags look similar to other devices like apartment complex gate sticker tags and the like. I doubt most people outside states where sticker-type toll transponders are common would think of that sort of thing. People on this forum are WAY more informed than the average guy on the street!
"You know, you never have a guaranteed spot until you have a spot guaranteed."
—Olaf Kolzig, as quoted in the Washington Times on March 28, 2003,
commenting on the Capitals clinching a playoff spot.

"That sounded stupid, didn't it?"
—Kolzig, to the same reporter a few seconds later.

Chris


hbelkins

Saw that in my email this morning. If a Kentucky E-ZPass is going to cost $15, I think I'll keep my West Virginia model.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

Duke87

So wait, the JFK and East End Bridges will be tolled, but Clark and Sherman Minton will remain free?

Ooookay, Louisville's gonna have some shunpiking-induced traffic jams then.
If you always take the same road, you will never see anything new.

tidecat

Quote from: Duke87 on November 15, 2015, 12:44:16 AM
So wait, the JFK and East End Bridges will be tolled, but Clark and Sherman Minton will remain free?

Ooookay, Louisville's gonna have some shunpiking-induced traffic jams then.
I don't think shunpiking the East End Bridge is going to be a huge issue - traffic would have to take I-71 down to Exit 2 (Zorn Ave) and then use Mellwood and Story Ave to get to Main Street just to be able to access the Clark Memorial Bridge at 2nd Street.  By then you've probably used at least $1 worth of gas, possibly more if traffic is slow.

Shunpiking I-65 will be a huge issue, although I imagine there will be a lot of late converts after the first few days of seeing thousands of vehicles trying to get off at Exit 1 in Indiana during the evening rush hour, or when Court Avenue becomes practically unusable.  Main, Market, and Liberty Streets in Downtown Louisville will also experience the same initial fate.
Clinched: I-264 (KY), I-265 (KY), I-359 (AL), I-459 (AL), I-865 (IN)

hbelkins

Trying to get to and from the US 31 bridge and I-65 in downtown Louisville is so difficult and convoluted that it wouldn't be worth the effort to shunpike.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.

cl94

Were they granted full membership or affiliate membership (like North Carolina)?
Please note: All posts represent my personal opinions and do not represent those of my employer or any of its partner agencies.

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hbelkins

Quote from: cl94 on November 15, 2015, 09:32:13 PM
Were they granted full membership or affiliate membership (like North Carolina)?

Wasn't specified in the press release, but my guess would be "affiliate" unless MTA relented on its position.


Government would be tolerable if not for politicians and bureaucrats.



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