SunPass "Pro"

[vdeane]

I've always wondered why some people think the boxes are better than free stickers (although I'm not sure if the trick of attaching the sticker with your own tape instead of using the sticker's adhesive, still works). Stickers don't have batteries that run out

I like that I don't have to use an ugly scotch tape workaround (that I've read doesn't even always work) to have the ability to move my transponder if I need to (new windshield, new car, etc.; NY doesn't have temporary registrations for rental cars, but that's a use case for states that do).  Interesting that you contrast the hard cases with "free stickers", given that NY gives away the hard case transponders for free (fun fact: NY is one of, if not the only, state to both have free transponders and no monthly/annual fee for a standard account plan; that said, people who sign up online from out of state get PANYNJ tag which do have a fee, since NJ allows such).

When my previous transponder got up there in years, they simply gave me a bag to return it and mailed me a new one.

[Molandfreak]

I've always wondered why some people think the boxes are better than free stickers (although I'm not sure if the trick of attaching the sticker with your own tape instead of using the sticker's adhesive, still works). Stickers don't have batteries that run out

I prefer not to pay an unnecessary toll in the HOT lane when I'm driving with a passenger.

[Max Rockatansky]

I've always wondered why some people think the boxes are better than free stickers (although I'm not sure if the trick of attaching the sticker with your own tape instead of using the sticker's adhesive, still works). Stickers don't have batteries that run out

I prefer not to pay an unnecessary toll in the HOT lane when I'm driving with a passenger.

Considering the batteries on my original SunPass lasted a decade I would imagine it easily matched or outlived the typical sticker iteration.  Considering I owned three cars when I lived in Florida and used another four regularly it was just easier to use a transponder. 

[vdeane]

This reason is getting less applicable as everything goes AET, but a hard case transponder can be removed if someone is borrowing your car.  As an example, when I moved out of the apartment I was staying at in my internship, my Dad has a business meeting in Watervliet the next day.  So he drove his pickup truck down, we loaded my stuff into it, and then we swapped vehicles so I could take my stuff home while he went to Watervliet.  I took the transponder off the windshield so he could pay cash on the Thruway.

Incidentally, the my first transponder was on three different windshields before it was replaced.  My Accord needed a new windshield at one point and then I got the Civic a few years later.

[NJRoadfan]

That is because Florida, Georgia, and North Carolina agreed to make their systems interoperable. The EZPass is technically not, so the SunPass Pro and the non-free NC Quick Pass transponder have to be used for E-ZPass states. Georgia is actually joining E-ZPass this July, but they are going to be only a few of the EZPass states as they do not have a similar transponder yet.

I assume, at some point, E-ZPass we establish a new transponder standard where people can just use the free sticker instead of a box, or at least I hope.

E-ZPass agencies have likely been acquiring multi-protocol readers for their toll plazas when doing routine equipment replacements the past few years. All the major companies in the ETC segment offer them and the IAG likely has approved them for use for reading E-ZPass tags. I would hope the "secondary" tag reader is something that is used in more then just GA. Maybe its the SeGo 6B system that FL and NC use. When every toll lane in every E-ZPass state goes multi-protocol is when you'll finally see sticker transponders.

I know the IAG has been looking into passive stickers, but dealing with tons of legacy tags and dozens of toll agencies replacing equipment... its going to take a long time. The priority would be to get the readers in place. Eventually with normal replacement cycles (due to batteries dying) a new passive tag could be phased in at that point.

I have an E-ZPass Flex (two of them, actually). Nobody's come up with a way to make a switchable version of a sticker, as far as I know.

NC offers a smartphone app to switch on HOV mode with QuickPass stickers. https://www.ncquickpass.com/hov/ The hard case ones with the switch are also compatible with E-ZPass Flex.

[1995hoo]

I have an E-ZPass Flex (two of them, actually). Nobody's come up with a way to make a switchable version of a sticker, as far as I know.

NC offers a smartphone app to switch on HOV mode with QuickPass stickers. https://www.ncquickpass.com/hov/ The hard case ones with the switch are also compatible with E-ZPass Flex.

Interesting info. Thanks for that. I think I prefer the switchable E-ZPass Flex I have because it's easy just to reach over and flip the switch when I'm driving (I keep it in standard mode except when I specifically want to use HOV mode). It would be considerably more of a hassle to change it using an app, especially given the need to remember to do it before heading out on the road.

Plus I see NC Quick Pass still has the bogus and unacceptable rule about requiring one transponder for every vehicle on the account. With two people in the house and four cars, only two cars are ever being driven at any one time (other than the very rare instance when one car is at the mechanic and they might be moving it around). We have no reason to want, or need, three transponders.

[ran4sh]

...

I've always wondered why some people think the boxes are better than free stickers (although I'm not sure if the trick of attaching the sticker with your own tape instead of using the sticker's adhesive, still works). Stickers don't have batteries that run out

I have an E-ZPass Flex (two of them, actually). Nobody's come up with a way to make a switchable version of a sticker, as far as I know.

In Georgia, switching between HOV and non-HOV is done on a phone app, or alternatively, on the Peach Pass website, at least 15 minutes before using the lanes. I believe NC offers both the app and the hard-case switchable transponder

[ran4sh]

I've always wondered why some people think the boxes are better than free stickers (although I'm not sure if the trick of attaching the sticker with your own tape instead of using the sticker's adhesive, still works). Stickers don't have batteries that run out

I prefer not to pay an unnecessary toll in the HOT lane when I'm driving with a passenger.

See reply above, Georgia has the ability to switch modes

[1995hoo]

...

I've always wondered why some people think the boxes are better than free stickers (although I'm not sure if the trick of attaching the sticker with your own tape instead of using the sticker's adhesive, still works). Stickers don't have batteries that run out

I have an E-ZPass Flex (two of them, actually). Nobody's come up with a way to make a switchable version of a sticker, as far as I know.

In Georgia, switching between HOV and non-HOV is done on a phone app, or alternatively, on the Peach Pass website, at least 15 minutes before using the lanes. I believe NC offers both the app and the hard-case switchable transponder

The boldfaced is definitely a negative compared with E-ZPass Flex. Being able to throw the switch on the spur of the moment (say, you aren't planning to go in the HO/T lanes but heavy traffic prompts you to change your mind) is a serious convenience by comparison.

[ran4sh]

Wouldn't you just set the position based on the number of people in your vehicle? If you have enough for HOV then leave HOV mode on, then you don't have to be concerned with what mode the pass is in when deciding between express or general lanes.

[1995hoo]

Wouldn't you just set the position based on the number of people in your vehicle? If you have enough for HOV then leave HOV mode on, then you don't have to be concerned with what mode the pass is in when deciding between express or general lanes.

But I don't always have three people in my vehicle.

[ran4sh]

I meant before you start driving, at the point when you do know how many people.

But yeah, I think I agree with the overall point, that for switchable HOV mode it's better to have it on the transponder itself than having to use an app. It's just not that much of an issue in Georgia, because our express lanes don't have free HOV except for the ones on I-85 which only have it because the express lane replaces a previous HOV lane. It usually takes 15 minutes to get to those lanes in the first place. (And out-of-state passes aren't even eligible for the free HOV mode...)

[Thing 342]

I'm still somewhat surprised there hasn't been an attempt made by somebody like Tesla or Mercedes to integrate the radio communicators required for electronic tolling into the electronics of the vehicle itself and manage the billing through their new-ish payment backends.

[ran4sh]

I'm still somewhat surprised there hasn't been an attempt made by somebody like Tesla or Mercedes to integrate the radio communicators required for electronic tolling into the electronics of the vehicle itself and manage the billing through their new-ish payment backends.

Probably because there isn't national interoperability, at least on the technical side.

[Thing 342]

I'm still somewhat surprised there hasn't been an attempt made by somebody like Tesla or Mercedes to integrate the radio communicators required for electronic tolling into the electronics of the vehicle itself and manage the billing through their new-ish payment backends.

Probably because there isn't national interoperability, at least on the technical side.

I was actually wrong about this - Gentex are selling rear-view mirrors that include an integrated electronic tolling module. This solution uses a multi-protocol transponder similar to NationalPass that supports the 5 common hardware/software protocols in the US (TDM, SeGo, 6C, Title 21, and ATA) and uses an intermediary account to manage the billing between agencies. These transponders have been installed in Audi vehicles starting in 2019 and Mercedes vehicles starting in 2021 and are integrated with the system infotainment. According to documentation, they also appear to support configuring HOV settings directly from the car's screen. They both use the same payment backend managed by a company called Bestpass, which handles the billing details with each compatible agency (also similar to NationalPass) and charges a $20.00 annual service charge to maintain user accounts.

[ran4sh]

I thought NationalPass was an account-based solution where instead of just trying to integrate all the transponders they just relied on license plate cameras for most of it. But I guess it's more complicated than that