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E-ZPass on the Mackinac Bridge?

Started by Joe The Dragon, October 19, 2021, 10:09:36 PM

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Joe The Dragon

Quote from: JREwing78 on November 15, 2021, 04:32:47 PM
At some point, EZ-Pass will likely implement tags over transponders.

SM-G991U
and how does an HOV switch work with that?


vdeane

Quote from: Joe The Dragon on November 15, 2021, 10:04:08 PM
Quote from: JREwing78 on November 15, 2021, 04:32:47 PM
At some point, EZ-Pass will likely implement tags over transponders.

SM-G991U
and how does an HOV switch work with that?
Good point.  I forgot about E-ZPass Flex when I was talking about sticker vs. hard-case tags.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

hwyfan

Tolling will begin at the renovated Liberty Bridge in Bay City, Michigan in early 2023. All electronic tolling (AET) will be utilized.  The system will be interoperable with E-ZPass transponders. This will be the first toll facility in Michigan to accept E-ZPass for tolling. 

See:  https://baycitybridgepartners.com/tolling/



vdeane

Will it be interoperable with whatever the Mackinac Bridge uses?  If not, this is basically Indiana all over again... (at least the Mackinac Bridge still accepts cash)
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

Great Lakes Roads

Quote from: vdeane on November 11, 2022, 08:18:45 PM
Will it be interoperable with whatever the Mackinac Bridge uses?  If not, this is basically Indiana all over again... (at least the Mackinac Bridge still accepts cash)

No, they don't have any plans as of right now to accept EZ-Pass on the Mackinac Bridge. If you are talking about MacPass, then yes, they will be accepted on these two bridges in Bay City.

Flint1979


Flint1979

Quote from: hwyfan on November 11, 2022, 06:12:03 PM
Tolling will begin at the renovated Liberty Bridge in Bay City, Michigan in early 2023. All electronic tolling (AET) will be utilized.  The system will be interoperable with E-ZPass transponders. This will be the first toll facility in Michigan to accept E-ZPass for tolling. 

See:  https://baycitybridgepartners.com/tolling/
Which is stupid. Bay City is like 15 miles from where I live and there are four drawbridge crossings on the Saginaw River and two of them they want to make toll bridges, well one they are the Liberty Bridge but that can easily be bypassed.

hwyfan

#132
Quote from: Great Lakes Roads on November 11, 2022, 09:32:41 PM
Quote from: vdeane on November 11, 2022, 08:18:45 PM
Will it be interoperable with whatever the Mackinac Bridge uses?  If not, this is basically Indiana all over again... (at least the Mackinac Bridge still accepts cash)

No, they don't have any plans as of right now to accept EZ-Pass on the Mackinac Bridge. If you are talking about MacPass, then yes, they will be accepted on these two bridges in Bay City.

I recall the Bay City Bridge Partners (BCBP) had talked about the possibility of accepting MacPass at the Liberty and Independence bridges.    However that reciprocity is not yet confirmed on their website at the present time.

The BCBP, via their parent company United Bridge Partners (UBP), would have to reach an agreement with the Mackinac Bridge Authority to set up such an arrangement and establish a interoperability hub.   Otherwise there wouldn't be any way for a motorist with a MacPass bearing vehicle to be have its account charged for the Bay City toll amount.

I believe the BCBP will offer a 6c sticker transponder good for only their two toll facilities and serve as an affiliate member of the E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG).  This would mean that while the BCBP can accept and process E-ZPass tolls, they themselves would not issue a BCBP branded E-ZPass transponder.   There are some other toll agencies with this kind of arrangement.  Two other UBP managed facilities - the South Norfolk Jordan Bridge and the Cline Avenue Bridge, have affiliate relationships with the IAG. 

hwyfan

Quote from: Flint1979 on November 11, 2022, 11:28:03 PM
Quote from: hwyfan on November 11, 2022, 06:12:03 PM
Tolling will begin at the renovated Liberty Bridge in Bay City, Michigan in early 2023. All electronic tolling (AET) will be utilized.  The system will be interoperable with E-ZPass transponders. This will be the first toll facility in Michigan to accept E-ZPass for tolling. 

See:  https://baycitybridgepartners.com/tolling/
Which is stupid. Bay City is like 15 miles from where I live and there are four drawbridge crossings on the Saginaw River and two of them they want to make toll bridges, well one they are the Liberty Bridge but that can easily be bypassed.

As terms of their agreement with Bay City, the BCBP has agreed to allow for residents of Bay City to have free passage across both spans for a set period of time.   Vehicles owned by local residents must have a transponder issued by BCBP installed on their vehicle to do this, as the facilities will utilize all electronic tolling (AET).

No one is being forced to use either toll bridge in Bay City, there are alternative crossings. 

rhen_var

Quote from: Flint1979 on November 11, 2022, 11:28:03 PM
Quote from: hwyfan on November 11, 2022, 06:12:03 PM
Tolling will begin at the renovated Liberty Bridge in Bay City, Michigan in early 2023. All electronic tolling (AET) will be utilized.  The system will be interoperable with E-ZPass transponders. This will be the first toll facility in Michigan to accept E-ZPass for tolling. 

See:  https://baycitybridgepartners.com/tolling/
Which is stupid. Bay City is like 15 miles from where I live and there are four drawbridge crossings on the Saginaw River and two of them they want to make toll bridges, well one they are the Liberty Bridge but that can easily be bypassed.
From what I remember, people in Bay City wanted to keep the bridge, but no one actually wanted to pay the taxes required to pay for repairs, so the solution was to have a private company repair it and in exchange they get to toll it.

hwyfan

#135
Quote from: vdeane on November 06, 2021, 11:14:54 PM

I would hope that the Mackinac Bridge is not like the Atlantic Beach Bridge, which has refused E-ZPass mainly because they're a corrupt political patronage operation that doesn't want anyone to know what their financials look like.  That, and the people on the island see the tolls as a way to keep out-of-towners out (among a bunch of other measures, like parking restrictions and implementing a maze of one-way streets).  They're so obstinate against E-ZPass, they're even considering going AET with no transponder - bill by mail only (presumably their commuter decals would still somehow be accepted).

The director of Nassau County Bridge Authority (NCBA) announced in July of this year, they were in talks with MTA and NYSTA about the possibility of bringing E-ZPass to the Atlantic Beach Bridge. Members of the local citizens advisory committee on the bridge requested it and also the authority had difficulty with a license plate tolling system that they implemented during the pandemic. 

See article:
https://www.liherald.com/stories/nassau-county-bridge-authority-disbands-citizens-committee,142738

Flint1979

I'm surprised that there are people that know anything about Bay City's local bridges in here. They were sold to a private company because the city couldn't afford to maintain them pretty much. They even wanted MDOT to take control to which MDOT refused, neither bridge is a state highway but the Veterans and Lafayette bridges are state highways to which MDOT would be involved there.

Flint1979

Quote from: hwyfan on November 12, 2022, 12:04:01 PM
Quote from: Flint1979 on November 11, 2022, 11:28:03 PM
Quote from: hwyfan on November 11, 2022, 06:12:03 PM
Tolling will begin at the renovated Liberty Bridge in Bay City, Michigan in early 2023. All electronic tolling (AET) will be utilized.  The system will be interoperable with E-ZPass transponders. This will be the first toll facility in Michigan to accept E-ZPass for tolling. 

See:  https://baycitybridgepartners.com/tolling/
Which is stupid. Bay City is like 15 miles from where I live and there are four drawbridge crossings on the Saginaw River and two of them they want to make toll bridges, well one they are the Liberty Bridge but that can easily be bypassed.

As terms of their agreement with Bay City, the BCBP has agreed to allow for residents of Bay City to have free passage across both spans for a set period of time.   Vehicles owned by local residents must have a transponder issued by BCBP installed on their vehicle to do this, as the facilities will utilize all electronic tolling (AET).

No one is being forced to use either toll bridge in Bay City, there are alternative crossings.
Yes I know. I know Bay City pretty well.

hwyfan

Quote from: Flint1979 on November 12, 2022, 04:25:52 PM
I'm surprised that there are people that know anything about Bay City's local bridges in here. They were sold to a private company because the city couldn't afford to maintain them pretty much. They even wanted MDOT to take control to which MDOT refused, neither bridge is a state highway but the Veterans and Lafayette bridges are state highways to which MDOT would be involved there.

The lease agreement between the city and United Bridge Partners came to my attention via articles posted on TollRoadsNews.

vdeane

Quote from: Great Lakes Roads on November 11, 2022, 09:32:41 PM
Quote from: vdeane on November 11, 2022, 08:18:45 PM
Will it be interoperable with whatever the Mackinac Bridge uses?  If not, this is basically Indiana all over again... (at least the Mackinac Bridge still accepts cash)

No, they don't have any plans as of right now to accept EZ-Pass on the Mackinac Bridge. If you are talking about MacPass, then yes, they will be accepted on these two bridges in Bay City.
I was thinking about MacPass on the Bay City bridges.  Indiana had the absurd situation where the toll road was E-ZPass while the Wabash Bridge had its own transponder that was interoperable with nothing (at least the Mackinac Bridge still takes cash; the Wabash Bridge was AET; IIRC it didn't even have a bill by mail option).

There's also Québec, which has two toll facilities, each with their own transponder, neither of them interoperable with anything, not even each other (to make matters worse, both toll facilities are around Montréal, and one of them is AET).

Quote from: hwyfan on November 12, 2022, 01:53:54 PM
Quote from: vdeane on November 06, 2021, 11:14:54 PM

I would hope that the Mackinac Bridge is not like the Atlantic Beach Bridge, which has refused E-ZPass mainly because they're a corrupt political patronage operation that doesn't want anyone to know what their financials look like.  That, and the people on the island see the tolls as a way to keep out-of-towners out (among a bunch of other measures, like parking restrictions and implementing a maze of one-way streets).  They're so obstinate against E-ZPass, they're even considering going AET with no transponder - bill by mail only (presumably their commuter decals would still somehow be accepted).

The director of Nassau County Bridge Authority (NCBA) announced in July of this year, they were in talks with MTA and NYSTA about the possibility of bringing E-ZPass to the Atlantic Beach Bridge. Members of the local citizens advisory committee on the bridge requested it and also the authority had difficulty with a license plate tolling system that they implemented during the pandemic. 

See article:
https://www.liherald.com/stories/nassau-county-bridge-authority-disbands-citizens-committee,142738
I think it's safe to say that an article written in July of this year isn't something I would have seen in November of last year. ;) But at least now the people here who don't read the Northeast forum have seen it.
Please note: All comments here represent my own personal opinion and do not reflect the official position of NYSDOT or its affiliates.

hwyfan

#140
Quote from: vdeane on November 12, 2022, 06:05:39 PM

I was thinking about MacPass on the Bay City bridges.  Indiana had the absurd situation where the toll road was E-ZPass while the Wabash Bridge had its own transponder that was interoperable with nothing (at least the Mackinac Bridge still takes cash; the Wabash Bridge was AET; IIRC it didn't even have a bill by mail option).

The Wabash Memorial Bridge switched to AET in 2011 to replace the manual attended toll booth that was there previously.   Then just three years later after beginning AET, INDOT decided to end tolls altogether, citing low traffic volumes and cost of doing electronic tolling.  That surprised me.

The distant location of the Wabash Memorial Bridge in relation to the East-West Toll Road made the decision to go with lower cost Sirit sticker as opposed to E-ZPass a more reasonable choice.



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