E-ZPass comparison resources?

[hbelkins]

There are countless E-ZPass posts here, but has anyone ever been able to locate a good E-ZPass comparison resource?

I've had a West Virginia transponder for years, but now they don't allow moving a transponder between different vehicles. There's also an annual fee. The lures of a WV account, besides proximity, were the lack of fees and being able to move between vehicles as long as all the vehicles are registered on the account.

Of course, in the years since I got it, Kentucky has joined the party, but in truth I've used the WV Turnpike more than the Louisville bridges. But not enough to justify paying an annual fee for the discounts at the toll booths and the North Beckley exit.

I don't mind having to keep a high minimum balance as long as it's a one-time deposit into the account and not an annual fee. I don't anticipate doing a lot of traveling anytime in the future into E-ZPass territory, but I like having the convenience of a transponder. Plus, my current one is ancient and I'm surprised it still functions.

[doorknob60]

I haven't found an all-in-one resource for comparisons, but my most recent research led me to buy the CFX (Central Florida Expressway) EPass Uni. It works on all EZ-Pass roads, and SunPass roads in FL (including the ones that don't accept EZ-Pass). No annual fees and you can transfer it between vehicles with the mobile app or on their website. $10 minimum balance and it auto-reloads when you go below that. I ordered the transponder from Amazon which was convenient. I've only used it in Florida so far, but I've had no complaints with it (other than someone else drove the rental car I had returned through a couple of toll booths before I remembered to remove the license plate from the system haha, only about $2 lost). I plan to use it for all my east coast/EZ-Pass region trips.

[1995hoo]

I've never found any sort of good comparison service, but the most knowledgeable source I know of for good, accurate information is mtantillo of this forum. He hasn't posted in a while, but you could try sending him a PM in case perhaps the system e-mails him to tell him he has a message.

Aside from that, I'd likely opt for the Uni transponder doorknob60 mentions if I didn't require E-ZPass Flex capability for HO/T lanes. Because I do require that, I maintain my separate Virginia E-ZPass and Florida SunPass accounts. (If you don't care about Florida compatibility, Virginia charges no fee for the standard transponder, but the terms and conditions say they can revoke your account if you don't use it at least once every so often–not sure whether it's every six months or every twelve months–so that could be a problem in view of your final paragraph.)

[Mr. Matté]

https://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Transportation_Systems_Casebook/Tolling/E-ZPass#Fees_and_discounts_by_state

[Rothman]

Man, Wikipedia used to have that comparison.  Too bad it when the way of the dodo.

[SkyPesos]

I'll probably need a comparison tool too. I just got Ohio Turnpike's transponder only because it's my home state, despite using the turnpike a grand total of zero times (it's not really useful for someone that lives in Cincy), so it may be worth switching to one that I use much more often, like the Pennsylvania Turnpike or Illinois's Tollways, and cheaper than Ohio Turnpike's $0.75 monthly fee if possible.

[Flint1979]

I'll probably need a comparison tool too. I just got Ohio Turnpike's transponder only because it's my home state, despite using the turnpike a grand total of zero times (it's not really useful for someone that lives in Cincy), so it may be worth switching to one that I use much more often, like the Pennsylvania Turnpike or Illinois's Tollways, and cheaper than Ohio Turnpike's $0.75 monthly fee if possible.

I almost live closer to the Ohio Turnpike than you do and I never use that road. I always use OH-2, US-6 and/or US-20.

[froggie]

I've never found any sort of good comparison service, but the most knowledgeable source I know of for good, accurate information is mtantillo of this forum. He hasn't posted in a while, but you could try sending him a PM in case perhaps the system e-mails him to tell him he has a message.

Aside from that, I'd likely opt for the Uni transponder doorknob60 mentions if I didn't require E-ZPass Flex capability for HO/T lanes. Because I do require that, I maintain my separate Virginia E-ZPass and Florida SunPass accounts. (If you don't care about Florida compatibility, Virginia charges no fee for the standard transponder, but the terms and conditions say they can revoke your account if you don't use it at least once every so often–not sure whether it's every six months or every twelve months–so that could be a problem in view of your final paragraph.)

In the short term, at least, Virginia has waived that use requirement due to COVID.  Given his typical travels pre-COVID, I imagine H.B. would travel enough to where the use requirement wouldn't be an issue.

Also regarding his OP, Virginia allows one to swap it between vehicles as long as you have the vehicle registered/listed on your EZPass account.  Easy enough to do it online.  I recently did it for a trip my wife was taking with a friend (using the friend's car).

[ran4sh]

I'll probably need a comparison tool too. I just got Ohio Turnpike's transponder only because it's my home state, despite using the turnpike a grand total of zero times (it's not really useful for someone that lives in Cincy), so it may be worth switching to one that I use much more often, like the Pennsylvania Turnpike or Illinois's Tollways, and cheaper than Ohio Turnpike's $0.75 monthly fee if possible.

As far as I know, Pennsylvania doesn't engage in transponder discrimination (Pennsylvania will give any E-ZPass user any applicable discount regardless of which state you get the E-ZPass from).

The states that I am aware of that don't charge monthly fees and also don't have minimum usage to qualify for such, are Illinois and Massachusetts.

Florida and Georgia are supposed to join E-ZPass soon (probably with a similar arrangement as NC) so I will probably be looking at what they do when I get E-ZPass for myself.

[ctkatz]

something that I learned last year, north carolina's quick pass will automatically pull funds from your bank account to fund your prepaid account if they determine within a 90 day period if your current replenishment settings are too low. I had my account set for $20 replenishment and never took a toll facility until last year when I took the Newburgh-beacon bridge (NY I 84), new hampshire turnpike, ny thruway, nj turnpike, delaware river bridge (2x), delaware turnpike, maryland express lane, ft. mchenry tunnels, virginia express lanes, norfolk tunnel, chesapeake bridge and tunnel, delaware veterans parkway, penna turnpike and the ohio turnpike up to i 480 in a 5 day period. instead of a couple of $20 replenishments as needed, a month later they pulled an additional $120 due to a high usage of tolls. the only way I get that back is to cancel the account.  being one of the first compatible with the sunpass system before sunpass used ezpass tech is not worth that kind of hassle.

I'm also very interested in an ezpass online resource comparison.

[andrepoiy]

Which state's EZPass is best for a Canadian who travels to the US probably like once a year? Lol

[vdeane]

Which state's EZPass is best for a Canadian who travels to the US probably like once a year? Lol

I would guess NY, as long as you pick it up from Wegmans or something, not online.  No monthly fee (except for Port Authority tags, hence the need to get the tag in person), no cost to get the tag other than the initial account balance and a deposit which is refunded into the account when automatic replenishment is set up.  As far as I'm aware, only MA is similar (well, there's MD, but only for residents or people who travel on their toll roads at least three times a month), and a NY tag would get you the best discount on the Thruway, which I'm guessing you'd use more than the MassPike.  NY also has a pay per trip option that would withdraw each bill directly from one's checking account, but I have no idea how to set that up.  No idea if there would be any complications for having a Canadian address or billing information for any of this.

[oscar]

Which state's EZPass is best for a Canadian who travels to the US probably like once a year? Lol

Look for one where you can pay any setup fees, or replenishments, by credit card (if you have one), so your card company rather than the state can deal with the currency conversions.

The Peace Bridge EZPass might be particularly friendly to Canadian customers, and will work on both the Peace Bridge and any other toll road or bridge that takes EZPass. OTOH, it might be unfriendly to customers who rarely use the Peace Bridge, as one of us found out a long time ago.

[vdeane]

NY allows replenishment by credit card (except with pay per trip).  No idea about other states - I thought it was standard?  FYI, the Peace Bridge no longer has a separate tag; they now use the Thruway one.

[1995hoo]

NY allows replenishment by credit card (except with pay per trip).  No idea about other states - I thought it was standard?  FYI, the Peace Bridge no longer has a separate tag; they now use the Thruway one.

I thought credit card auto-replenishment was pretty much the standard everywhere and that other means of replenishment were secondary options–for example, I know Virginia rolled out some sort of card with a UPC-type bar code that cash-payers can use to replenish their E-ZPass at the grocery store (presumably the particular bar code is linked to a particular E-ZPass account number) in order to spare cash-payers the hassle of driving to an E-ZPass customer service center.

[hbelkins]

NY allows replenishment by credit card (except with pay per trip).  No idea about other states - I thought it was standard?  FYI, the Peace Bridge no longer has a separate tag; they now use the Thruway one.

I ordered two Peace Bridge tags years ago (they did not allow for transferring between vehicles) because they were fee-free, but they did not come in time for a trip my wife was planning, hence an afternoon run to Charleston to pick up the WV tag. They finally came, but I never used them. I got a letter a few years ago saying they were merging with some other NY agency. At that time I went to look for them so I could return them and get my deposit back, but I couldn't find them. To this day I don't know where they are.