EZ-Pass Question For Non-EZ-Pass Vacationers...

[realjd]

Though it does not explain how exactly this works. Presumably they must have some means other than the tag itself of IDing the type of vehicle passing through the toll plaza.

Yes, they use sensors mounted on the gantry that scan the side of the vehicle from above. IIRC they use LIDAR to count the number of places the vehicle profile contacts the ground plane which is the same as the number of axels.

Most systems are much simpler. NYSTA has manual axle counters (the black thing in the road) at all locations other than the express lanes at Woodbury.  Several other states use similar devices.

I'll bet something like that wouldn't hold up well to 70mph+ traffic though.

I looked at one of the toll booths in Orlando today. They had a number of induction coils under the toll readers. I wouldn't be surprised if they can interpret the response from the induction coils to determine where the axels are.

[Sykotyk]

The NJ Turnpike gives an offpeak discount to all EZ Pass users.

The official toll schedule explicitly says "Discount Rate Applies to New Jersey E-ZPass Account Holders Only."

I can personally confirm I have never gotten a discount with my NY tag.

I believe that's a beef between NJ and MTA/NY over not giving discounts for NJ tags. I have an Ohio tag and I get a discount in NJ. Though, it's odd. My price for a transaction does not match the price of either the peak or off-peak. It's 0.30 less than peak (it was an off-peak transaction at 9pm weekday), but not the off-peak rate. That was in February.