Light up signs when using electronic tolling

[bugo]

On Oklahoma's turnpikes, there are signs about the size of walk/don't walk signs that light up when a car with Pikepass passes the sign.  The words "Thank you" light up when you pass a tollbooth.  Do any other states have a system like this?

[realjd]

Most of Florida is open road tolling now so no stopping or confirmation lights, but the FTE/SunPass booths typically used orange painted stoplights with "Thanks" painted across the green lens. OOCEA booths used two section white painted stop lights similarly marked.

[cpzilliacus]

On Oklahoma's turnpikes, there are signs about the size of walk/don't walk signs that light up when a car with Pikepass passes the sign.  The words "Thank you" light up when you pass a tollbooth.  Do any other states have a system like this?

Lanes at Maryland's cash toll barriers (including those that are E-ZPass only) have a matrix sign that shows "Toll Paid" when you pass the toll booth.

The InterCounty Connector (Md. 200), which is cashless, has no such feedback.

Virginia's Dulles Toll Road (Va. 267) has "traffic signals" in the E-ZPass only lanes at the main barrier that blink green if your E-ZPass transponder was read correctly.

The private Dulles Greenway (also Va. 267) has gated toll lanes, so when the gate goes up, you can be pretty sure that your transponder was read correctly.

[Mr_Northside]

If memory serves (and I sure as hell hope it does, as I've had EZ-Pass since 2006), The PA Turnpike (excepting plazas with "express" lanes) uses a standard-looking 3-head traffic signal.  Green shows when the EZ-Pass has been read successfully, and the lens also has "Thank You" imprinted on it.
Yellow is for Low Balance, and has that written on the lens.
Red is what is usually showing until the EZ-Pass is read.

I haven't thought about it until this thread, but the red light is probably a really stupid idea.  While the EZ-Pass toll plaza lanes have a speed limit of 5 MPH, they really don't want people actually stopping in them. If you don't have an EZ-PASS and end up in an EZ-PASS only lane, they expect drivers to just deal with the fine/fee they get in the mail.  In the earlier days, they'd have press releases asking people to not stop in those lanes cause people would, and some people would even try to back up and into another lane, creating dangerous situations.

[myosh_tino]

There are small LED signs positioned immediately after the toll booth that will display "FASTRAK OK" or "ETC OK" when a toll is collected electronically.  This applies at all seven BATA (Bay Area Toll Authority) bridges with the only exception being the open-road tolling lanes on the Benicia Bridge. 

The Golden Gate Bridge, which went all electronic tolling this morning, also has the LED signs but if I recall correctly, the signs read "PAY TOLL" followed by "FASTRAK OK" or "PAID 6.00" depending on how the toll was paid.  Now that the Golden Gate is now all electronic tolling, I'm not sure how or if the LED signs are being used.

[Brandon]

ISTHA has a two light system in the non-ORT lanes.  Blue is good, yellow is out of funds, and the combination of the two is a low account balance, sub-$10.  The green Thank You light also goes on when you pass through.

[deathtopumpkins]

I've never paid attention to the specific design of them, but most toll facilities have some acknowledgement that you've paid a toll with E-ZPass. Here in MA on the Tobin Bridge a dot-matrix signboard beneath a RYG traffic signal (which lights up green) displays "PAID $2.50" (or whatever the amount for your class is) once it reads your transponder: http://goo.gl/maps/C0vmp, and on the MassPike both the "faux-ORT" lanes and the booth E-ZPass lanes only have thesignal, no display.

I know, however, that the ORT lanes on I-95 in NH have no acknowledgement.

[briantroutman]

The Golden Gate Bridge, which went all electronic tolling this morning, also has the LED signs but if I recall correctly, the signs read "PAY TOLL" followed by "FASTRAK OK" or "PAID 6.00" depending on how the toll was paid.  Now that the Golden Gate is now all electronic tolling, I'm not sure how or if the LED signs are being used.

I drove over the GGB this morning, and I wasn't expecting this, but I think the all-electronic tolling will be a negative for me personally.

I was always baffled by the great number of people who live in the Bay Area and don't have FasTrak–particularly in Marin. As a consequence, the cash lanes were always jammed, and the FasTrak lanes on the left served as a convenient shortcut for me.

Now, there are no dedicated FasTrak lanes. The LED signs above all lanes simply say "OPEN" and the traffic is more or less evenly distributed aside from the HOV-dedicated lanes. (Strike one.) Maybe people will adjust in time, but at least as of this morning, the timid and confused non-FasTrak-ers (who are distributed across all lanes) creep through the toll plaza much more slowly than I'm used to. (Strike two.) Plus, since the toll plaza used to be a bottleneck for the cash-paying drivers, they now move through much more steadily and traffic creeps slowly all the way down the Presidio Parkway. (Strike three.)

I guess I'll have to get back into taking the ferry.

The GGB Transportation District has been busy lately getting ready for the changeover by adding "DO NOT STOP" signs at each toll plaza lane and advertising the cashless "D-Day" on every VMS from San Fran to Santa Rosa. They also added "Last Exit Before Toll" plates on the Exit 442 overhead guides (which now lists "Alexander Ave" instead of "Sausalito") and yellow "TOLL" plates below the 101/1 shields. On the last two, I'm not sure why–it was ALWAYS a toll bridge, in fact now, since you don't need to carry cash, it seems like a moot point.

[DeaconG]

If memory serves (and I sure as hell hope it does, as I've had EZ-Pass since 2006), The PA Turnpike (excepting plazas with "express" lanes) uses a standard-looking 3-head traffic signal.  Green shows when the EZ-Pass has been read successfully, and the lens also has "Thank You" imprinted on it.
Yellow is for Low Balance, and has that written on the lens.
Red is what is usually showing until the EZ-Pass is read.

The Garcon Point Bridge in NW Florida has the same signals, except they're for SunPass.

[wxfree]

Before the Central Texas Turnpike System went cashless, it had red and green lights in the cash lanes and ramp toll booths.  It did not have the lights on the mainlanes.  On some ramps on TX 130, there was an electronic sign in the coin basket lane.  I once used the coin basket in spite of having a TxTag.  The sign at first said something like "TxTag detected" and after I paid in coins it said "Thank you."  I didn't really notice the sign at the time, so I didn't really see what it said at first, but I think it was something about the tag.  I paid with coins because I was about to lose the opportunity to do that.  Now all those roads are cashless.

[jeffandnicole]

In NJ, the Turnpike and Parkway have 3 line, 6 character displays.  I rarely look at them anymore, but I'm pretty sure they say "EZ PASS PAID" "EZ PASS GO" "GO UNPAID TOLL" "GO LOW BAL" and similiar messages, depending on the toll plaza (the message differs on the Turnpike based on if you're getting on or off).

The AC Expressway has those displays on the mainline tolls.  On the ramp tolls, they have a 3 headed traffic light, which I have only seen flash green.

Personally, the messages are the worst part of the system.  Sure it reassures the motorist the toll was paid, but if the toll wasn't paid, there's nothing the motorist can do at that point anyway.  Some motorists slow down...way down...just to see the message.  Others will just sit there if they get a "Unpaid Toll" message, and the toll workers can't do a damn thing about it anyway.

[kphoger]

I haven't thought about it until this thread, but the red light is probably a really stupid idea.  While the EZ-Pass toll plaza lanes have a speed limit of 5 MPH, they really don't want people actually stopping in them. If you don't have an EZ-PASS and end up in an EZ-PASS only lane, they expect drivers to just deal with the fine/fee they get in the mail.  In the earlier days, they'd have press releases asking people to not stop in those lanes cause people would, and some people would even try to back up and into another lane, creating dangerous situations.

Two years ago, I saw a bus reversing out of one lane in favor of another lane at the Sabinas Hidalgo toll booth on northbound 85(D) between Monterrey and Nuevo Laredo, México.  There was other traffic behind it, which must have made things interesting (we caught the fun as it was ending).  It backed up just far enough to be able to cut diagonally across (I think) one other lane, and then the turn into the toll booth was too tight so he had to redo it again.

[SidS1045]

I've never paid attention to the specific design of them, but most toll facilities have some acknowledgement that you've paid a toll with E-ZPass. Here in MA on the Tobin Bridge a dot-matrix signboard beneath a RYG traffic signal (which lights up green) displays "PAID $2.50" (or whatever the amount for your class is) once it reads your transponder: http://goo.gl/maps/C0vmp, and on the MassPike both the "faux-ORT" lanes and the booth E-ZPass lanes only have thesignal, no display.

I know, however, that the ORT lanes on I-95 in NH have no acknowledgement.

The E-ZPass lane signals on the MassPike were deliberately made with two yellow signals, so no one would be tempted to stop.  The bottom one is a green ball with the legend THANK YOU for a valid payment.  The middle one is a yellow ball with the legend LOW BAL, for those who manually load money into their accounts and have a low balance.  The top one is a yellow ball with the legend CALL E-ZPASS, for vehicles without a readable tag.

[kphoger]

I've never paid attention to the specific design of them, but most toll facilities have some acknowledgement that you've paid a toll with E-ZPass. Here in MA on the Tobin Bridge a dot-matrix signboard beneath a RYG traffic signal (which lights up green) displays "PAID $2.50" (or whatever the amount for your class is) once it reads your transponder: http://goo.gl/maps/C0vmp, and on the MassPike both the "faux-ORT" lanes and the booth E-ZPass lanes only have thesignal, no display.

I know, however, that the ORT lanes on I-95 in NH have no acknowledgement.

The E-ZPass lane signals on the MassPike were deliberately made with two yellow signals, so no one would be tempted to stop.  The bottom one is a green ball for a valid payment.  The middle one is a yellow ball with the legend

Due to your tag line and the lack of an ending to your post, I read this as:

The middle one is a yellow ball with the legend
"A nation of sheep will beget a government of wolves."

[SidS1045]

Yes, and you get extra money in your account if you can actually read all that on an eight-inch traffic light...   

[bugo]

Many of the Pikepass lanes don't have a speed zone.  However, some of the older toll boots have a 30 MPH speed limit.

[roadman]

I've never paid attention to the specific design of them, but most toll facilities have some acknowledgement that you've paid a toll with E-ZPass. Here in MA on the Tobin Bridge a dot-matrix signboard beneath a RYG traffic signal (which lights up green) displays "PAID $2.50" (or whatever the amount for your class is) once it reads your transponder: http://goo.gl/maps/C0vmp, and on the MassPike both the "faux-ORT" lanes and the booth E-ZPass lanes only have thesignal, no display.

I know, however, that the ORT lanes on I-95 in NH have no acknowledgement.

New Hampshire EZ-Pass lanes, except for ORT, have GYR lights with small CMS boards that give you a green light and read "GO EZ-PASS" to acknowledge your transaction has been accepted.  Yellow light means your account needs to be replenished, and a red light means there's a problem reading the transponder.

MassPike has a similar light system for their EZ-Pass lanes, but without the CMS boards.

[1995hoo]

I recall a toll plaza somewhere, I think probably the Delaware Turnpike plaza pre-reconstruction, whose display said "E-ZPass Thx." (I normally avoid that plaza, but I've gone through it often enough as a passenger.) I remember thinking it was a little hard to read and that a green light or "E-ZPass Paid" would be better.

[nwi_navigator_1181]

On the Indiana Toll Road:

All lanes are gated. Overhead LED signs designate which lanes are electronic and which are cash lanes. ETC users will see three messages on the electric sign:

"TAG ACCEPTED" (light goes green, gate goes up)
"LOW BALANCE" (when less than $10 in account; tag still accepted, light goes green, gate goes up)
"TAG NOT ACCEPTED" (light stays red, gate stays down)

So, it's the mix of the classic red/green light and gate combination with the modern electronic toll system.