MTR 255, Though late with E-ZPass, NJ Leads in Developing its Potential

Mobilizing the Region
Issue 255 February 4, 2000

Though late with E-ZPass, NJ Leads in Developing its Potential

The NJ Turnpike will mark a milestone this summer when it opens the region's first high-speed electronic toll collection facility. The Turnpike has relocated its Interchange 6, which connects to the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The new plaza will have one high-speed lane for each direction that will allow E-ZPass equipped motorists to pass through at 50 mph. E-ZPass readers will be installed this spring or early summer.

Most of the region's older toll plazas force drivers with E-ZPass to stop or slow to a 5 mph crawl, depriving the highway system of the seamlessness that electronic toll technology promises. One analysis found that a non-stop toll lane moves 600 more cars per hour than a old-style booth retro-fitted with E-Z Pass.

NJ Assembly Transportation Chair Alex DeCroce has revived the "Parkway Barrier Toll Removal" bill, and State Senator Robert Martin has also re-introduced its companion bill. Backed by transportation reformers and environmentalists, the bill would require the Garden State Parkway to reconfigure for non-stop toll collection at plazas where E-Z Pass market share reaches 2/3rds of toll-paying vehicles. Cash-payers would pay a 15-cent toll surcharge to pay for the overhaul.