Happy Anniversary E-ZPass
This weekend marks the tenth anniversary of the E-ZPass automatic toll pay system:
Ten years ago today, the first few drivers with little tags on their windshields passed through the Thruway's Spring Valley toll barrier in Rockland County without rolling down a window or fumbling for change.
Four weeks later, the new wave of E-ZPass commuters washed across the Tappan Zee Bridge, and on April 17, 1995, it was the Capital Region's turn from Exit 23 in Albany to Exit 27 in Amsterdam.
By 1997, drivers could travel the entire state Thruway system without concern about the cash in their pockets.
Today, more than half of the millions of trips taken each year on the Thruway are paid with E-ZPass tags, and Capital Region commuters are among the technology's greatest fans.
My parents gave me one of these a few years ago, when Kate was living in The City for the summer (working for Rudy G.), and it's been a real lifesaver. It's a simple and obvious idea, and yet it's good for a "living in the future" moment every time I blow through a toll lane without rolling down my windows. Up here, they've even got it set up so you can put the parking charges from the airport on your E-ZPass...
Yeah, New Jersey made a hash of it when they first installed the system, but I figure what the hell, that's Jersey. And it does get me in trouble whenever I find myself in a car without an E-ZPass (leading to the $3.00 check I had to write to the Mass Pike when I moved up here...). But they've got the bugs worked out now, and I can drive all the way to Boston or DC without having to worry about cash for tolls.
Technology is Good.
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