Indiana TR concessionaire admitted to E-ZPass IAG

The E-ZPass Inter Agency Group (EZPIAG) has voted in the Indiana Toll Road Concession Company as a full member opening the way to carrying out Indiana's plans to bring interoperable electronic tolling to the 253km (157 mile) tollroad designated I-80 and I-90 that operates across the north of the state between Illinois's Chicago Skyway and Ohio's Turnpike.

Interoperability means that a transponder account issued by one toll agency is honored by all other agencies in the E-ZPass group, so for example a holder of a Pennsylvania Turnpike transponder (like me) can use that same transponder in New Hampshire or Illinois or West Virginia and get bills for those tolls on the one PA Turnpike account.

Membership requires conformity with certain standards of presentation an entitles members to purchases from sole source suppliers of electronic toll equipment such as Mark IV at group negotiated terms. Members share files of accounts in good standing for toll debits, and remit net funds due one another on a regular basis.

Chicago Skyway Concession Company is a non-operating member of EZPIAG which routes its transactions through Illinois Tollway's (ISTHA) system.

ITRCC is the first private concessionaire to be admitted as an operating member of EZPIAG, which is a cooperative of 22 toll agencies in 11 states in the northeast, mid-atlantic and mid-west. It makes decisions by consensus and is staffed by people on the payroll of member agencies who bill the group by time.

"We're excited to welcome ITR Concession Company as a new member and look forward to partnering with them to offer the efficiency and convenience of E-ZPass to Indiana," says P J Wilkins, Chairman of the IAG Executive Committee and Toll Administrator for the Delaware Department of Transportation in a statement released by the EZPIAG today.

ITRCC has a $40m toll system upgrade under way a major portion of which is implementation of transponder tolling designed to be compatible with E-ZPass and I-PASS. This is scheduled to come on line progressively through the second half of this year.

Ohio Turnpike to the east of the Indiana Toll Road is preparing a request for proposals for electronic tolling to be issued later this year for completion in 2009, which will be the last major toll facility between Maine and Illinois to offer transponder tolling.

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel is currently having a toll system upgrade with E-ZPass compatible tolling, and the Carolinas are also expected to join the system with new toll facilities around 2009 and 2010.

EZPIAG membership is: Maine Turnpike Authority, New Hampshire DOT, Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, Massachusetts Port Authority, New York State Thruway Authority, New York State Bridge Authority, Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, MTA Bridges and Tunnels (Triborough Authority), New Jersey Turnpike Authority, South Jersey Transportation Authority, Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, Burlington County Bridge Commission, Delaware River Port Authority, Delaware River and Bay Authority, Delaware DOT, Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, Maryland Transportation Authority, Virginia DOT, West Virginia Parkways Authority, Peace Bridge Authority, Chicago Skyway Concession Company and Illinois State Toll Highway Authority.

Dulles Greenway a private concessionaire tollroad route their transactions through the state of Virginia's Smart Tag system to EZPIAG and are not separately a member of EZPIAG like the Skyway.

http://www.e-zpassiag.com/

TOLLROADSnews 2007-03-19