Mass Pike RFP Service Areas

The Mass Pike is offering 15 year concessions for a firm that will take charge of fuel and food services at all eleven of its service areas. It wants better services and a bigger return from the new concessionaire. Howard Johnson got a lease in perpetuity on the service plazas back in 1957 when the Turnpike opened, but when HJ was bought by Host Marriott in the early 1990s, the Pike negotiated an end to the franchise in 1999. Marriott is operating now under a one year extension of that.

Both the food and fuel services are being asked to incorporate electronic toll transponder technology into their services. Food service providers will be expected to provide drive-through facilities using FAST LANE as the MA ET system is branded. Self-serve gas pumps too will have to incorporate a transponder payment option. Despite it’s separate name the Mass Pike’s ET system is a fully interoperable system with E-ZPass using Mark IV equipment. So New Yorkers and other visitors with E-ZPass tags will be able to charge fuel and food to their accounts. (Contact William.Tuttle@state.ma.us)