EZPASS in MD: New Monthly Fee

[mcs328]

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=25&sid=1707686

BALTIMORE - The Maryland Transportation Authority is going to start charging E-ZPass customers a monthly fee to use the service.

The authority will start charging customers $1.50 per month on Wednesday.

As part cost-recovery initiative approved in January by the authority's governing body, E-ZPass customers will also pay $21 to $40 for new and replacement transponders. New customers will also pay a $25 prepaid deposit.

An administration fee for unpaid toll violations increases from $15 to $25.

The changes are part of an effort expected to generate $60 million more a year for the self-sustained agency as costs increase and toll traffic and revenue drop. In May, vehicles with more than two axles began paying higher tolls on several highways and bridges.
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I got mine through Virginia with no monthly fees. I think this is kinda of ridiculous.

[attgig]

I got mine when i lived in jersey which has a fee. i realized that md didn't have any fee only a couple years ago, and never bothered to switch. now, it's definitely not worht switching.

fwiw, I've heard that even if you're a MD resident, you can return your tags to md, and register with PA, VA, or whatever state that doesn't charge a fee. Only caveat is that if you're enrolled in a commuter program (discount for a specific route within md that you travel every day), then you'll need to keep the md registration.

[VTGreg]

This move definitely won't attract any casual customers. Unless you are commuting on a regular basis I can't see picking up an EZ pass with the additional fees especially if you can get these in another state without the fees. Maryland finding a way to tax everything isn't a new phenomenon.

[guiseppewv]

Tax and spend liberals! They saved money and decreased the number of people needed in toll booths. Instead of letting attrition take its toll to make up for the "extra" employees, they chose to create new jobs for those people and now they need to raise fees b/c it is "more expensive to use EZPass than to take the cash at the booth" :rolleyes:.

I am sending my MD EZPass back as soon as I get one from VA.