Motorists who still use cash to pay tolls are urged to acquire E-ZPass accounts before the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) converts its four high-traffic-volume toll bridges – Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1), I-78, Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22), and Delaware Water Gap (I-80) – to strictly cashless/all-electronic toll collections next week.
The four highway bridges are scheduled to cease accepting cash 11 p.m. Sunday, January 12. That means Monday, January 13 will be the first full day that motorists will have only two toll-payment options – E-ZPass and TOLL BY PLATE — at these bridges.
TOLL BY PLATE involves the capturing of a vehicle’s license plate information so the registered owner can be mailed a bill for payment. TOLL BY PLATE rates are up to twice as much as E-ZPass rates due to the inherently higher costs of billing and processing payments. The Commission’s TOLL BY PLATE car toll is $3, the same rate as it is now for paying with cash at DRJTBC crossings. In comparison, the DRJTBC’s E-ZPass car toll is $1.50.
Get E-ZPass to Avoid Higher Toll Rates and Possible Fees, Penalties
E-ZPass is the most convenient, efficient, and cheapest option for paying tolls. The Commission’s toll rates for E-ZPass transactions are up to 50-percent less than the rates for cash and TOLL BY PLATE transactions.
To establish an E-ZPass account with the Commission’s toll-processing service provider – the regional New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center – go to: www.ezpassnj.com. If an individual has questions or needs assistance, the Commission’s customer service number is 800-363-0049.
E-ZPass is far and away the most used payment method at Commission toll bridges. System-wide, more than 86 percent of toll transactions involve E-ZPass. The E-ZPass penetration rates for the four bridges shifting to cashless tolling on January 13 are:
- Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1) – 84 percent
- I-78 – 84 percent
- Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22) – 86 percent
- Delaware Water Gap (I-80) – 82 percent
E-ZPass also is the most used electronic toll payment method in the world, with over 59 million toll tags now in circulation. E-ZPass is accepted by 35 toll agencies spread across 20 states, many in the Northeast. Many of these other agencies provide lower rates to motorists who use E-ZPass to pay tolls. Additionally, many of these toll agencies already have cashless/all-electronic toll collection systems.
Toll Assessment
Once the Commission stops accepting cash payments for tolls, it will rely solely on electronic tolling equipment to assess the toll charges for E-ZPass-equipped motorists and for motorists who do not have E-ZPass. The payment process for E-ZPass users will remain unchanged. However, a non-E-ZPass-equipped motorist will have his/her vehicle license plate image captured by an overhead camera. The registered vehicle owner will then be sent an invoice after 30 days or once the recorded tolled trips on that vehicle exceed $50, whichever comes first.
Prompt payment is crucial; it prevents the assessment of additional fees and possible future penalties.
TOLL BY PLATE Payments
Payment can be mailed, or the billed individual can go online to pay with a credit card through the New Jersey E-ZPass website. Individuals wishing to pay their toll bill by cash currently have limited options: they can either travel to the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center’s walk-in centers in Newark, N.J., Camden, N.J. and New Castle, DE. Those addresses are available at this webpage: https://www.ezpassnj.com/en/about/csc.shtml.
If payment is not received by the bill’s prescribed deadline (usually 30 days of issuance), a second bill gets generated with an additional $5 toll bill late fee.
Failure to pay this second billing on time results in the TOLL BY PLATE bill being escalated to a toll violation. The $5 toll bill late fee gets reversed, and a $30 administration fee is assessed for each overdue toll transaction. A violation notice is then mailed to the vehicle owner. If the new escalated amount owed remains unpaid by the violation notice’s payment deadline, a second violation notice gets generated. If that remains unpaid, the violation is advanced to a collection agency.
The best way for motorists to avoid TOLL BY PLATE invoices, higher toll rates, and possible fees and penalties is to set up an E-ZPass account.
