January 22, 2011 – A Toll is a Toll, and a Roll is a Roll

EZ Pass and its equivalents, depending on what state you’re in, should be an awesome system.  It SHOULD allow traffic to flow through toll plazas more quickly.  Oftentimes however, the opposite is true.  I guess part of the problem is that not enough people use the EZ Pass system so that when traffic approaches a toll plaza, a whole lot of maneuvering has to happen so that cars can get into the correct lanes.  Sometimes this traffic can be so bad that drivers with EZ Pass still have to wait in the entirety of the toll traffic just to get close enough to maneuver into an EZ Pass lane.  Two hours of my life that I won’t get back were given up to the GWB for this very problem.  It would definitely make things better if more people took advantage of the system but I’m not ready to make a decree along those lines.  Instead…

All toll plazas that make use of an EZ Pass or equivalent system must have express lanes towards the side of the plaza that separate a few miles before the toll plaza and allow drivers to pass through at a speed similar to the speed limit of the road they are on.

This will mean a whole lot of construction that will increase traffic woes for a while but your suffering will not be in vain.  Once the express lanes are in place, those who have the EZ Pass system will filter out of traffic easily and get through the toll quickly, leaving less traffic at the actual toll plaza.  For whatever reason, the traditional EZ Pass only lanes are often the lanes with the worst traffic when approaching a toll plaza.  I don’t understand this phenomenon, but I have personally witnessed it many times.  The only occasions when the EZ Pass lanes actually do what they are supposed to do is when they are express lanes that separate early and lead to EZ Pass lanes that can be traveled through without stepping on the brakes.  The NJ turnpike is a good example of this.  Express lanes really made things better there.  Are you listening Delaware?  I hope you are because for a small state you sure do all you possibly can to keep travelers in your state for as long as possible.  If you are going to charge a toll for 13 miles of road you should at least have a toll plaza with express lanes.

I have more to say about EZ Pass in general but that will have to wait for another day.

As always I remain your all-powerful and benevolent Queen of the World,

Marisa