New Jersey Turnpike officials to test E-ZPass stickers instead of transponders
A public rollout to Garden State E-ZPass customers would come next, if there are no issues during the pilot.
Could the white E-ZPass transponder on your windshield become a relic?
Well, not yet.
But New Jersey Turnpike officials will soon test out E-ZPass stickers in turnpike authority fleet vehicles, spokesperson Tom Feeney said Wednesday. The New Jersey Turnpike Authority also operates the Garden State Parkway.
“If there are no problems,” Feeney added, “we will make a plan to introduce them to NJ E-ZPass customers.”
The pilot, first reported Tuesday by NJ.com, takes a cue from other states that have transitioned from transponders to stickers.
Both devices are equipped with digital chips, which are read by overhead gantries on the highways. The technology allows drivers to keep moving and be digitally charged for tolls.
This week, the Massachusetts Department of Transportation rolled out E-ZPass stickers, free of charge for new customers and those who need to replace their transponders, according to several local news reports.
Massachusetts officials estimate the switch will save the state more than $7 million a year, since the stickers’ production cost is a fraction of the cost of the transponders, according to a recent report from WBUR, the Boston NPR affiliate.
In New Jersey, officials spent $8.4 million in 2022 to replace the batteries of 920,000 E-ZPass transponders, according to NJ.com.
News of the Garden State’s E-ZPass sticker test comes two months after the Atlantic City Expressway went cashless, with the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike set to follow. Across the river, the Pennsylvania Turnpike has been cashless since 2020.