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Fast Lane (electronic toll collection)

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This is an old revision of this page, as edited by CPAScott (talk | contribs) at 14:24, 26 June 2012 (updating for 2012 change to E-Z pass ... as this is completed the article will need to be updated to put Fast Lane in past tense.). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

For other uses of "Fast Lane", see Fastlane.

Fast Lane is the RFID electronic toll collection system used in Massachusetts. Fast Lane is used on the Massachusetts Turnpike, Sumner Tunnel, Ted Williams Tunnel, and Tobin Bridge. It is also accepted at one parking structure operated by the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority. Fast Lane is fully interoperable with the many E-ZPass facilities in other states, however, since mid-2002, Fast Lane users receive a discount on some tolls that E-ZPass users do not enjoy.

In 2012 the Department of Transportation began the process of converting all existing Fast Lanes to E-ZPass lanes and will phase out the Fast Lane name. With the change, the toll collection system will cease to have corporate sponsorship.

History

Toll booth at the junction of I-84 and the Mass Pike (exit 9).

The original electronic toll collection system in Massachusetts was called MassPass and was installed at the Ted Williams Tunnel. This system was scrapped and replaced by the current E-ZPass-compatible system in 1998 for the Ted Williams Tunnel and the Massachusetts Turnpike Boston extension and extended to the rest of the turnpike in 1999.

When the system was first introduced, AAA gave out to its Western Massachusetts members an orange Fast Lane pass. This pass could be used from exits 1 to 6 without toll because these exits do not currently charge tolls. The orange passes are still used today, however, they are being phased out as they approach the end of their service life. Replacement with a standard transponder is required.

According to MassDOT's website, the name Fast Lane will soon be renamed to E-ZPass and switch to the purple and white signage.

Sponsors

As of 2005, the system is sponsored by Citizens Bank for the Massachusetts Turnpike and tunnels, and by TD Bank, N.A. for the Tobin Bridge (formerly administered by the separate Massachusetts Port Authority).[1] Along the Turnpike it is branded the Citizens Bank Fast Lane, whereas at the Tobin Bridge it is branded TD Bank Fast Lane. Until 2005, Fleet Bank sponsored the Fast Lane system. It inherited the sponsorship upon merging with BankBoston, the founding financial institution of the local system along with the Massachusetts Turnpike.

Cost

Consumers are not required to pay the cost of the transponder. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority used to charge a one-time fee to buy the transponder. They had planned to replace that charge with a $0.50 monthly fee, but both fees were eliminated due to criticism on Massachusetts Turnpike Easter Sunday congestion in 2009.[2]

The legality and constitutionality of offering discounts to holders of transponders issued by Massachusetts as opposed to transponders issued by other states has been upheld twice at the federal appellate level, in 2003 by the First Circuit in a case arising out of Massachusetts[3] and in 2010 by the Third Circuit in a case arising out of New Jersey.[4] Significantly, both courts based their rulings on the fact that Massachusetts transponders are available on equal terms to in-state and out-of-state residents and that anyone is allowed to have a transponder from more than one state at a time, choosing which transponder to use in each toll transaction to obtain the cheaper rate. The court in the New Jersey case noted parenthetically that "...out-of-state residents who commute regularly to Boston each day might very well decide to carry only a [Massachusetts] Fast Lane transponder."

Notes

  1. ^ Banknorth Becomes Tobin Bridge Fastlane Sponsor; Massport Signs New England Bank, Generating Non-toll Revenue
  2. ^ "Fast Lane Transponders Are Now Fee Free". wbztv.com. Retrieved August 6, 2009.
  3. ^ "Doran et al. v. Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (03-1312), 348 F.3d 315 (CA1 2003)". United States Court of Appeals, First Circuit. November 6, 2003. Retrieved January 14, 2012.
  4. ^ "Yerger et al. v. Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (09-4083), ___ F.3d ___ (CA3 2010)". United States Court of Appeals, Third Circuit. September 30, 2010. Retrieved January 14, 2012.

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