EZ-Pass

[Bear]

I plan to take a trip to North Carolina in June with a group of other bikes. They suggested getting an EZ-Pass since a lot of the ride will be on interstates and it would make staying together easier.

Would you mount the device somewhere on the bike or would simply putting it in a chest pocket on the jacket work?

 

[Phil Tarman]

I've got mine in the top of my right pannier, Alex, and it works on C-470 here in Colorado. Of course, our EZ-Pass won't work on anybody else's toll roads. :-(

 

[Herb]

Keep mine in my right pocket cubby. Not hard to pull it out and coast through with it in my left hand still able to hit the clutch if needed.

 

[elizilla]

I ordered one last year to use on trips. We have no tolls near home. I didn't need it until this past Labor Day weekend when I traveled to Maine. No matter where I put it, it did not work. Either the unit was defective or the battery is dead. I was quite annoyed, since the main reason I got it was so I wouldn't have to stop at tolls and fish around for money while worrying that I'd get run over. It's not the money, it's the mortal danger. And the EZ-Pass was worse for that, having to take it out and wave it around, hand it to the toll attendants to look at, etc.

I decided to wait until late winter to send it in, so if it's the batteries, the new one will have less time to run dry before I use it next riding season.

 

[Rob]

i found that mine in the tank bag's clear plastic top did not work. so i found something a bit weird that DID work...i had a spare ram-mount piece, the 4" part that holds the ram balls (uh, that doesn't sound good...lol). with a few pieces of electrical tape on the bottom of the ezpass to thicken it up, i found that the ram mount can clamp down on it quite well. i have it angled roughly the same way it would sit were it behind a car windshield and it works great...although the way it looks doesn't inspire much confidence - i should probably look into a better solution. i've seen some handlebar mounts for them online, just never bothered ordering one.

 

[Bear]

I thought that maybe using some of that 3M Industrial velcro on the windshield and device might work. When not on the interstate, I would put it in my pocket. I will try the chest pocket route first. I don't use the slab enough to justify one of those gadgets--but for the sake of this trip, I'll bite the bullet.

 

[charlie b]

You could all just move out here where there are not enough toll roads to worry about

 

[Bear]

Charlie,
I would love to. I don't use toll roads often--maybe a couple times a year. I find them to be a rip-off. I do like Maine for the scenery and the sailing--and motorcycling. Interstates are a turn off--but sometimes a necessity.

 

[bicyclist]

i found that mine in the tank bag's clear plastic top did not work.

That's weird, that's where I always put mine with no issues.

Alex, the EZ pass comes with that dual lock velcro already on it (at least in Maryland). Just peel the stuff off the back and stick it on your shield. Note, however, that it isn't waterproof. That's why I put it in the map pocket of my tank bag. Different states in the EZ Pass system have different administrative rules. Some charge you for the unit, some don't. Some want $25 deposited in an account, some have a monthly fee; they all do it their own way. The nice thing is that you don't have to get it in your home state, so you can look around for the state with the best deal. Google is your friend. Seems to me that Massachusetts had a pretty good deal. You could research it and stop there and pick one up on your way down the road. You can get them at some of the toll road admin offices.

 

[Rich]

I have to ride a ferry frequently. The local system has a bar-code approach with renewing pass that I use. Plus I have a RFID card that I need to access the airport ramp where I leave my plane.

I use a gizmo like this to hold both types of passes, strapped onto my left glove. I stop and scan the barcode at the ferry tollbooth and just hold it up to the RFID reader at the airport:

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=9SIA01506K0995&nm_mc=OTC-Froogle4&cm_mmc=OTC-Froogle4-_-Travel+Accessories-_-Chisco+Sports+Accessories-_-9SIA01506K0995

 

[elizilla]

The nice thing is that you don't have to get it in your home state, so you can look around for the state with the best deal. Google is your friend. Seems to me that Massachusetts had a pretty good deal. You could research it and stop there and pick one up on your way down the road. You can get them at some of the toll road admin offices.

I about went nuts trying to do that comparison shopping. The websites are mostly terrible, and not at all standard, so digging up the info takes way more time than it should. Where is Consumer Reports when we need them? After looking at a half dozen states I finally just ordered it from New York because they offer half price for motorcycles using EZ-Pass on the NY Thruway, and I travel that direction about as often as any. But it turns out that they won't give me that plan, until I send them a paper copy of my registration paperwork. I still haven't got that done, since I don't work in an office with a convenient xerox machine. It's on my task list for this winter. In the meantime, no discounts.

Maybe next year my transponder will be more useful.

 

[EmanonPhoto]

Make sure you get a regular transponder. Down here in FL they have a different system called sun-pass, its the same idea, but there are two transponder options, they are both essentially battery free RFID transponders, one is about the same size as ez-pass, it has a built in antenna. That is the one that motorcycles must use. The other transponder they call a mini sticker, is just that, but it must be affixed to a glass windshield, which it somehow uses as its antenna, plastic windshields on cycles won't work.

 

[Phil Tarman]

I think mine gets picked up from inside my pannier. It always did on my Connies, but I have to confess I don't really know now. Here in Colorado, if you have a transponder, you get charged the same amount even if they have to read your license plate. We don't slow down for anything either way. In fact, there's no way to interact with a human on our one toll road, E-470 (loop around east side of Denver) unless you get a ticket or have a wreck.

 

[Bear]

I like that "Arm Wallet" Rich posted. The transponder would be on my left sleeve and I could then manipulate the correct position. Thanks, Rich. You definitely found a solution for me.

 

[Digger23]

I can only assume the ez pass is similar to the I-pass we have in IL which is RFID, I have mine mounted at the base of my Cee Bailey and it works flawlessly. Would be nice if they were universal and worked across state lines.

 

[elizilla]

They do. I-Pass joined the EZ-Pass consortium a couple years ago.

That's why I finally got one. As a person who would use them once or twice a year in Chicago, and once or twice a year in New England, it wasn't worth it to have two transponders, but once they announced that I could use the same one for both, I decided to do it.

Wikipedia has a list of states/facilities that accept EZ-Pass.