New Jersey Turnpike Authority to Clarify Pricing Discounts for NYC E-ZPass Customers

By Yehudit Garmaise

E-ZPass customers in New York who also use the New Jersey Turnpike will soon gain clarity about any available toll discounts, thanks to a bill that New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy signed into law on Monday.

Gov. Murphy noted that the New Jersey Turnpike Authority website does not clarify which discounts apply to customers who drive on the many interstates and bridges that connect New Jersey to Delaware and New York, saying, “Requiring transparency in pricing and discounts is good customer service.”

Clarity was needed, Gov. Murphy explained, because customers often assume they can take advantage of any advertised discounts. However, each toll agency sets its own prices and discounts, which can vary considerably.

In 1990, E-ZPass, the first-of-its-kind electronic toll-collecting system, started as an alliance of seven toll agencies in New Jersey, New York, and Pennsylvania.

In the past 33 years, the toll-collection technology that deducts money from prepaid accounts has expanded from agencies in three states to nineteen states with 32 million account holders whose yearly transactions exceed $14 billion.

With each agency that offers E-ZPass setting its own toll rates and discounts, confusion reigned among E-ZPass users who needed help determining which discounts they are qualified for.

“Drivers will now be able to easily find [E-ZPass discount] information online before leaving for trips,” says NJ Assemblyman Kevin Rooney, who championed the bill.