Easy-pass question?

prendy

hi guys, just a quick question.
i use various toll bridges a few times a week and was looking into getting an easy pass.
my question is are they the same price as paying in coins or are the tolls cheaper with it?
also is it a minimum payment per month or is there an expiory on the credit?

i have looked at their site but couldnt get these answers?


thanks.

Solair

They charge the same as the coin fees, but you tend to save money as you don't accidently donate change to the toll operator if you use the basket.

The EazyPass system tops up your account automatically when it reaches a pre-set low limit. That way you've always enough credit to pay.

All of these tags now work on all of the tolls across the country.

L1011

Be warned that the M4 seems to not accept Port Tunnel tags for whatever reason... which reminds me I need to contact my tag operator about that!

Theres generally a fee per month, its as low as 50c and as high as €1.27 depending on operator.

Tarabuses

prendy wrote: »

hi guys, just a quick question.
i use various toll bridges a few times a week and was looking into getting an easy pass.
my question is are they the same price as paying in coins or are the tolls cheaper with it?
also is it a minimum payment per month or is there an expiory on the credit?

i have looked at their site but couldnt get these answers?


thanks.

Not only is it not cheaper, they also charge you for administering your money. I just can't understand why this, and the Luas Smartcard, isn't promoted by offering better value than the cash option.

Carawaystick

just to note you can't get a tag for a motorbike.

ardmacha

However on the new M50 tolling scheme it will clearly be cheaper to have a tag, but this should be case everywhere.

ardmacha

ardmacha wrote: »

However on the new M50 tolling scheme it will clearly be cheaper to have a tag, but this should be case everywhere.

Do you (or anybody) have any links to the "barrier free" toll web site please.

Another "license to print money"

Terrontress

I think if you look up www.eazypass.ie you'll get the lowdown.

I love it, especially when travelling on the M1 and don't have to stop the car. Don't know why this system isn't launched on the other routes.

I think it really should be less expensive than the standard pricing because they don't have to accept, process, store and transport cash. Also, I'd imagine it's cheaper in the long run with no human involvement.

The question is though whether the toll prices have a minimum level set by law?

dmeehan

See http://www.independent.ie/national-news/motorists-face-monthly-fee-for-m50-toll-device-1342198.html

its in todays Indo

Motorists face monthly fee for M50 toll device

By Treacy Hogan Environment Correspondent
Wednesday April 09 2008

MOTORISTS are going to have to pay a monthly charge for a 'spy in the cab' box in addition to higher toll charges on Dublin's new-look M50.

The monthly standing charge for administration will depend on which tag operator motorists sign up with under the new barrier-free system.

The National Roads Authority (NRA) and up to five private operators are offering a range of deals.

Motorists will pay the toll of €2 plus a fee to the tag company from August.

The toll for a car will be €2 if you have a pre-paid tag, €2.50 if you get one the day afterwards or €3 if they have to bill you.

But motorists will still have to set up an account and pay up to €1 a month for the cost of the small box that attaches to the dashboard.

Some companies allow you to buy the unit for €30-€40 and pay a smaller monthly charge. Others rent you the box and charge more each month.

Overhead cameras and detectors will automatically record your electronic tag or vehicle number plate.

This barrier-free system will enable you to pass through the toll at the legal speed limit.

The toll is then debited from your account with the tag provider.

Options

Registration for eFlow barrier-free tolling will start next month and customers will have a range of account options (such as pre-pay or post pay) and a variety of ways to pay the toll (such as direct debit, debit card or by cash).

After that you will be prosecuted and will have to pay toll, legal costs and a €25 penalty.

The new toll charges campaign is being launched today by the NRA.

Fred Barry, NRA chief executive, said yesterday he was looking forward to the benefits the new system would bring to the M50.

L1011

"This barrier-free system will enable you to pass through the toll at the legal speed limit"

hahahaha. hahahahaha.

If its anything like the ones on the M1, it won't. They're posted at 50kmh to prevent you slicing the roof of your car off if the barriers don't open but I've found they usually only blip if you're doing 30 or less. Unless they intend to bake the entire onramp with RFID...

ardmacha

The M1/M4 has a barrier that lifts as you approach. On the new M50 scheme there won't be any barriers, hence no reason to slow down for them. The RFID readers on the gantry will read your tag or your plate will be photographed.

L1011

ardmacha wrote: »

The M1/M4 has a barrier that lifts as you approach. On the new M50 scheme there won't be any barriers, hence no reason to slow down for them. The RFID readers on the gantry will read your tag or your plate will be photographed.

My point is that if you approach the RFID readers at even 50kmh on the M1, they don't see you. You're moving too fast to be read.

prendy

so let me get this straight, there making the toll higher and people have to pay the additional charge on the tags?
WTF?

ardmacha

My point is that if you approach the RFID readers at even 50kmh on the M1, they don't see you. You're moving too fast to be read.

It is not a question of moving too fast to be read. On the M1 they have to make cars slow down as they have to be able to drop the barrier so that people coming behind can be diverted. If people with tags were whizzing through at 120Kmh and someone comes along tailgating with no tag then they would hit the barrier at more than 100kmh, which wouldn't be nice at all.

High speed tag reading is perfectly possible and is routine on the likes of the Toronto Highway 407.

so let me get this straight, there making the toll higher and people have to pay the additional charge on the tags?WTF?

You can use a tag and pay pay the monthly tag charge and a lower toll, or pay the higher non tag toll.

L1011

...you still didn't get what I said.

I've approched the reader at 50kmh with a perfectly working tag (as it worked on the way back). It didn't blip. Every other time I've used the M1 I've approached about 30, it blipped, barrier has gone up, sorted. Only use the road about once a week (both ways) but thats still added up to about 60 goes since I got the tag.

The fact that it works abroad doesn't inspire me with confidence as NOTHING is competent in this country... maybe, just maybe, it might work right for once though.

rameire

Carawaystick wrote: »

just to note you can't get a tag for a motorbike.

eh yes you can

ardmacha

...you still didn't get what I said..

I said that the M1 didn't want people to approach their barrier at speed so they ensure that the tag cannot be read at fast speeds. This is nothing to do with the speed it could be read at.

The new M50 scheme is a revenue collecting enterprise, there is a clear incentive to make it work well so as to better collect money. The operators are required to be able to read tags at 100kph, if they want their money then they have to do that.

rameire

prendy wrote: »

so let me get this straight, there making the toll higher and people have to pay the additional charge on the tags?
WTF?

if you already have a tag and use the toll already,
then there is no extra cost.
i.e. it cost €2 at the moment for a car,
if you have a tag currently you already pay a service charge to the company,
when the new tolling system comes in
you will still pay the €2 and you will still pay the service charge,
meaning its the same cost.

rekrow

Is it just me or are the pricing structures for the tags covered under the official secrets act? Do they all charge the same amount for administration, rental tolls etc? It would be nice to see a simple comparison chart if such a thing exists. Anyone know?

mobpd

rekrow wrote: »

Is it just me or are the pricing structures for the tags covered under the official secrets act? Do they all charge the same amount for administration, rental tolls etc? It would be nice to see a simple comparison chart if such a thing exists. Anyone know?

Look on the NRA website under PPP and the documentation on the Draft Tolling arrangements and the public meeting held last year....you could have bet your life that the NRA would always just accept their own Draft tolling policy irrespective of what objections they received ....which they DID!
This argument of it being 'cheaper' if you have a e-tag is a joke...
I am not the only person who would use the M50 only about 20 - 25 times a year...because there is an admin fee associated with the e-tag, the summary calcs in the inspectors report on the NRA show that it would not be cost effective for me to get one. So therefore the 'cheaper' option for me is to now pay the 2.50 toll (a 25% increase). And BE AWARE that the NRA repeatedly say that the quoted new tolls of 2.00 or 2.50 or 3.00 are at AUGUST 2007 prices....methinks it will not be long before they go UP, UP, UP...