Observation of Electronic Toll Collection Systems
Introduction
The topic that I will be observing and evaluating is Electronic Toll Collection Systems such as EZ pass and other systems that are similar. Electronic Toll Collection Systems are very common in the United States, but different regions use different systems. For example, states on the east coast, Indiana, and Ohio use EZ pass. How it works is you put money into your EZ pass account, and when you get to a toll booth instead of going up to the toll and waiting, you can drive straight through. When driving straight through the toll you have a micro-chip in your vehicle that communicates with the cameras. If you do not have an EZ pass the camera detects your license plate and depending on who operates the road they will bill you. For example, if I am driving on the Pennsylvania Turnpike and I do not have an EZ pass on me, the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation or PennDot will detect my license plate and will send me a bill which typically takes about a few weeks.
Impact
The impact that Electronic Toll Collection Systems has is the increased convenience of paying tolls instead of having to wait in a long line at a toll booth. This has increased the demand of Electronic Toll Collection Systems to where some roads now require you to have their specific system in order to reduce the operational costs at toll booths such as wages, benefits, maintenance, traffic, and others. For example, I was coming onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike from the New Jersey Turnpike one day and I did not have an EZ pass and the only options were EZ pass or be billed. I obviously had to get billed. The problem with this mechanism is not everyone has an EZ pass since there is really no need to have it if you do not drive on toll roads very often. Although, if you are driving on a toll road during this pandemic it is very useful to have EZ pass since toll booths are now closed in efforts to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, but if you do not you still get billed. Electronic Toll Collection Systems are also cost-effective solutions with faster payment processes. However, these systems have big government contracts and depend on a lot of government funding which implement high installation costs to these systems.
Costs and Regulations
Some of the costs include safe and secure data transactions, efficiently ran systems, toll collection infrastructure, and more. It is essential to meet government requirements since many state governments have stake in these Electronic Toll Collection Systems being used on their roads. There is some conflict in the relationship between legislatures and the system designers/developers. Legislatures’ job is to make and pass laws and regulations, and they have the power to put regulations in place for these systems that they may be testing out, prototyping, or are not ready for yet. There is this gap between the regulations they put in place and their understanding on how the systems work. The consequences of putting out new regulations faster than the system can process could cause it to fail completely and creates more problems. The reality of adding new features or implementing new things in the system to comply with regulations takes time to create. Regulations are necessary for protection, but legislatures and system designers need to be in close contact with each other to have a mutual understanding of what it takes to comply with regulations. If system designers and developers spend most of their time complying with regulations they are not built for, the system can become a disaster and ineffective.
Monopolies on Electronic Toll Collection Systems
Electronic Toll Collection Systems are not only prominent in America, they are also prominent in other countries around the world such as China, India, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, and many other countries. These other countries have actually implemented other efficient features such as Touch ‘n Go Cards, PlusMiles Cards, and SmartTag just to name a few that enable smoother transactions. Ironically, these other countries have more options for which system they want to choose from. But for most of the east coast of the United States, EZ pass has a monopoly on toll systems. The problem that arises with this is there is only one player in town, there is no competition to drive improvements to the system or meet the demands of consumers. EZ pass is essentially a monopoly that relies on government subsidizes. The benefits of having multiple Electronic Toll Collection System companies supported on toll roads is if you as a consumer are not happy with the cost and product of the service, you can shop around for another one to meet your needs while EZ pass does not give you that flexibility.
Alternative Solutions and Conclusion
Some possibilities to innovate this type of system are implementing a one day, one-week, or one-time pass option that you can purchase online. Another possible way to innovate is instead of the physical EZ pass chip, there can be an option on the EZ pass app where it has access to the NFC reader on your phone where the cameras can detect it when going through the toll points. Having this would alleviate the hassle of waiting for the EZ pass chip you need to put on the dash or windshield of your car to come in the mail. These would be very nice and convenient for people taking vacations, visiting long distance family members, sports tournaments, or any other road trips. EZ pass is only useful for people who drive on toll roads often such as using them for travel or going to work. One example of a situation such as this are Amtrak vs. private bus companies for mass transit such as Bolt Bus, Greyhound, Megabus, and more. Amtrak gets subsidies from the federal government and the cost of a ticket from Philadelphia to New York is about $65, while a bus ticket can run anywhere from $10–20. In this case the demand for the buses is much higher since consumers want to get the best deal. This allows consumers who use these services themselves to determine where they are going to do their business and if their service does not satisfy the customers’ needs, they need to innovate otherwise they will go out of business. As private companies, they must please its consumers, but when a company such as EZ pass have government contracts, it gives them something to fall back on and does not depend on consumers’ satisfaction to stay in business. Not only as taxpayers are we subsidizing EZ pass, but we still have pay out of our pocket for using their service as well. Let us say someone is coming from a state that does not use EZ pass such as California and depend on the toll system they use there for toll roads. EZ pass takes time to get having to comply with different systems while traveling from other states or getting the hefty bill can be a hassle. Overall, if we just adopted what foreign countries are doing with using the system they choose to use, that would be a mutual benefit for both consumers and the systems themselves. Consumers can pay the tolls without any hassle and the systems can innovate to make the system more efficient.
References
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:I-80_West_-_MM310_-_EZPass_Toll_(28986825727).jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:NJ_Turnpike_EZPASS_Toll_Booth_Sign.svg
