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Comment by kube-system | Hacker News Reader

Most EZ-Pass locations usually still have toll booths, they simply allow drivers who have a transponder to continue through more quickly.

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They have been moving toward a model where there are no more toll booths, no one slows down. If you have EZ Pass, you are scammed and your account billed. If you don't, they take a picture of your license plate and mail you a bill. Much of the NY/NJ area now operates on this model.

At first I thought you were using “scammed” literally, on second glance I’m guessing you meant “scanned”.

That’s usually called “toll by plate” not EZ Pass.

Correct. Typically they give a small discount if you do EZPass otherwise it's toll by plate. E470 around Denver has been like this for...decades maybe.

Since this has gone into place I have been sent at least 3 bills for trips on E-470 I never took. One time it was sent to collections because I would not pay. They turned out to be false matches of my license plate number with their automated camera system.

And I went through two EZ Pass tolls this morning where all lanes had toll booths (and gate arms!). My point is that "EZ Pass" != "no toll booth".

Colorado isn't even in the EZ Pass network.

Sounds like I-66 near Washington D.C. It used to just be regular congested highway, now it's EZ-pass only, every GPS navigation app sends you through it, and there are only a few non-conspicuous signs warning you. If you're in the area it's fine you just know, but I imagine at least hundreds of tourists get bamboozled every day there.

edit: Correcting myself here, it's EZ-Pass-only at certain times of day: http://66expresslanes.org/e-zpass/default.asp which I find even more confusing.

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