EZ Pass Maryland Transponders Are Now Free: Gov. Hogan

ANNAPOLIS, MD — Governor Larry Hogan announced Wednesday that all new E-ZPass Maryland customers will not have to pay the $7.50 transponder fee, which is estimated to save Marylanders $46 million over the next five years. The decision follows a 2015 announcement when Hogan said there would be major toll rollbacks.

The free transponders themselves will save $6 million, while the discounts that transponder users get will account for the remaining $40 million in estimated savings.

“Today, we continue moving forward with a commitment to provide relief for Maryland taxpayers by putting an additional $46 million back into the pockets of hardworking middle class families, retirees, and small businesses - and back into our growing economy,” Hogan said in a news release. "We have now cut taxes, tolls, and fees by over $1.2 billion in the last four years.”

Customers with old transponders will also get new ones for free. If you've already bought a transponder in 2018, your account will be credited $7.50 as long as it is in good standing.

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“It’s never been a better time to become an E-ZPass Maryland customer,” said Maryland Transportation Authority Executive Director Kevin C. Reigrut. “Current cash and video tolling customers can now get a free transponder and save time and money with the substantial discount that E-ZPass Maryland offers.”

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Also, as a part of attempting to make E-ZPass more attractive, officials are lowering tolls even more for customers. The Bay Bridge now costs $2.50 for E-ZPass customers as opposed to $4 in cash.

The MDTA is funded solely by toll revenue. It's the state agency that finances, owns, operates, and maintains the state’s eight toll facilities.

Just last month, the Maryland Transportation Authority said it is exploring phasing out all cash toll booths across the state. Today, tolls are collected three ways: by cash, or electronically, by either an E-ZPass transponder or by video tolling — when the state uses a license-plate photo and mails drivers their bills.

Transportation officials say that the transition to all-electronic, high-speed toll collection will save drivers time on their commute, save the state money, reduce accidents at toll plazas, and reduce CO2 emissions as less fuel is being burned, according to a national study by the University of Central Florida.

Drivers in Maryland could start seeing new plazas that only collect tolls electronically at highway speeds by the summer of 2019, Reigrut said. The agency will address one to two facilities at a time, starting with toll plazas that have the highest number of people who already use E-ZPass.

The first two areas that will be prioritized are the Thomas J. Hatem Memorial Bridge in Cecil County — where 93 percent of those who cross use E-ZPass — and the Francis Scott Key Memorial Bridge on I-695 in Baltimore County — where 78.5 percent of those who cross use E-ZPass, according to Reigrut.

Article image Nicole S Glass via Shutterstock