Don't Have Your E-ZPass Transponder Mounted? It'll Cost You.

For those of you who don't have your E-ZPass transponders mounted on your windshield, take note. The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority just announced that it's going to start fining customers who slow down the line at the Newport Pell Bridge toll booths.

Starting next Wednesday, Sept. 22, RITBA will charge motorists a $2-per-axle fee, in lieu of the E-ZPass discounted rate, if they need a RITBA employee to raise a gate due to an unmounted transponder. That would bring the fine for most cars up to the bridge's $4 fee. According to a representative from RITBA, the fine will apply no matter which lane you're in—the E-ZPass only lane or the cash/E-ZPass lane.

RITBA cites workers' safety as one reason for the change. In a release, the authority notes that employees frequently have to cross the plaza to the E-ZPass-only lane in order to assist motorists stopped behind the gate.

"These delays are caused by individuals who refuse to properly mount their E-ZPass transponders, and are frustrating for people who purchased E-ZPass to move quickly through the toll plaza," RITBA states. "The gates won't rise when the toll-reading equipment cannot read the transponders. Proper mounting ensures that the transponder will be read and that traffic will flow smoothly through the E-ZPass lane. 

RITBA claims that at least 100 times every day, someone with an unmounted E-ZPass transponder holds up the E-ZPass-only lane at the Newport Pell Bridge.

Anyone with questions can call the customer service center at 877-743-9727. The call center is open Monday through Friday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. and on Saturday from 8 a.m. to noon.  The walk-in center is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturdays.