CONCORD, N.H. – Forget E-ZPass for July 4. How about Labor Day?
Gov. John Lynch kept a contract for the electronic toll-collection system from coming before the Executive Council on Wednesday because he wants more information on the various discount options and doesn’t want to be too quick to phase out toll tokens.
The plan the council was to have voted on was aimed at launching E-ZPass on July 4. Transportation Commissioner Carol Murray said a more realistic target is now Labor Day weekend.
The delayed plan would not have eliminated tokens, which are sold at a 50 percent discount, and would have made E-ZPass 30 percent cheaper than using cash.
The Legislature is considering eliminating tokens Jan. 1. The bill has passed the House and has been endorsed by a Senate committee. The transportation department also favors eliminating tokens by Jan. 1.
But Lynch said Wednesday he does not support eliminating tokens by the end of the year.
“I think we need to look at discounts for E-ZPass as well as tokens,” he said.
Murray said Lynch will get the information he seeks in a few days, and the council should be able to vote on E-ZPass at its meeting June 1.
E-ZPass transponders, already in use in many other states, are attached to windshields with Velcro strips. Tolls are deducted from drivers’ accounts as they drive slowly through tollbooths.
The system is expected to reduce rear-end collisions at tolls, improve air quality and alleviate traffic congestion, Murray said.
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