I-Pass
Encyclopedia
I-PASS is the electronic toll collection
system used by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority
(ISTHA) on its toll highways. It uses the same transponder as the E-ZPass
system used in the Northeastern US, and the Indiana Toll Road
's i-Zoom
program.
I-PASS transponders can be used at all toll plazas, including those located on entrance and exit ramps. However, an important advantage to using I-PASS is that the main toll plazas have been rebuilt to use open road tolling
so that I-PASS users can drive straight through the toll plaza passing under transponder antennas at normal speeds, while cash customers must pull off to the side of the road and stop at conventional toll booths.
As of the January 1, 2005 toll rate increase, there is a significant discount for I-PASS usage. In June 2005, I-Pass became compatible with toll collection on the Chicago Skyway
.
If a vehicle registered with I-PASS passes through a toll collection without the transponder, the toll amount will be automatically deducted from the respective I-PASS account via a "video toll" (a camera picture of the license plate as the car passes through the toll gate or open road tolling
apparatus is taken), though if the feature is abused, the regular fines for toll evasion are applied, and the I-PASS may be revoked.
Users of the system can manage their account through the I-Pass website. Normally the system will keep a credit balance on-account for users, tied to a credit card and replenished as the balance drops below a preset threshold. However, a user can choose to manually replenish their account manually via the website. There are also I-Pass desks at many service plazas on Illinois tollways which can assist users of the system.
Controversy surrounds the reciprocal use of I-PASS by Illinois motorists and I-Zoom
by Indiana motorists on the other state's toll road. Each state charges the other a transaction fee when the out-of-state transponder is used to pay a toll. About 70% of all electronic transactions on the Indiana Toll Road
are done with I-PASS transponders, according to Tollway Authority figures. Until January 1, 2010, the fee was absorbed, with I-PASS users paying twice as many Indiana tolls as I-Zoom users paying Illinois tolls. To address this imbalance, ISTHA began charging I-PASS users a 3 cent surcharge on each of their Indiana tolls, effective January 1, 2010.
, I-PASS transponders are accepted for the payment of tolls on the E-ZPass system. I-PASS transponders cannot be used to pay for other services such as airport parking where E-ZPass transponders are currently accepted. In the case of older units, only car and motorcycle I-PASS transponders are compatible with the E-ZPass system, and other users with older units (eg. semi truck operators) must swap their current I-PASS transponder for a transponder compatible with both I-PASS and E-ZPass. (The reverse — use of Northeastern state E-ZPass transponders in I-PASS facilities in Illinois — was actually working as early as May 2005.)
Electronic toll collection
Electronic toll collection , an adaptation of military "identification friend or foe" technology, aims to eliminate the delay on toll roads by collecting tolls electronically. It is thus a technological implementation of a road pricing concept...
system used by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority
Illinois State Toll Highway Authority
The Illinois State Toll Highway Authority is an instrumentality and administrative agency of the State of Illinois, United States. The roads, as well as the Authority itself, are sometimes referred to as the Illinois Tollway...
(ISTHA) on its toll highways. It uses the same transponder as the E-ZPass
E-ZPass
E-ZPass is an electronic toll-collection system used on most tolled roads, bridges, and tunnels in the northeastern US, south to Virginia and West Virginia, and west to Illinois. Currently, there are 25 agencies spread across 14 states that make up the . All member agencies use the same technology,...
system used in the Northeastern US, and the Indiana Toll Road
Indiana Toll Road
The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line...
's i-Zoom
I-Zoom
i-Zoom is the electronic toll collection system currently used by the Indiana Toll Road , and is also usable on the ITR's adjacent sister road, the Chicago Skyway. On June 27, 2007, the system was implemented from mile 1 to mile 23 of the road. After a lengthy delay, the remaining toll plazas came...
program.
I-PASS transponders can be used at all toll plazas, including those located on entrance and exit ramps. However, an important advantage to using I-PASS is that the main toll plazas have been rebuilt to use open road tolling
Open road tolling
Open road tolling or free-flow tolling is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow...
so that I-PASS users can drive straight through the toll plaza passing under transponder antennas at normal speeds, while cash customers must pull off to the side of the road and stop at conventional toll booths.
As of the January 1, 2005 toll rate increase, there is a significant discount for I-PASS usage. In June 2005, I-Pass became compatible with toll collection on the Chicago Skyway
Chicago Skyway
The Chicago Skyway, also known as Chicago Skyway Toll Bridge System, is a toll road in Chicago, Illinois, United States, carrying Interstate 90 from the Indiana Toll Road to the Dan Ryan Expressway on Chicago's South Side leading into the Chicago Loop....
.
If a vehicle registered with I-PASS passes through a toll collection without the transponder, the toll amount will be automatically deducted from the respective I-PASS account via a "video toll" (a camera picture of the license plate as the car passes through the toll gate or open road tolling
Open road tolling
Open road tolling or free-flow tolling is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow...
apparatus is taken), though if the feature is abused, the regular fines for toll evasion are applied, and the I-PASS may be revoked.
Users of the system can manage their account through the I-Pass website. Normally the system will keep a credit balance on-account for users, tied to a credit card and replenished as the balance drops below a preset threshold. However, a user can choose to manually replenish their account manually via the website. There are also I-Pass desks at many service plazas on Illinois tollways which can assist users of the system.
Tollways & bridges that accept I-Pass
- Illinois Tollways
- Chicago Skyway
- Indiana Tollway
- Ohio Turnpike
- Pennsylvania Turnpike and branches
- New York State Thruway
- Other bridges that accept EZPass in the Northeastern US
Controversy surrounds the reciprocal use of I-PASS by Illinois motorists and I-Zoom
I-Zoom
i-Zoom is the electronic toll collection system currently used by the Indiana Toll Road , and is also usable on the ITR's adjacent sister road, the Chicago Skyway. On June 27, 2007, the system was implemented from mile 1 to mile 23 of the road. After a lengthy delay, the remaining toll plazas came...
by Indiana motorists on the other state's toll road. Each state charges the other a transaction fee when the out-of-state transponder is used to pay a toll. About 70% of all electronic transactions on the Indiana Toll Road
Indiana Toll Road
The Indiana Toll Road, officially the Indiana East–West Toll Road, is a toll road that runs for east–west across northern Indiana from the Illinois state line to the Ohio state line...
are done with I-PASS transponders, according to Tollway Authority figures. Until January 1, 2010, the fee was absorbed, with I-PASS users paying twice as many Indiana tolls as I-Zoom users paying Illinois tolls. To address this imbalance, ISTHA began charging I-PASS users a 3 cent surcharge on each of their Indiana tolls, effective January 1, 2010.
, I-PASS transponders are accepted for the payment of tolls on the E-ZPass system. I-PASS transponders cannot be used to pay for other services such as airport parking where E-ZPass transponders are currently accepted. In the case of older units, only car and motorcycle I-PASS transponders are compatible with the E-ZPass system, and other users with older units (eg. semi truck operators) must swap their current I-PASS transponder for a transponder compatible with both I-PASS and E-ZPass. (The reverse — use of Northeastern state E-ZPass transponders in I-PASS facilities in Illinois — was actually working as early as May 2005.)