i-Zoom is the electronic toll collection

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 currently used by 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...

 (ITR), and is also usable on the ITR's adjacent sister road, 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....

. 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 online on April 1, 2008 in conjunction with increased cash toll rates. i-Zoom transponders were then made available for purchase at service plazas, along with CVS/pharmacy locations in northern Indiana.

Compatibility with intrastate toll systems

i-Zoom is compatible with both 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...

's I-Pass

I-Pass

I-PASS is the electronic toll collection system used by the Illinois State Toll Highway Authority 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....

 system and 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 United States

Northeastern United States

The Northeastern United States is a region of the United States as defined by the United States Census Bureau.-Composition:The region comprises nine states: the New England states of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont; and the Mid-Atlantic states of New...

, along with the neighboring Ohio Turnpike

Ohio Turnpike

The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a -long, limited-access toll highway in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor to Chicago and Pittsburgh...

, which opened their E-ZPass system at the beginning of September 2009. Currently, the Indiana Toll Road and the ISTHA have a reciprocal agreement where holders of either the i-Zoom or I-Pass receive a discount on tolls in either state, as well as E-ZPass users, and it is likewise the case between the ITR and Ohio Turnpike Commission. Toll discounts are currently not offered with electronic tolling on the Skyway. The discounts to I-Pass users is subsidized by the State of Indiana rather than by the ITR's operator.

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 percent of all electronic transactions on the ITR are done with I-PASS transponders, according to Illinois 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, the ITR began charging I-PASS users a 3¢ surcharge on each of their Indiana Toll Road tolls, effective January 1, 2010. The ITR has signage which states the Illinois Tollway is charging the additional fee to I-PASS users, but this is incorrect since the Illinois Tollway is only able to charge tolls or fees on Illinois Tollways. The 3¢ surcharge, rather, was a business decision by ITR Concession Company

Indiana Toll Road Concession Company

The ITR Concession Company LLC , is the subsidiary of the Macquarie Atlas Roads, Macquarie Infrastructure Partners and Cintra Concesiones de Infraestructuras de Transporte joint-venture that operates and maintains the Indiana East-West Toll Road...

, the private company that operates the Indiana Toll Road, to recoup money lost as a result of the Illinois Tollway billing the ITRCC for a variety of customer service costs and the uneven amount of electronic transactions in the two states.

Purchasing and care

Currently while the ITR encourages users to either purchase an i-Zoom transponder or to move their business from the I-Pass system, the cost of a transponder is $10 with that price immediately credited as a starting balance for the tag. Due to the low price point and pre-paid deposit amount, the i-Zoom is the lowest priced transponder currently in the E-ZPass system. Users of both the I-Pass and i-Zoom systems should be cautioned about keeping both transponders in their vehicle to prevent a double toll on both devices at a toll plaza; the original metallic storage bag which comes in the device's welcome kit seals one of the transponders from registering with the toll plaza's transmitting antenna to prevent this situation.

External links

• Indiana Toll Road Website