TxTAG - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

TxTag operated by the Texas Department of Transportation

Texas Department of Transportation

The Texas Department of Transportation is a governmental agency in the U.S. state of Texas. Its stated mission is to "work cooperatively to provide safe, effective and efficient movement of people and goods" throughout the state...

(TxDOT), is one of three interoperable 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...

systems in Texas

Texas

Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

Current system status

The TxTag brand name is used on the following highways:

Operated by TxDOT:
- the Central Texas Turnpike System, which encompasses Highway 130, bypassing Austin
  Austin, Texas
  Austin is the capital city of the U.S. state of :Texas and the seat of Travis County. Located in Central Texas on the eastern edge of the American Southwest, it is the fourth-largest city in Texas and the 14th most populous city in the United States. It was the third-fastest-growing large city in...
  
  to the east, Highway 45, an east–west road roughly straddling the Austin-Round Rock
  Round Rock, Texas
  Round Rock is a city in Travis and Williamson counties in the U.S. state of Texas. It is part of the metropolitan area. The 2010 census places the population at 99,887....
  
  boundary, and the northern portion of Loop 1 (Mopac)
  State Highway Loop 1 (Texas)
  Loop 1 is a controlled-access highway which provides access to the west side of Austin in the U.S. state of Texas. It is named Mopac Expressway after the Missouri Pacific Railroad...
  
  on Austin's north side
- Loop 49, bypass of Tyler
  Tyler, Texas
  Tyler is a city in and the county seat of Smith County, Texas, in the United States. It takes its name from President John Tyler . The city had a population of 109,000 in 2010, according to the United States Census Bureau...
- Highway 255
  Texas State Highway 255
  State Highway 255 toll road owned by the state of Texas that has operated since 2000 that allows international traffic to bypass Laredo. The route stretches from the Colombia Solidarity International Bridge to Interstate 35 at exit #24...
  
  , the Camino Colombia Toll Road, as of June 1, 2009.

Operated by the Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority
The Central Texas Regional Mobility Authority is a Regional Mobility Authority in the US state of Texas. CTRMA was created in 2003 by Travis and Williamson counties after authorization by the Texas Transportation Commission in October, 2002. It was the first Regional Mobility Authority created...

http://www.mobilityauthority.org/:
- 183A, a toll bypass of US 183 through Leander
  Leander, Texas
  Leander is a city in Williamson and Travis counties in the U.S. state of Texas. The population was 7,596 at the 2000 census. According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2008 estimates the population is now 25,424...
  
  . CTRMA is planning several other toll road projects throughout the Austin metropolitan area, which are planned to accept TxTag.

Interoperability

EZ TAG
EZ TAG
EZ TAG is an electronic toll collection system in Houston, Texas, United States that allows motorists to pay tolls without stopping at toll booths. Motorists with the Tags are allowed to use lanes reserved exclusively for them on all Harris County Toll Road Authority roads...

, operated by Harris County Toll Road Authority
Harris County Toll Road Authority
The Harris County Toll Road Authority maintains and operates a toll road system in the Houston/Harris County area...

and Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority
Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority
The Fort Bend County Toll Road Authority , located in Sugar Land, Texas, is currently managing the successful development and completion of two key county mobility projects, the Fort Bend Parkway Toll Road and the Fort Bend Westpark Tollway...

(Greater Houston
Greater Houston
Houston–Sugar Land–Baytown is a 10-county metropolitan area defined by the Office of Management and Budget. It is located along the Gulf Coast region in the U.S. state of Texas...

)
TollTag
TollTag
TollTag is the electronic toll collection system used by the North Texas Tollway Authority in the Dallas / Fort Worth metro area. It was North America’s first electronic toll collection system when it was installed on the Dallas North Tollway in 1989. There are currently over 2,000,000 TollTags in...

, operated by North Texas Tollway Authority
North Texas Tollway Authority
The North Texas Tollway Authority maintains and operates toll roads, bridges and tunnels in the North Texas area. Functioning as a political subdivision of the State of Texas under Chapter 366 of the Transportation Code, the NTTA is empowered to acquire, construct, maintain, repair and operate...

(Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex
The Dallas–Fort Worth–Arlington Metropolitan Statistical Area, a title designated by the U.S. Census as of 2003, encompasses 12 counties within the U.S. state of Texas. The area is divided into two metropolitan divisions: Dallas–Plano–Irving and Fort Worth–Arlington. Residents of the area...

)

Since 2003, HCTRA's EZ TAG and NTTA's TollTag have been mostly interoperable, with the exception of Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport and Dallas Love Field airport parking, where NTTA's TollTag is the only ETC system recognized.
TxTag transponders are accepted at all designated lanes on HCTRA and NTTA roadways. EZ TAG

EZ TAG

EZ TAG is an electronic toll collection system in Houston, Texas, United States that allows motorists to pay tolls without stopping at toll booths. Motorists with the Tags are allowed to use lanes reserved exclusively for them on all Harris County Toll Road Authority roads...

and TollTag

TollTag

TollTag is the electronic toll collection system used by the North Texas Tollway Authority in the Dallas / Fort Worth metro area. It was North America’s first electronic toll collection system when it was installed on the Dallas North Tollway in 1989. There are currently over 2,000,000 TollTags in...

are accepted at any TxTag locations.

TxTag transponders are currently not accepted:

At tolled border crossings with Mexico, although future interoperability is planned with the Laredo Trade Tag accepted at four crossings
International bridges in Laredo, Texas
-Road bridges:-Proposed:-Rail bridges:-Proposed:...

.
By any toll authority outside of Texas.

Technology

TxTag uses at least two types of transponders manufactured by TransCore: legacy hard case AT5100 transponders and newer eGo Plus flexible sticker-type transponders. The transponders are mounted on the inside of the vehicle at the top center of the windshield. The TxTag sticker can be used as a portable device, provided it is affixed to a small square of glass instead of a windshield. According to the patent for the device, the sticker was specifically designed such that if removed, among other things capacitor 66 is decoupled from 64, preventing the use of the sticker if it is torn from the glass. It would also appear the sticker can be simply taped to the inside of the windshield for temporary use.

Current system status

Interoperability

Technology

See also