EZPass is a toll collection system (for toll roads and bridges/tunnels) that is prominent in the northeastern United States, which I believe is just another way for Big Government to watch the average person. It sounds pretty harmless, and pitched as a time saver. Instead of having to stop to pay a toll, you can zoom on thru and pay electronically. There are 2 major downsides to this “convenience”:
- Helps obscure the cost of each toll
- One step closer to the government tracking everywhere you go.
As a libertarian, Big Government is viewed as the bane of freedom, so obviously #2 conflicts with my ideals. It wouldn’t surprise me that once the majority of residents are using EZPass, (aka the hook is set), that all of a sudden the government will decide to utilize this new found data to increase their revenues. Distances between toll booths is known to the inch, so with the simple equation of average speed = distance / time, it will be easy to determine who was speeding, and issue a summons, with absolutely no way to wrangle your way out of it. That is of course once the politicians make sure their EZPass accounts are hidden from this scrutiny. But speeding tickets would only be the start. Cross the EZPass data with a database of wanted persons, and all they have to do is to wait for you to use your EZPass, and snag you at will. Not worried because you are a model citizen? Did you forget to pay that parking ticket? Gotcha. Forgot to pay your vehicle registration, or get your car inspected. Gotcha again. Do some business in New York City and conveniently not pay NYC Income Tax on it (since there was no paper trail). Gotcha again, since now there is a paper trail.
But, even if you don’t agree with my opinion on the government watching everything you do, you can’t really argue with #1, obscuring the cost of each. I remember back in the 80’s when the Parkway wanted to up the tolls from 25 to 35 cents, and people spray painted their quarters red to let them know how they felt. With EZPass it is just too easy to bump up the toll, and unless you actually reviewed your monthly statement, you probably wouldn’t even notice. Do you review your monthly phone statements to see what it cost for each call, or do you just pay the bill? Odds are you are that unless the bill seemed a little high, you just pay it and never looked at the details. Would you treat your EZPass statement any different? I doubt it. And to make matters worse, they actually charge you a monthly “convenience” fee for not having to stop at toll. Yes, some of the road currently give discounts for using EZPass (the Garden State Parkway does not), but how long do you think that is going to last? It will last until they the make it so painful to go thru a toll that you’ll beg for EZPass, and that will be the end of the discounts.
Now, I’m all for getting rid of the toll booths, since they are pretty much just government overhead (we have all heard the stories of that it was impossible to get a job as a toll booth worker unless you have a relative that is in the state government). But if not EZPass, then what? Well, in Switzerland they use yearly tax stickers (called a 'vignette' pass ) is used instead of tolls, and if you get caught on the toll road without one, heavy fines are levied (minimum fines are 6 times the yearly tax, which will discourage most). The idea is to only sell yearly stickers, which keeps the administration costs down, meaning more of the toll money can go to supporting the road, and less to administering the total. In fact, in the United States there is already a form of this system in place already, just not for passenger cars. The states use it on those big 18 wheelers. Ever notice all those stickers on the gas tanks of the rig? They are called Weight-distance Tax stickers and most states have one, and believe me, a trucker will not travel thru a state without one. A yearly sticker would solve the toll booth problem, and eliminate the need for EZPass, without having to resort to tracking out every move. It might not be optimal for bridges and tunnels, but there is no reason why it couldn’t be used there too.
Technorati tags: ezpass port authority new jersey