It’s been a long time coming, and experienced delay after delay, but effective May 28, 2021, E-ZPass can finally be used throughout the state of Florida.
And by that, I mean the WHOLE state. Not just in certain areas, and not “only on certain roads but not others,” but EVERYWHERE.
Established in 1987, the toll transponder system known as E-ZPass has slowly grown to be accepted in 18 states, including virtually the entire eastern seaboard…except Florida. As a state with high visitor and snowbird volume, that meant travelers to Florida who had an E-Zpass had to either avoid toll roads, pay cash at tolls (which isn’t even an option when some major roadways are “electronic payment only”), pay crazy prices to rental car companies for toll payment privileges, or buy their own transponder locally and maintain a balance year-round.
It was a mess.
But the toll companies knew it, and decided to do something about it. Effective September 1, 2018, E-ZPass could be finally be used on some of the toll roads in Florida. But it wasn’t all of them – not by far. It was only accepted on roads maintained by the Central Florida Expressway Authority, which were certain (but not all!) roads in the greater Central Florida region (specifically all or parts of State Roads 408, 414, 417, 429, 451 and 528 (the 417 [The Greeneway] and 528 [The Beachline, previously The Beeline] are the two roads most often used between Orlando International Airport and Walt Disney World).
However roads operated by Florida’s Turnpike Enterprises (part of the Florida Department of Transportation [FDOT]), such as Florida’s Turnpike (S.R. 91), along with virtually all other toll roads in the rest of the state still didn’t accept E-ZPass.
In July 2020, Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise announced plans to accept E-ZPass, with a goal of full acceptance by the end of that year. Unfortunately, the end of 2020 came and went with no changes.
And then, on the Friday of Memorial Day Weekend, someone “flipped the switch” and all of a sudden, E-ZPass was accepted throughout the state of Florida!
From the FDOT/FL Tnpk press release:
“Florida continues to leverage technology and deploy innovative solutions that improve safety and reduce congestion across the state’s transportation system,” said Florida Department of Transportation Secretary Kevin J. Thibault, P.E.“Florida’s partnership with E-ZPass is the next critical step toward national interoperability creating seamless transportation options for Florida residents and visitors alike.”
“The 35–member toll agencies in the 19 state E–ZPass region congratulate the Florida Department of Transportation and Florida’s Turnpike Enterprise on this significant step toward national interoperability in toll collection,” said PJ Wilkins, Executive Director of the E–ZPass Group.“Our customers have long sought a solution where they can utilize a single toll account for their travels up and down the coast. Today’s announcement fulfills a commitment to each of our customers and provides a seamless travel experience. Our congratulations to FDOT and FTE on making this a reality.”
There are over 43 million E-ZPasses out there – having interoperability in the state of Florida will make things a lot easier for a lot of drivers!
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This post first appeared on Your Mileage May Vary
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