Electronic Toll-Paying Devices Surge in Popularity in Region

"For people who live out this way and that regularly take the toll road, I don't understand why they wouldn't get a Smart Tag," he said. "It's better than being stopped at toll plazas waiting for a guy who doesn't have the right change."

E-ZPass and Smart Tag work simply. Users put wallet-size transponders on their windows or windshields that automatically register tolls as the cars pass the tollbooths. Motorists maintain an account that can be linked to a credit or debit card from which tolls are deducted.

In the Washington region, drivers can pay tolls electronically on the Dulles Toll Road, Dulles Greenway and Chesapeake Bay Bridge, as well as at several toll facilities in and around Baltimore. In addition to Virginia and Maryland, E-ZPasses and Smart Tags are accepted in Pennsylvania, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, Massachusetts and West Virginia and newcomers New Hampshire, Maineand Illinois.

The response in New Hampshire, which joined the network in late June, has been overwhelming. Spurred by a deep discount, 228,000 transponders had been sold as of yesterday, said Pamela Walsh, spokeswoman for Gov. John Lynch (D). That number was nearly triple what officials expected and sent them scrambling to get more transponders, Walsh said, adding that 25 percent to 30 percent of tolls are now paid electronically.

States are making changes to accommodate all the new electronic toll users. In Maryland, officials have added numerous signs at tollbooths to direct people to E-ZPass lanes. They have also extended some E-ZPass lanes, including a mile-long extension at the Fort McHenry Tunnel in Baltimore.

Maryland also plans to lengthen the E-ZPass lane at the Bay Bridge this fall, said Cheryl Sparks, a spokeswoman for the Maryland Transportation Authority.

Sparks added that the biggest change in Maryland was made this summer, when the state started selling transponders that can be used immediately. In many places, the only way to sign up is through the mail or Internet, and drivers have to wait to get their transponders in the mail.

Between June 21, when the retail sales began, and Aug. 15, about 5,600 transponders were sold, Sparks said.

Virginia has added express lanes on the Dulles Toll Road so drivers can zip through. Other facilities, including the New Jersey Turnpike, have added similar features, while some states have converted lanes for E-ZPass users only and offer discounts.

Mike Day goes to New Jersey a lot and loves that he doesn't have to sit in long lines at tollbooths. The Arlington resident said the people who haven't converted to the world of electronic transponders and jam-free tolls are missing out.

"I am always shocked by the plethora of cars that do not have E-ZPass," he wrote in an e-mail. "These people sometimes wait 20 minutes to pay a toll that I pay in 2 seconds. They must be too lazy to sign up, and too ignorant to realize how much time they are wasting."