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Ez Tags


CDeb

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If you drive on any HCTRA roads semi-regularly (at least once/wk) and you don't have an EZ Tag, why not? Would you consider getting one if incentives were decent?

And no, I don't work for HCTRA :ph34r:

Driving through the eztag lane at 60 MPH instead of stopping and waiting for some moron to dig that quarter from under his seat (I always seem to get that guy) is incentive for me. If they through in a toaster that would be good.

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The only cost of an ez tag is each time you go through a gate, correct? All you have to do is put down a "deposit" to get it started, and 100% of it goes to your toll usage, correct?

Correct, but you also have to pay a $15 initialization fee for each tag (you can get a TxTAG for free and it will work on HCTRA roads).

The advantage is that in the mainline toll plazas, EZTAG or TxTAG are 25 cents cheaper than the cash toll.

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The advantage is that in the mainline toll plazas, EZTAG or TxTAG are 25 cents cheaper than the cash toll.
Oh, I did not know that. Very interesting.
You have to have one in order to use the Westpark. If more toll roads had this policy, there wouldn't be such backups like the Beltway North at rush hour.
So you can ride any tollway in the Houston area as long as you have an EZ tag, right?
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I thought they eliminated the discount.
They just raised both rates in September. A mainline toll plaza on the Sam or the Hardy is $1.25 with an EZTAG, $1.50 paying cash, except for the plaza north of the bridge on the East Sam, where they are $1.50 and $2.00. There is no EZTAG discount for the southern plaza on the Ft. Bend Parkway, the Hardy IAH connector, or any of the ramp toll booths.
So you can ride any tollway in the Houston area as long as you have an EZ tag, right?
You can ride on any of the toll roads in Houston, Dallas and Austin with an EZTAG.
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If you drive on any HCTRA roads semi-regularly (at least once/wk) and you don't have an EZ Tag, why not? Would you consider getting one if incentives were decent?

before there was a monthly fee to have one whether you used it or not. now the 15 initial fee is it. i've had one since march and still have never used it. i thought last week i was going to have to so i put it on the vehicle but traffic was fine so i did the freebee return route.

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If you drive on any HCTRA roads semi-regularly (at least once/wk) and you don't have an EZ Tag, why not? Would you consider getting one if incentives were decent?

And no, I don't work for HCTRA :ph34r:

I think if there were some sort of discount attached sure, I'd get one. As it is, I don't like the idea of putting in a certain amount of money for future travel. I mean, I don't use it that much and heard that it is $35 to get started. Well, that's $35 dollars of mine tied up for use at some future date. Not a very wise investment in my book.

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I think Austin has a pretty good idea going with their new tollroads...you can pay by electronic tag, the cheapest...pay by cash, medium price...or you can just drive right on through the toll plaza w/o a tag and pay by mail, which costs a little more. I understand this would be bad for the Westpark as it is already congested, but I think it would work well with Beltway 8 and the Hardy Tollroad(sorry don't know if that one gets as bad as westpark, if so nix that idea)

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I've been using EZ-tags extensively in Houston for many years now. I couldn't function without mine! The information above is accurate; you don't rent them with a deposit anymore, you purchase them for $15. They are only good through the life of the windshield they are put on. If you have to replace a windshield, you gotta buy a new one.

You can buy and use EZ-tags for brand new vehicles, even while the vehicle has a temporary license tag. They give you 30 days grace before you have to update their records (phone or online) with the actual license tag number. Very convenient, as you can order an EZ-tag and have it waiting on the day you get your new vehicle.

You must authorize HCTRA to charge your credit card automatically when the EZ Account balance falls at or below $20.00. Your required Pre-paid Deposit is $40.00 per each three (3) EZ tags. When your account balance falls at or below 25% of this minimum deposit balance, your credit card account shall be charged the required Pre-paid Deposit in order to re-establish the required minimum deposit balance.

EZtag also works in the airport parking now.

And it works great too! I've used mine about 3 times for parking there now, no hassles and you can still get a parking receipt emailed to you, if you need one. The only caveat is that you must call HCTRA before you use it for parking, so they can activate it for parking.

Overall, I highly recommend EZ-tags, for the sheer convenience they provide. And no, I don't work for HCTRA either. :rolleyes:

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About the only reason I can think of not to have one would be that you probably end up using toll roads more with one on your windshield. Since you know you won't have to look for change or wait in line, you tend to think "oh well, I'll just use the toll road."

One of the best reasons to own one: being able to take the exit off the Sam Houston Tollway southbound to the Westpark Tollway eastbound towards Downtown. It's EZ tag only. The exit was ingeniously designed, shoehorned in due to space limitations, and it's like a mini roller coaster!

You exit on the left side and go down a long straightaway that slopes downward. There are grooves on the roadway trying to

get you to slow down, but you don't have to. There won't be any radar traps down there! Then it makes a sharp 90 degree turn in a tunnel underneath the northbound main lanes of the Sam Houston Tollway. At this point you are actually two levels below the ground, since the main lanes of the Sam Houston are themselves below ground at this point.

After that you you head up a steep incline back to ground level and merge into the eastbound Westpark Tollway. Cheap thrills!

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I've been using EZ-tags extensively in Houston for many years now. I couldn't function without mine! The information above is accurate; you don't rent them with a deposit anymore, you purchase them for $15. They are only good through the life of the windshield they are put on. If you have to replace a windshield, you gotta buy a new one.

You can buy and use EZ-tags for brand new vehicles, even while the vehicle has a temporary license tag. They give you 30 days grace before you have to update their records (phone or online) with the actual license tag number. Very convenient, as you can order an EZ-tag and have it waiting on the day you get your new vehicle.

You must authorize HCTRA to charge your credit card automatically when the EZ Account balance falls at or below $20.00. Your required Pre-paid Deposit is $40.00 per each three (3) EZ tags. When your account balance falls at or below 25% of this minimum deposit balance, your credit card account shall be charged the required Pre-paid Deposit in order to re-establish the required minimum deposit balance.

And it works great too! I've used mine about 3 times for parking there now, no hassles and you can still get a parking receipt emailed to you, if you need one. The only caveat is that you must call HCTRA before you use it for parking, so they can activate it for parking.

Overall, I highly recommend EZ-tags, for the sheer convenience they provide. And no, I don't work for HCTRA either. :rolleyes:

I understand the rationale for having a minium deposit, but I thought it was set a little high. They must be earning tons of interest on all those minimum deposits.

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The only cost of an ez tag is each time you go through a gate, correct? All you have to do is put down a "deposit" to get it started, and 100% of it goes to your toll usage, correct?

To add a con to the list, you still have to wait for that moron to find a few quarters in their car because there are no easy tag lanes on most of the entrance and exit ramps.

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The only cost of an ez tag is each time you go through a gate, correct? All you have to do is put down a "deposit" to get it started, and 100% of it goes to your toll usage, correct?

I just read this above post again, and realized I'd missed something. Your deposit will be applied 100% to your tolls provided that you don't request a monthly usage bill to be sent to you by mail. If you request that bill, they charge $1.50 each month to send it. There really isn't a need for it, unless you don't have internet access, because you can log on to the HCTRA site and see your monthly usage there.

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The only cost of an ez tag is each time you go through a gate, correct? All you have to do is put down a "deposit" to get it started, and 100% of it goes to your toll usage, correct?

If anyone's wondering if you REALLY get that "deposit" back, the answer is yes. I cancelled two EZ Tags and a credit appeared on my credit card within a couple of weeks.

It's also worth noting that the Toll Road Authority people are really nice. I sold a car to that crappy Mercury dealership on I-10 and one of their employees went joyriding in it up and down the Beltway, racking up hundreds of dollars in fines because I took the EZ Tag with me. I didn't find out about it until I got a letter in the mail from the HCTRA with pictures of my former car blowing through the tolls.

I took the letter and the paperwork from my sale up to their office and showed it to them, and they immediately took care of everything. The people there said it happens all the time. I was in and out in about three minutes.

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If anyone's wondering if you REALLY get that "deposit" back, the answer is yes. I cancelled two EZ Tags and a credit appeared on my credit card within a couple of weeks.

It's also worth noting that the Toll Road Authority people are really nice. I sold a car to that crappy Mercury dealership on I-10 and one of their employees went joyriding in it up and down the Beltway, racking up hundreds of dollars in fines because I took the EZ Tag with me. I didn't find out about it until I got a letter in the mail from the HCTRA with pictures of my former car blowing through the tolls.

I took the letter and the paperwork from my sale up to their office and showed it to them, and they immediately took care of everything. The people there said it happens all the time. I was in and out in about three minutes.

Yeah, I called HCTRA the day I sold my truck to deactivate the EZ Tag windshield sticker.

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I used to live out west and used Westpark and the beltway all the time. I moved in the loop back in June and have not used a single tollway once since then. I kept my eztag though because on the off chance that I need to use a tollway I don't want to have to look for quarters. It's not really costing me anything except for the $30.00 or so I have left on my account.

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The ease of in and out of IAH parking is worth it to me. I fly very regularly and coming in on the Hardy and hitting the "Parking Cents Lot" within 10 minutes of driving in I am going thru security and heading to my gate. Even quicker on arrivals, sometimes I am gone for weeks at a time and I don't have to fish out the parking ticket, just drive out, done deal, back on the Hardy and headed home.

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My only amazement is the drivers that will do things like tailgaiting and then when they get to a toll plaza they move over into the cash lane. You will never see them again since they're now so far behind you since you had EZ Tag. Why did they act like they were in such a rush? Seriously.

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I use the Hardy most often for going to/from IAH, even though I live inside the Loop.

I think the airport parking thing is a great idea, but there's one problem. If you need a receipt to get reimbursed by your employer, you can't get one immediately. So, while I'd love to use my EZ Tag to zip in and out of the airport parking garages, doing so would delay my expense reporting process at work, and lengthen the time between me incurring an expense for a work trip and being reimbursed for that expense.

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I use the Hardy most often for going to/from IAH, even though I live inside the Loop.

I think the airport parking thing is a great idea, but there's one problem. If you need a receipt to get reimbursed by your employer, you can't get one immediately. So, while I'd love to use my EZ Tag to zip in and out of the airport parking garages, doing so would delay my expense reporting process at work, and lengthen the time between me incurring an expense for a work trip and being reimbursed for that expense.

Actually you can go online and download your EZ Tag Activities and charges any time you want. They show up instantly for toll booths and within 24 hrs for the parking.

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They are only good through the life of the windshield they are put on. If you have to replace a windshield, you gotta buy a new one.

I have wondered how hard it would be to remove the new ones. If your windshield was going to be replaced (happens frequently here in Houston), could the installers remove it? I got my wife's windshield replaced a few years ago and they were able to remove and replace the inspection and license tags (don't ask me how). They were in perfect condition.

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I think the airport parking thing is a great idea, but there's one problem. If you need a receipt to get reimbursed by your employer, you can't get one immediately. So, while I'd love to use my EZ Tag to zip in and out of the airport parking garages, doing so would delay my expense reporting process at work, and lengthen the time between me incurring an expense for a work trip and being reimbursed for that expense.

It all depends on your definition of fast. I also file expense reports and just did one last month. I only had to wait 24 hours for the parking charge to be posted to my EZ tag account, upon which time the email arrived in my inbox with the parking receipt. I printed the email receipt and submitted it with the rest of the receipts from the trip that same day. If that kind of turnaround causes a delay in your reimbursement, I am very jealous of your company! :lol:

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