JAMESTOWN – The R.I. Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA) board of directors today reviewed plans for bringing E-ZPass toll collection to the Claiborne Pell Bridge.

“With the adoption of E-ZPass, Rhode Island will be part of a national network and will have access to the efficiency of operation and ease of travel this network offers,” RITBA said in a statement this afternoon.

The electronic toll-collection system allows drivers to establish an account from which they can pre-pay bridge or highway tolls. Drivers also must purchase an E-ZPass transponder: a small windshield-mounted device that allows the system to detect a user’s car or truck and automatically deduct the toll from the pre-paid account.

The system is slated to go into use on the Pell Bridge between Jamestown and Newport at the end of this year, the authority said.

Today’s meeting featured a presentation by board Chairman David A. Darlington – a partner in public and government relations firm Gildea, O’Connell & Darlington LLC of Warwick and Boston – who had spoken with Providence Business News last winter about RITBA’s struggles to find money to pay for repairs and maintenance to the Pell and Mount Hope bridges. (READ MORE) Today, Darlington told his fellow board members about the feedback RIBTA has received at public hearings over the past month.

Based on that feedback, and the authority’s own research, the board today set the fee for E-ZPass vehicle transponders at $10 for the first device on a single account; $15 for the second; and $20.95 for any additional transponders, to a maximum of four per account.

“You may interchange your transponder amongst your vehicles, provided they are the same vehicle class, or you may purchase a transponder for each vehicle,” the agency said in an online Q&A file. “Anyone who cannot afford the $10 fee can pay $1 per month for 11 months,” it added.

The RITBA board also set the Pell Bridge toll for two-axle passenger vehicles at 83 cents per crossing for state residents paying via a Rhode Island E-ZPass transponder; 91 cents for out-of-state residents who opt in to Rhode Island’s frequent-user program and make at least 31 crossings per month; and $1.75 per crossing for other out-of-state residents.

Such a multi-tier system, with residents paying lower tolls than out-of-state drivers, is used in many states, a RITBA spokeswoman told Providence Business News today.

The purple-and-white E-ZPass logo will be used to designate lanes where the electronic payment system is accepted. Drivers who use the wrong lane “must pay the full, undiscounted toll,” RITBA said. “However, the current plan is to provide E-ZPass in all lanes at the Pell Bridge.”

The current toll – levied only on vehicles driving from Jamestown to Newport – is $2 for cars, trucks, vans, campers or motorcycles with a gross vehicle weight of 8,000 pounds or less. Discounts are available for bulk purchases; drivers may purchase 11 tokens for $10, or 60 tokens for $50.

Tokens will be redeemed by RITBA for 83 cents in cash or 91 cents in credit on a local E-ZPass account.

“There will be a number of ways available to the public to sign up for E-ZPass,” the agency noted. “These include completing an application online, downloading an application from the Web and mailing or faxing it to the Customer Processing Center, calling the Customer Service Center” or visiting the center in person.

The walk-in center will be located in RITBA’s Pell Bridge Administrative Office – adjacent to the toll plaza – where business hours will be Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Saturday, 8 a.m. to noon, the agency said. The center is expected to open in mid-October.

The E-ZPass program is part of a broader effort to pare the RITBA budget. (READ MORE)

The R.I. Turnpike and Bridge Authority – established by the R.I. General Assembly in 1954 – manages the Claiborne Pell Bridge between Jamestown and Newport and the Mount Hope Bridge between Portsmouth and Bristol. It receives no tax money but derives all revenue from tolls and investments. Additional information, including a new page of “E-ZPass Questions and Answers,” is available at www.ritba.org.