Drivers who park at the regions’ three major airports have done it since 2003 and soon millions of drivers in 19 states, including New Jersey, will be able to use their E-ZPass tag to pay for parking and to buy gas.
The expansion of the Driven by E-ZPass non-toll payment program across the 19-state E-ZPass Group network, including New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, was announced Tuesday by PayByCar, Inc., a mobile payment company that is making the service possible.
Drivers who park at Newark or the other major Port Authority airports have had the option to pay by using their E-ZPass tag for 21 years. Those drivers use a designated E-ZPass lane when they exit the airport parking lot to do so.
The Driven by E-ZPass works differently. Drivers enrolled in the program who pull into a participating gas station or off-street parking garage receive a text message asking if they want to use the service.
Driven by E-ZPass was developed by PayByCar in partnership with the 19 states that make up the E-ZPass Group, said Matt Fitzgerald, a PayByCar spokesperson.
“Gas stations using PayByCar’s technology are expected to arrive in New Jersey in the coming months,” Fitzgerald said. “We are currently in discussions with multiple retail chains representing over 100 N.J. gas stations.”
The final count and retailer names will be announced in the coming months, he said.
The service reduces the opportunity for fraud from card skimmers or other devices and cuts the transaction time at gas stations in half, the company said.
When drivers pull into an off-street parking lot or garage, the entrance gate will automatically open, and they won’t need to take a ticket. The gate automatically opens when exiting. In both cases receipts will be sent to the driver’s phone, company officials said.
“PayByCar is in discussions with multiple parking operators with multi-state footprints including NJ.,” Fitzgerald said. “Currently, we have initial test sites, but they are in Albany, N.Y., Baltimore, Maryland, and Atlanta, Georgia.”
The driver would still proceed to an open pump, receive their text, and reply with the pump number, Fitzgerald said.
“The only difference is that rather than giving the attendant a credit/debit card, they present their phone showing the PayByCar authorization,” he said. “The driver simply shows the phone screen and instructs the attendant “fill up” or “give me $20 of regular.”
The pump is turned on by PayByCar.
“The attendant doesn’t have to take a card, swipe it, or wait to give the driver a paper receipt,” Fitzgerald said.
“Non-toll purchases through Driven by E-ZPass (gas and off-street parking) are not charged to the E-ZPass account,” Fitzgerald said, meaning it doesn’t affect the balance in the account for paying tolls.
E-ZPass customers need to opt in to use Pay By Car/ Driven by E-ZPass which can be done on the Pay by Car website. Non-E-Zpass drivers can sign up for an E-Zpass on the company website.
An account is started by entering your name and email, payment method and transponder number and vehicle license plate number. PayByCar works when you have location services activated.
The tag is used for on-arrival vehicle identification only. Parking fees and gas purchases are charged to whatever payment card or wallet the member provides when signing up for PayByCar and are not charged to a user’s toll account, according to the company.
No. PayByCar started in 2022 at gas stations in Western Massachusetts and some parking lots in that state.
The E-ZPass Group approved the program in states include Delaware, Florida, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia, West Virginia and Georgia.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry
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