4 August, 2011
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation today announced agreements with New Hampshire and Maine enabling all three states to impose sanctions on FastLane/E-ZPass toll violators across each other’s state lines. Enforceable penalties now include registration suspension (Maine) and denial of vehicle registration renewal (New Hampshire and Massachusetts).
The tri-state reciprocity agreements are the first such agreements in the nation and mark an important step in ensuring toll equity by addressing revenue losses caused by motorists without FastLane or E-ZPass transponders or whose electronic accounts perennially have insufficient funds. While MassDOT previously had the ability to deny the renewal of a vehicle’s registration, the agency had little recourse in pursuing out-of-state violators other than simply mailing invoices.
"Electronic tolling accounts for about 70 percent of our toll revenue," said Jeffrey B. Mullan, MassDOT Secretary and CEO. "These first-in-the nation agreements allow us to continue to collect tolls more efficiently, to address toll equity issues and to collect tolls from out of state violators. I want to thank the leadership of the states of Maine and New Hampshire for working with us to make the agreements happen and I speak for all of us at MassDOT in saying we look forward to a long cooperative relationship with both states."
The agreements will be in force for one year. After that, the agencies have the option to extend the term of the pilot program for up to two additional one-year periods or create permanent agreements.
For transportation news and updates, visit the MassDOT website at www.mass.gov/massdot, the MassDOT blog at www.mass.gov/blog/transportation or follow MassDOT on twitter at www.twitter.com/massdot.
