Delaware E-ZPass: Middletown Family Marks 100th Million

Middletown –Melinda McGuigan's goal to pass through the Biddle's Toll Plaza E-ZPass lanes on Highway 1 near Middletown by 7 a.m. each weekday has paid off not only in that she gets her two sons to school on time. Her discipline also helped make her the Delaware E-ZPass' 100th million transaction.

McGuigan, of Middletown, and her two sons Grant, 16, and Preston, 14, traveled through the Biddles E-ZPass lanes at exactly 7 a.m. Nov. 29, earning them the distinction of being the milestone transaction. In recognition, at a ceremony Thursday, Dec. 9 at the Biddles Toll Plaza, the family received a gift basket, a portable DVD player, a bundle of Delaware E-ZPass promotional items, and a certificate.

Delaware Department of Transportation Toll Staff monitored E-ZPass transactions throughout Delaware for the week prior to Nov. 29, in anticipation of reaching the milestone mark.

PJ Wilkins, Delaware Toll Operations Manager, contacted Melinda's husband David McGuigan, who works at George & Lynch in New Castle, and informed him that his account was assigned the transponder device that traveled through Biddles' high speed E-ZPass lane. David soon realized it was his wife and sons traveling to the Delaware Military Academy in Newport from their home on Westside Lane.

"We use the Biddles Plaza as a time guide to know if we are on schedule," said Melinda, who works at Entity Services in Wilmington. "If we are going through the toll at 7 a.m. or earlier we are in good shape. The fact we were the 100th million transaction is really amazing but, then again, we are a busy family. I wouldn’t be surprised if half of those transactions were ours.”

The McGuigan family (who has a total of three E-ZPass transponders) is not unlike thousands of others who travel Delaware Route 1 each day utilizing E-ZPass to whiz by standing traffic waiting to pay tolls the old way…with cash or tokens.

Delaware E-ZPass celebrated its one-year anniversary Nov. 1. Since breaking away from another state system, response to the Delaware E-ZPass operation has been a resounding success, with 87,000 accounts established, 169,000 transponders issued, and 150,000 telephone calls answered.

In addition, the call center is open 24 hours a day, seven days a week, which remains an industry first.

The E-ZPass Customer Service Center is at 26 Old Rudnick Lane in Dover. The toll free number is 1-888-EZPassDE (397-2773. The Web site is www.ezpassde.com.

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