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Press Release -- June 12, 2002
E-ZPass: One Million Strong
Dover --
Neither Guillermo or Gloria Medina of New Castle, Delaware, knew what was in store for them as they entered the Dover Toll Plaza along State Route 1 on the evening of Friday, June 7th. They pulled into the Toll Plaza to sign up for the E-ZPass program, but as they walked into the building flash bulbs went off and toll officials greeted them. A bit confused at first, the Medina's were quickly informed that they were the one-millionth registered member of the E-ZPass Regional Consortium.
Within ten minutes the Medina's were back on Route 1, delighted that their E-ZPass transponder was affixed to their windshield, and with a bag of promotional gifts on the seat beside them. "This is such a delightful surprise," said Guillermo. "I have been hearing a lot of very positive things about E-ZPass and had wanted to enroll in the program for some time now. This evening while driving downstate with my wife and her mother I figured that this would be the day. I never figured on all this excitement."
Since instituting E-ZPass in 1998, Delaware has been in the forefront of the development of electronic toll collection. Delaware has one of the first highway speed E-ZPass lanes in the country at the Biddle's Corner Toll Plaza in New Castle County. This award winning innovation permits E-ZPass customers to skip the tollbooths and pass under sensor devices at highway speed. Plans are underway for highway speed lanes to also be constructed at both the Dover and I-95 Newark Toll Plazas.
Delaware has also taken the lead by initiating several discount programs for its E-ZPass members. Supplementing the standard 15% discount offered to all members along Route 1 and seventy-five cents off the cash rate on Delaware's Interstate 95, E-ZPass customers have the option of enrolling in either the High Occupancy Vehicle or the Frequent Travelers Plan where they can save up to 65% off the cash rate.
When the Frequent Travelers Plan was enacted on October 1, 2000, enrollment was slightly over 19,000 accounts, as of April 1st there are 42,819 representing an increase over 120%. Of the nearly 43,000 residents enrolled in the E-ZPass program, over half (25,299) are signed up for either the High Occupancy Vehicle or the Frequent Travelers Plan.
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