One Tag Fits All

Truck windshields may not fill up with transponders after all.

Mark IV IVHS of Missassauga, Ontario, Canada, will introduce a single electronic transponder designed to work with most toll collection and weigh-in-motion services across North America. The transponder -- or tag -- is called Ubiquity.
“Ubiquity is just what its name implies: It will give its owners a presence everywhere,” said Martin Capper, president of the IVHS Division of MARK IV Industries, headquartered in Amherst, N.Y.
According to Mark IV’s announcement, toll technologies vary across the country, but two dominate – the E-ZPass protocol of the Interagency Group and Title 21 protocol used throughout California and Colorado.
“Ubiquity enables motorists to operate seamlessly at more than 80 percent of all North American toll facilities, including all California locations,” added Capper. Ubiquity is compatible with toll systems at more than 500 locations in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Massachusetts, Delaware, Virginia, West Virginia South Carolina, Illinois, Colorado and California, plus more than 100 sites opening soon in New Hampshire and Maine.
According to Mark IV, Ubiquity is technically capable of working with truck pre-clearance and weigh-in-motion networks, such as PrePass and Oregon’s Green Light. However, users may have to resolve usage issues with individual networks.
In addition to embodying multiple toll protocols, Ubiquity is the first transponder to comply with a proposed interim federal standard from the U.S. Department of Transportation.
Application developers have looked for ways to leverage the more than 15 million transponders deployed in cars and trucks. For example, pilot tests are under way using transponders to pay for parking at select airports and fast food at McDonalds’ drive-thru lanes.