The Niagara Falls Bridge Commission, operator of three of the four Niagara River bridges between Western New York and Southern Ontario, introduced ExpressPass for trucks crossing the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge that will help reduce wait times for all motorists.

The first commercial automatic crossing pass of its kind on a northern border bridge, the ExpressPass program is expected to serve 270 trucking companies using some 15,000 individual trucks and tractor-trailers that pay the one-way toll into Canada at the Lewiston-Queenston Bridge. The pass also works for tour buses crossing the Rainbow Bridge,which does not handle trucks, or at Queenston. Trucks are not permitted on NFBC's third bridge,the Whirlpool Bridge.

The ExpressPass for commercial vehicles utilizes two fully automated, unmanned toll booths. The driver pulls up to a booth and flashes the ExpressPass card, essentially a debit card, at the designated sensor. The system then deducts the appropriate amount of money from a pre-deposited account maintained by enrolled truckers, counts the pre-registered number of axles on the truck, and up- or down-charges for more or fewer axles as needed, to ensure a speedy, fair and accurate transaction. There is a web-based account management system that allows companies to manage their commercial account online.

The program was first tested for several months with Cassens Transport, a Lewiston, New York-based car transporter.

For more information: