Drivers of heavy trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles will be able to use the Pennsylvania Turnpike's automated E-ZPass toll payment system starting next month,
according to an Associated Press story.
More than 50 E-ZPass lanes are being added throughout the turnpike system to accommodate the additional traffic when the program becomes available to commercial drivers on Dec. 14, said John Durbin, executive director of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
E-ZPass enables drivers to pay for fees without stopping at toll booths by electronically deducting a fare from a prepaid account each time the driver passes a collection point. Motorists purchase special tags that are affixed to their cars and scanned by cameras at toll booths reserved for E-ZPass customers.
Nearly 250,000 E-ZPass tags have been issue since the system was introduced for noncommercial vehicles in December 2000. Extending E-ZPass to commercial vehicles is expected to increase the program's enrollment to 300,000, Durbin said.