EZ-Pass
IST 110
Group THREE
Peter Rio
Zach Moyer
Christian Bachert
Caitlin Phillips
Our group, three, became experts on the technological advancement of the EZ Pass electronic tolling system. Our group was made up of Peter Rio, Zach Moyer, Christian Bachert and Caitlin Phillips. The theme of our video was to highlight the ease of the EZ-Pass system and completely explain its roots and how it works. Here’s a briefing.
In today’s world, automobiles provide the ideal way for most Americans to travel. They are easy, reliable, relatively save and a great way to get from point A to B. One out of every two Americans owns an automobile. In the country, an astounding 1.9 millions automobiles are driven daily. Only eight percent of households do not own a car. With these numbers growing every day, the need for major highways and road systems was a given. In Pennsylvania, the PA Turnpike is the largest system that runs clear across the state. This road will take an individual from Philadelphia to Pittsburg in a mere five hours.
As you would expect, a road system this large would be using the very best of today’s technology to make its travelers journey as easy and trouble free as possible. Call boxes are placed every mile in case of emergencies. The latest in road care techniques are used to make as much of a smooth ride as possible. The toll experience has also taken a high tech turn.
The idea of electronic tolling has been around since the 1980s. It started out in the New York Metropolitan area. New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania sought out to create a compatible electronic toll collecting system. These three combined bring in 2/3 of the countries 3 billion dollars a year toll revenue. In 1991, they created the -Z Pass Interagency Group to develop a state of the art system.
On August 3, 1993 the first EZ Pass toll collect station was up and running in New York. It was developed on the New York State Thruway at the Spring ValleyTollPlaza. Over the next four years, it was spread along the Thruway in stages. By February 6, 1997 the system has been installed along the entire roadway. At left is a photo from the Spring ValleyTollPlaza in New York.
Since then, systems all over the country have been put into place. As of today, Pennsylvania is a leader in EZ Pass innovations. There are EZ Pass Lanes at most every exit along the PA Turnpike.
At first, each states system was completely isolated from other states. Today, they have been able to make them all compatible so they can essentially “work together.” For example, a PA motorist can use their PA EZ Pass tag to pay tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike. This makes a motorists life a lot easier.
This technological advancement plays a huge part in the lives of millions of motorists each day. They now have the convenience on not carrying cash to pay tolls when they travel. This electronic system eliminates the need to carry a ticket or even stop at a toll booth.
As a group, our teamwork was kind of a struggle. Our system that was originally made kind of went to the dumps. Peter and Zach shot the movie as well as totally produced and planned it. They also edited it and spent lots of time getting it right. They also completely wrote the report. Cait and Christian researched the topics they were given, but not much more. The drive to work as a team was kind of lost upon certain actions. Peter and Zach played the roles as leaders, trying to give out jobs to the others.
While completing this project, we utilized many of today’s technology. A digital camera was used to shoot the video clips. Then these were imported onto a laptop with video editing software installed on it. The built in microphone was used to produce sound clips to play in the background. The World Wide Web was then used to find pictures and diagrams. This project heavily revolved around the computer. It was used in every aspect of the project, from research and development to video production. Cell phones were used as a main form of communication between team members. We picked these technologies due to the fact that they are very easy to use and we are very familiar with them. The only one we learned more about was the video editing software. Zach and Peter now feel comfortable producing movies from scratch.
Our group made its own problems. We didn’t really struggle at any aspects of the actual project elements; all went relatively easy for us. We were able to find lots of information about EZ-Pass, derive our plan of attack, and produce a well developed video. The problems we had came in team cooperation. We weren’t able to work together and get one hundred percent out of every member. This really put a lot of pressure on some members to make up for others. We had trouble communicating with some if it wasn’t on a weekday. When it was crunch time, it seemed as though some didn’t have time. We were able to overcome these problems by sitting back and analyzing our problem. We thought, what must be done to make up for these slackers? In the end we were able to disperse the work and come out with a finished product that at least two of us were really truly proud of.
This project required the use of many outside resources and references. The website “How It Works” really helped us out in understanding the technological end to EZ-Pass. The PA EZ-Pass website was also a big help. It gives the roots of the system and provides lots of great links. We also used the Google search engine to find our images and some of our history. Another resource we used was a DVD all about RFIDS. This was really educational to watch and visually showed us how this technology works. Outside people were also interviewed to see how the average person liked or disliked the system. This is where we got a lot of our advantages or disadvantages. In the end, this wide combination of references and resources helped us produce a great finished product.
Video Script
Opening: EZ-Pass title
Group member names
Transition
Peter (Outside): Ever heard of ezpass this is it. It is a wireless device that enables drivers to go though toll plazas without any cash. Pretty cool huh?
TRANSITION (History of Ez-pass)
Christian(speaking): Ez-pass started in 1993 in New YorkState in the spring valley toll plaza. Now many states have adopted electric tolling and are compatible with each other. 1.9 million Vehicles are driven in the U.S. everyday, Ez-pass helps save time and hassle for drivers. Ez-pass allows drivers to go though toll plazas without stopping for getting a ticket or giving money. Ez-Pass is the leader in Ez-Pass having lanes on almost every exit of the turnpike.
TRANSITION
Picture (Spring Valley toll plaza)
Narriation(Peter): Pictured here is the spring valley toll plaza, the idea of electric tolling has been around since the 1980s. It started out in the New Yorkmetropolitan area. New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania sought out to create a compatible toll collecting system. These three states combined bring in three billion dollars year toll revenue. In 1991 they created the Z pass agency group to create a state of the art system. On August third 1993 the first Ez-Pass toll collecting station was up and running here on the New York State Thruway. Over the next four years it was spread though the Thruway in stages by February 5 1997 the system had been spread on the whole roadway. Since then systems all over the country have been put into place
TRNSITION (How Ez-Pass works)
Zack (holding Ez-pass tag out side): You want to know how Ez-pass works. There are four basic parts of the Ez-pass System. First being the transponder, this is the part that mounts in your car. The second part is the antenna, this is the part that is mounted over the Ez-pass lane and activates the transponder. The third part is the lane controller. This keeps track of the cars that go though the lanes. The fourth part is the host controller; this keeps track of the peoples account information.
Transition
Picture(RFID examples)
Narration (Zack):Ez-pass relies on a state of the art system called RFID. RFID stands for radio frequency identification. The system is typically used to track packages, last month Wal-Mart acquired this system. There are two types of RFID tags. Ez-Pass uses the inductive coupled tags. There are three basic parts of RFID tags, first being the silicon microprocessor. Second the metal coil. The coil is the tags antenna; the length of the antenna determines how far the tag can transmit. Third is the encapsulation material, this is the part of the tag that you see. Because of the microprocessor inductive tags can cost from 1 dollar to 200 dollars. Ez-Pass tags are on the lower end of this scale so the average person can afford them.
Transition (Ez-Pass Payment)
Peter (In front of computer): Yes the Ez-Pass system eliminates the need for cash but this does not mean the Turnpike is free. Every time you go though the toll the host control sends a fee to your individual account. At the end of the month a statement is sent or you can view it online.
Transition (Example of Ez-pass use)
Clip of Caitlain driving though Ez-Pass lane
Transition (advantages and disadvantages)
Caitlain (speaking): Some advantages of Ez-Pass are it saves you money toll plazas can process 200 to 300 more vehicles helps reduce congestion and helps fuel consumption.
Transition
Video clip of Ez-Pass Toll collection and the song “Speed” by Montgomery Gentry.
Caitlain: Some disadvantages of Ez-Pass are fewer jobs for toll collectors, accidents and if you go though the toll to slow you get a ticket.
Transition (The Ez-Pass System)
Peter: Currently the states have come together as a system they all except the same system and allow drivers to go state to state. It makes it easier for drivers in situations such as bridges where to toll can be more than a few dollars so you don’t have to carry a large sum of cash. Hopefully all the states in the country will come together as one system to make it easier.
Transition (Who uses Ez-Pass)
Christian (Speaking): Ez-Pass by many businesses travelers’ truckers alike. With Ez-Pass an account can be kept on line and there no need for travelers to carry money.
Transition (The Future)
Peter: What’s next for Ez-Pass, hopefully the whole U.S. will be able to Ez-Pass on the same system. You could drive across the whole country with out paying a single toll. Who know maybe it will be easy enough for a dog to use it.