![]() Each vehicle must be registered to the I-Pass account and have a transponder in the window when driving through the toll. On a shared balance, each transponder draws from a single prepaid account balance. I-Pass users are charged half of the cash rate at each toll.Īccording to the Illinois Tollway, “After five video tolls on a single license plate in one month, you will lose the I-PASS discount on tolls for that license plate, and any subsequent video tolls to that plate will post at the full cash rate for the remainder of the month.”įamilies and businesses may continue to share an account with “shared balance” but each car will need to have a transponder in place when driving through the toll. Previously a family with multiple vehicles could share one transponder and the tolls cameras would register the license plate charging the vehicle the discounted toll rate. 1, 2018, the Illinois Tollway requires every vehicle to have an I-Pass transponder in the window when going through toll booths. ROCHELLE - An I-Pass not only saves time while driving through Illinois Tolls, but will also save a motorist 50 percent of the cash toll price. "Other state have called me, and every week, we get calls from retailers," Krueger said.Updated: 5 years ago / Posted All vehicles now required to have transponder when driving through I-Pass tolls no more sharing between vehicles Meanwhile, grocery chains and toll road authorities in states outside Florida and Illinois are considering similar programs. The Turnpike posted the invitation for bids on the state's Web site, and Publix and Eckerd were the two chains that responded, Krueger said. However, that figure is expected to jump with the "power of mass merchandising" in 1,100 Eckerd and Publix stores, Krueger said.Īlthough several other retailers, including grocers, have asked to get involved in selling the transponders, Publix and Eckerd have an exclusive, multi-year agreement with Florida's Turnpike. While the toll transponder sales offer benefits to the retailers, toll authorities are also praising the program.įlorida's Turnpike had been selling about 200,000 transponders a year at its service plazas and via mail, its Web site and phone ordering. Shoppers can drop off and pick up packages at the kiosks. Jewel-Osco management views the I-Pass sales as another customer service that it has added over the past few years, such as the Federal Express kiosks that are now in 23 of its stores. Jewel-Osco has an exclusive agreement to sell the transponders for six months, then it will reevaluate the contract. ![]() We're simply doing it because it's a customer service - one more way we can work with our customers to make their lives easier," said Lauri Sanders, spokeswoman, Jewel Osco. Instead, it is offering them as a convenience for shoppers. However, Jewel-Osco is not marking up the transponders. 23.ĭrivers can buy the I-Pass for $50, which includes the $10 transponder deposit and $40 in prepaid tolls. Meanwhile, Jewel-Osco started selling Illinois State Toll Highway Authority I-Pass transponders at 188 of its stores in Illinois, Indiana and Wisconsin on Nov. Eckerd began selling the units this summer at about 600 stores. Publix would not comment on the deal.Īlthough he would not disclose Publix's transponder sales, Krueger said the Turnpike has seen a 50% jump in sales of transponders since Publix and Eckerd came on board. "Now, buying SunPass will be as easy and convenient as picking up a carton of eggs or a gallon of milk at a local Publix," said Jim Ely, executive director of Florida's Turnpike. "They can make money, and it is a service to their customers," said Paul Krueger, special projects coordinator for Florida's Turnpike Enterprise. Publix buys the transponders, which allow drivers to pay tolls without stopping, for $20 each, then marks them up to $25, according to an executive at the Florida Turnpike. Publix joined Eckerd stores in Florida when it started selling Florida's Turnpike SunPass transponders in most of its 583 Florida stores in late October. Publix Super Markets here, and Jewel-Osco, the Chicago-area division of Albertsons, Boise, Idaho, have both signed on to sell passes for their states' toll roads. ![]() Some supermarkets have found a new revenue generator and customer service: the sale of electronic transponders for toll roads at their stores.
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