E-ZPass comes to Saugus

SAUGUS – As the state prepares to move to cashless tolling on the Tobin Bridge and elsewhere, the state department of transportation on Thursday opened an E-ZPass Center at Square One Mall.The center is expected to become busy over the next few months as drivers will have to get an E-ZPass transponder by March 2014, part of the plan to have statewide mandatory electronic tolling in place by June 2016.Richard Davey, MassDOT secretary and chief operating officer who appeared at the grand opening with directors of the mall, said the new system will process billing more efficiently and cut down on gas emissions since drivers will not have to stop, but rather “roll through the toll.”Davey said the E-ZPass will benefit drivers because the fee for each toll will be reduced from $3 to $2.50. Drivers on the Tobin who do not have an E-ZPass will have a photograph taken of their license plate and will be sent a bill in the mail.The E-ZPass may cut costs, but the electronic system will have no need for the 410 toll workers across the state.?Unfortunately technology caught up with them,” said Davey.According to Davey, many of the workers will be eligible to retire and others will be re-trained for other MassDOT jobs for areas like maintenance. Others will be given grants for training in other careers or for college. State Rep. Donald Wong, who took up a pair of golden scissors for Thursday?s ribbon-cutting ceremony, said the pass center “shows what business and government can do together to service residents of Massachusetts.”Davey said he hopes that the center in Square One Mall, one of four in the state, will drive customers to the other establishments in the mall, especially during the holiday shopping season.At the center, customers can sign up for a new transponder or add a vehicle to an account, add cash value to an existing E-ZPass, update a vehicle registration number, enroll in applicable resident discount programs and receive assistance with violations. Transponders are provided at no cost and attach to the upper center portion of a vehicle?s windshield.The hours of the center are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturdays; and 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. on Wednesdays. The center is closed Sundays and Mondays.For more information about the E-ZPass or to sign up online go to www.mass.gov/ezpassma or call 1-877-627-7745.