To Ez-Pass or Not?

So I have been driving to work everyday on the Mass Pike for nearly 8 years and I still don't have an easy pass.  My husband thinks I should just break down and get one, "They're so much easier" he says to me.  "Commuting is faster" he says.  Of course, like any good wife, I disagree.

While it may seem faster, more often that not, I find myself exiting the toll booths with easy, just as quick and sometimes even faster than my Ez-Pass counterparts.  I look at myself as keeping people employeed or maybe I'm just nostalgic.  Thinking back to stories I was told as a child, wondering, waiting to see if the toll collector would actually turn into a Troll if I didn't pay them.

Call me paranoid but I don't like the idea of having a tracking device in my car, they try to hook  you in by offering a FREE transponder.

If I loose my ticket on the Pike I have to pass the maximum amount due which is just under $3.00 however if my easy pass is low and I violate the tolls, I have to pay $50.00.  Ez-pass also collects billing fees of $2.00/month which is an additional $24.00/annually.  If your transponder is lost, stolen or defaced you have to purchase a new one at the actual cost.    I stick with the CASH only lane thanks.

Plus there are all these fees that I don't like:

Lost/Stolen, Damaged or Defaced Transponder Fee - Actual Manufacturer's Cost.

Returned Check Fee - $25.00

Video Toll ("V-Toll") Administrative Fee up to $1.00

Violation Fine - $50.00

Violation Administrative/Late Fees - $5.00 to $20.00

Violation RMV Non-Renewal "Marking Fee" - $20.00 (if violation not paid or appealed within 60 days)

Statement Fee:
One-Time Special Request Mailed or Faxed:
$3.00 (available for up to 6 prior months)

Monthly Mailed Statements:

$5.00/month for paper statements (Commercial Accounts)

 

 

I love seeing my toll collectors everyday.  They greet me with a "Happy Monday, Happy Hump Day, or Have a Good Weekend."  Sometimes I'll be in a grumpy mood and that exchange makes me smile.
 

On a more philosophical level I wonder how electronic payment systems effect our sense of value when it comes to money.  Does it make money more abstract?  Does it make it less valuable?  What does it say about our relationship with money?  What does it say about our relationship with others?  I'll take the exchange of a warm hand, kind works and gentle smile of a toll collector over Ez-Pass anyday.  I've been driving on the Pike for nearly 8 years without Ez-Pass and have finally decided to get one tomorrow.  NOT!!!!