Verra Mobility Launches Peasy, A Nationwide Digital Toll Service
Drivers have nothing to lose but their toll transponders.
Many U.S. highways have cashless tolling systems, eliminating the need to stop and sort through change at every toll plaza (and toll collectors can find more pleasant jobs). But drivers need to have multiple transponders and accounts if they want to travel outside their home regions. Verra Mobility hopes to streamline that with Peasy, a pay-as-you-go digital toll service.
Peasy covers 95 percent of cashless toll roads and bridges in the United States, according to Verra Mobility. Similar to existing systems like the Northeast's E-ZPass, drivers are billed for tolls as they're incurred. But drivers don't need to have an existing account with a regional tolling authority to use Peasy, nor do they have to stick transponders on their windshields. Drivers can add an existing transponder or account to Peasy, however.
Signing up only requires taking a photo of the license plate of the car or cars (Peasy allows households to add multiple cars to one account) being used, and submitting a credit card for payment. Accounts can be managed online or through a mobile app.
Cashless tolling was supposed to make life on U.S. highways more convenient, but apparently, it didn't make things convenient enough. Peasy should be beneficial to drivers who take longer trips that require them to venture out of their home regions, but it's unclear if commuters who already hold accounts with the relevant toll authorities will see much of a benefit.
Although, just being able to remove a transponder from a windshield may be enough of a benefit to some drivers. Audi is launching an integrated toll transponder built into the rearview mirrors of some new cars. Like Peasy, it allows drivers to hold multiple accounts with different tolling authorities. But Audi's setup still requires a physical device in the car, albeit one that is more nicely integrated.