Smart Tag is the former name of a transponder-based electronic toll collection system implemented by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). It was launched as Fastoll on April 15, 1996. Fastoll was rebranded as Smart Tag in 1998,[1] and was placed under the umbrella of Smart Travel. In November 2007, the Smart Tag brand name was retired in favor of E-ZPass Virginia, several years after the Smart Tag system became a part of the E-ZPass network.
Originally, Smart Tag only operated at certain toll roads and crossings in Virginia. The system became interoperable with the E-ZPass toll collection system on October 27, 2004,[2] although Richmond Metropolitan Authority owned toll roads—Boulevard Bridge, the Downtown Expressway, and the Powhite Parkway (excluding the extension)—did not begin accepting E-ZPass until August 3, 2005;[3] E-ZPass integration had been delayed due to damages from Tropical Storm Gaston. Smart Tag branded transponders operate throughout the E-ZPass network, and E-ZPass branded transponders operate at all E-ZPass Virginia (formerly Smart Tag) toll collection points.
Roads and crossings that accept Smart Tag/E-ZPass Virginia/E-ZPass:
- Dulles Toll Road from Falls Church to Dulles International Airport (DC suburbs).
- Dulles Greenway, a privately owned highway from Dulles to Leesburg.
- Downtown Expressway in Richmond.
- Powhite Parkway and Powhite Parkway Extension in Richmond and Chesterfield County.
- Boulevard Bridge (the "Nickel Bridge", though it costs 35 cents now) in Richmond
- Pocahontas Parkway in Chesterfield and Henrico County.
- Chesapeake Expressway in Chesapeake.
- George P. Coleman Bridge, across the York River near Newport News (U.S. Highway 17).
- Chesapeake Bay Bridge-Tunnel
- Any road or crossing in the E-ZPass network.
References
- ^ Lyons, David (2002). Surveillance as Social Sorting: Privacy, Risk and Digital Discrimination. Routledge. p. 162. ISBN 0-415-27872-4. [1]
- ^ "SMART TAG AND E-ZPASS MERGE OCT. 27". Virginia Department of Transportation. 2004-10-22. Archived from the original on January 16, 2009. Retrieved 2008-12-27.
- ^ Richmond Metropolitan Authority, August 3, 2005 (accessed through the Internet Archives)