Installing Toll Passes

TRANSPONDER TYPES

Toll passes are generally issued in three types of transponders: An RFID (radio-frequency identification) sticker, a portable transponder, and a bar or stick transponder designed to attach above or below the front license plate.

All devices have an identification number, which is stored on the circuitry of the device, along with other basic information about the transponder. The unit's ID number will be used to associate the transponder with your vehicle, that way the correct vehicle is charged to the correct device.

RFID Stickers

The most common type of toll pass is a sticker that gets affixed to your windshield. The sticker transponder utilizes RFID technology printed on a flexible circuit.

Stickers have the advantage of being relatively inexpensive, as well as easy to use. They are also disposable.

The nature of the circuitry in a sticker means it can only transmit data via your vehicle's GLASS windshield, which acts as a dialectric antenna for the sticker. Sticker transponders can not be used on vehicles that do not have a glass windshield, such as motorcycles.

Additionally, once a sticker is removed from your windshield, you must discard it, making sure to deactivate or unassign the unit from your vehicle. Stickers can NOT be moved from one vehicle to another.

Portable Transponders

Portable transponders come in a variety of shapes, most commonly a rectangular or oblong box. These types of transponders typically make use of suction cups to affix to your window. Some agencies may issue transponder holders, and the holder is what you stick to the windshield. The transponder is then set inside the pass holder.

Portable transponders will have varied features, depending upon which agency issues the unit. Common features include audible alerts when going through toll plazas or a gantry, as well as alerts when account balances are low. Some transponders also have switches to select passenger counts, often used to determine rates on tolled express lanes, as well as to offer carpool discounts on toll roads and bridges. Some units may also include notification lights or LED's (light-emitting diodes).

Portable transponders cost more to purchase, and some agencies require a you keep a higher balance on your account when you register a portable unit. However, the advantage with the portable transponder is you can move it from one vehicle to another.

License Plate Transponders
For Truckers And Special Cases

The third type of transponder is designed for large commercial trucks and tractor-trailers, and this type attaches to the front license plate or to the roof of the vehicle. This type is, as the name implies, an attachment to your license-plate frame, using the bolts that already are used to hold the plate, itself.

Roof attachments require a mounting plate that uses a special foam tape, to which the transponder is then attached.

Large vehicles, specifically tractor-trailers, and some vehicles with certain options or metal-oxide windows, must make use of an exterior transponder unit that affixes either to the license plate frame or vehicle roof. If the license plate option is unviable, then a roof-mounted transponder can be utilized.