EZ-Pass Drivers Overcharged At Route 1 Toll Bridge: Officials

NEW JERSEY - Motorists are encouraged to check their EZ-Pass charges after overcharges were reported at the Trenton-Morrisville Route 1 Toll Bridge, officials said.

The overcharges affected Class 1 passenger vehicles (two axles and less than eight-feet high) driving in the right EZ-Pass only lane at the Toll Bridge’s toll plaza between February and early July, Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which operates the span, said in a Monday statement.

“A damaged E-ZPass reader in that lane sporadically caused an undetermined number of passenger vehicles to be charged a $9 toll instead of the prescribed $1.25 fare,” the commission said. “The problem initially appeared to be confined to SUVs, vans, pickup trucks, and cars with higher profiles, but further investigation reveals that misreads might have occurred intermittently with any type of Class 1 vehicle.”

The Bucks County Courier Times reported that the bridge’s EZ-Pass reader was hit earlier this year by a flatbed truck carrying crushed vehicles; the commission was alerted when customers started complaining about the overcharges. The EZ-Pass reader was switched out July 7 and no problems have been reported since, the publication said.

New Jersey E-ZPass Group customers can contact the commission directly to get a refund by calling the service line at 1-800-363-0049 and provide detailed information about the overcharges. The line is staffed weekdays; customers may leave a recorded message and a callback number after hours, the commission said. Customers also may email detailed information on overcharges to Commission E-ZPass staff directly at CSC@drjtbc.org.

Refunds won’t be available for those not in the New Jersey E-ZPass Group’s database. Instead, affected customers should contact their respective E-ZPass customer service center (Pennsylvania Turnpike, New York, DelDOT, etc.) to dispute any overcharges, the commission said, as commission staff can’t access EZ-Pass accounts unaffiliated with the New Jersey system.