Sorry about that yesterday, it's been a busy week and I couldn't make time to get a post up. But I wouldn't want to just leave you hanging until next Tuesday. I mean, the environment's just going to keep getting worse and any days I take off will be days where Global Warming wins.
So this will be sort of a rare post, not only because it's on Saturday, but also because this will be one of the few Green Tips that don't live up to the "Impractical" part of the "Impractical Green Resource." Possibly. I mean, Green Tip #32 is going to apply to only a small part of the population of the world. So if you don't live in Ohio (more specifically northern Ohio) you won't get a whole lot out of this.
Anyway, Ohio recently unveiled its EZ-Pass system for the Turnpike which makes it quicker and easier to use the tolls in Ohio. This is something that's been done in other states around the Midwest, so Ohio was just slow in getting around to it. Basically how it works is that you pay online however much you want on your account. Then you get a little box that attaches to your windshield and sends a radio signal to the toll both when you drive through and it deducts it from your account. So much quicker, so much simpler!
So I got mine this week and tried it out yesterday driving from Cleveland to Toledo. First of all, it was amazingly simple not worrying about change and getting my wallet out and worrying about where to put my ticket and-
Wait! No ticket! Suddenly this whole EZ-Pass thing is even better then I thought! No tickets means no using paper to print tickets! Yay for hidden environmental benefits! And, to make it even more environmentally friendly, this is just one step closer to a coins-less society. While discussing how bad coin printing is for the environment could be an entirely separate post, let me just say that the less coins we use, the less coins we'll need to print which means less mining of various metals.
So, in conclusion, if you live in a state with an EZ-Pass system and you plan on making some trips on toll roads, do the Green thing and get one of these EZ-Pass transponders!
I didn't know that they use transponders. I just thought they gave you a card that you swiped. That's pretty cool.
ReplyDeleteYup, you just sign up online and they mail it to you a few days later. So they say you don't have to stop at all, just slow down to about 10 mph or so for it to read it.
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