I-Pass States

Introduction

Roadways are expensive, and across the U.S., certain states have introduced various ways to pay for the maintenance of roads. In the Midwestern, Eastern, and Southern United States, there are many roads that are toll-roads, on which you must pay a fee in order to drive. These collected fees are then used to repair and maintain the roads. Areas that don’t use toll fees to maintain their roads use taxes that are collected from that area’s citizens. 

One of the largest companies that manages toll roads in the regions mentioned above is called the Illinois Tollway, which can be traveled on only by using the I-Pass. The I-Pass is part of a revolutionary toll innovation that allows drivers on toll roads to pay without having to stop at a tolling plaza. It makes travel especially convenient on high speed interstate highways and expressways, where drivers would otherwise have to come to a complete stop in order to pay a toll. 

How the I-Pass works is that drivers attach an electronic transponder to the interior windshield of their cars, and as they drive through toll plazas on toll roads, the transponder automatically pays the toll fee without making the driver stop. The electronic pass method gives drivers shorter commute times, and since they don’t have to stop in order to pay, the flow of traffic is often less congested. So far, there have been more than five million I-Pass transponders issued by the Illinois Tollway. 

Learn more about the I-Pass by exploring the data in the charts.