Comments on: tag! you’re tolled! http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/08/10/tag-youre-tolled/ Getting around the Bay Area with Denis Cuff and the Queen of the Road Tue, 17 May 2011 06:04:22 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Samatakah http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/08/10/tag-youre-tolled/comment-page-1/#comment-1997 Samatakah Mon, 13 Aug 2007 15:17:19 +0000 http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/08/10/tag-youre-tolled/#comment-1997 When a friend expressed concern about being tracked by John Ashcroft via the transponders, my husband replied, “Ashcroft *should* be watching me, so that the people who are trying to do something about the Bush Administration suborning the Constitution can get their work done.”

My husband, the decoy. (-:

]]> By: Brian http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/08/10/tag-youre-tolled/comment-page-1/#comment-1998 Brian Sat, 11 Aug 2007 16:48:34 +0000 http://www.ibabuzz.com/transportation/2007/08/10/tag-youre-tolled/#comment-1998 If your vehicle is registered with FasTrak, you can cruise through the FasTrak lanes even if you left your transponder at home. A picture of your license plate will be snapped and matched to your account, and you’ll be billed for the toll just as if you’d used the transponder. Most FasTrak users don’t seem to know this, and some hesitate at the toll booth if their transponder doesn’t beep, but there’s no need to. If you’re in the system, you’re in the system, transponder or no. Just remember to keep Caltrans up to date if you buy a new car.

Given the advances in automatic license plate reading technology, the FasTrak transponders are essentially obsolete at this point. London tracks every vehicle as it moves throughout the city (and automatically charges the congestion charge to those entering the central part of the city). NYC is looking at installing a similar system, and if SF goes ahead with its congestion charge, it will almost certainly do the same.

The operators of these automatic license plate readers most certainly do NOT make the guarantee that MTC does to destroy identifying information. This class of data is often gathered by those with the best intentions and then abused by those with the worst.

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