by Trish Whelan. Two new Eazy Pass express lanes opened today at the West-Link toll plaza, one northbound and one southbound. Their promotional gimmick is taken from the 'Wizard of Oz' and entreats motorists to 'follow the yellow brick road'.
Eazy Pass is the electronic toll payment system operating at the country's three toll plazas. The express lanes are solely for Eazy Pass car and van customers, allowing them travel quickly through the tolls without having to queue behind cash paying customers.
The Express lanes are painted bright yellow for ease of distinction from the cash paying lanes and are positioned beside the existing Eazy Pass Express lanes, replacing one of the 'Coin only' lanes. These new quick lanes will open from Monday-Friday, reverting back to 'Coin only' lanes at weekends.
There are currently around 75,000 drivers using the Eazy Pass system. Almost 1,000 vehicles per hour use the quick system at peak times and the lanes are capable of processing vehicles twice as fast as any of the cash ones. The electronic system will provide the platform for the eventual introduction of free-flow tolling.
During peak times, over 40% of vehicles pay their tolls electronically. By the end of 2006, it is anticipated that the majority of customers at Dublin's toll bridges will use Eazy Pass to pay their toll fares.
Eazy Pass is an independently owned subsidiary of NTR plc.
