O'Malley's E-Z Pass Fiasco 9/09

Martin O'Malley pledged during the 2006 campaign to not "nickel and dime" Maryland's citizens with fees and usage charges.  Last session, he broke his promise by adding a $1.50 monthly administrative fee for all E-Z Pass account holders.

Promoting the EZ-Pass system as a means to achieve greater traffic efficiency and to reduce highway congestion was a hallmark of the Ehrlich Administration's transportation policy.  During the past legislative session, the Senate Republican Caucus encouraged taxpayers to protest the implementation of these fees (to see our post from March 10, 2009 click here)

With a deaf ear to citizen protest, O'Malley implemented the fees and Maryland taxpayers are now voting with their feet - over 17,000 Marylanders have cancelled their MdTA E-Z Pass accounts and many are relocating their transponder accounts to less onerous programs in Virginia, Delaware and West Virginia.

Problem is - Maryland taxpayers are finding it is not E-Z to close an E-Z Pass account.  Instead of being "nickeled and dimed," they are being 10 to 15 bucked over delays in processing cancellation requests.  Michael Dresser of the Baltimore Sun reported on an unfortunate taxpayer who could not get a refund for more than 60 days (click here).

If calls to the C4 Show on WBAL Radio yesterday are any indication, O'Malley is in a heap of trouble.  Apparently thousands of citizens who cancelled their accounts in June are still waiting for their refunds, still being charged monthly administrative fees and still having $25.00 deposits deducted from their credit cards.

In true O'Malley fashion, MdTA Administrator Ronald Freeland passed the buck - it's not our fault, it is just a problem with our vendor.  Ironically, the slogan featured on his website is, "TIRED OF WAITING? Welcome to E-Z Pass"!  Perhaps they should add a FAQ on "How to cancel and get a quick refund?"