If you have to travel by four-wheeler on the New Hampshire turnpike, watch out – the state and its E-ZPass system still have what could be some expensive glitches.

According to Foster’s Daily Democrat, complaints have been rolling into Transportation Commissioner Carol Murray’s office from car drivers who say they’ve been tolled for the same amount as if they’d been towing a trailer – which they weren’t.

Murray told the Daily Democrat that the problem is merely a system in need of adjustment, not a glitch or problem with the system.

“It’s like when you open a new account for anything, you want to make sure it’s working properly,” Murray said. “This is part of the growing pains with E-ZPass.”

The “adjustment” isn’t the first time the state’s E-ZPass system – which replaced its historic “token” system Sept. 1 – has made headlines. To help tout the new E-ZPass toll system on the turnpike, Gov. John Lynch and the turnpike’s executive council originally set the price for transponders – which every vehicle must carry to use the system – at $5.

So what’s the problem? Well, nothing, except that the cost of a transponder is actually $27, which has caused the state to cover the $22 difference, according to The Associated Press.

That cost, coupled with two other key factors, has left the state with a rather hefty bill – a $4 million bill, the Boston Globe reported. The key factors in the equation are: unexpected public response resulting in 100,000 E-ZPass transponders already being purchased since they became available in mid-June; and the fact that many drivers who bought the $5 transponders don’t travel the toll routes every day and therefore don’t contribute large amounts of tolls to help offset the costs.

Another factor adding to the red-ink column for the venture is the $5 to $6 it costs the state to maintain each E-ZPass account per month.

“You present numbers that are staggering,” said Sen. Chuck Morse, R-Salem, during questioning of Transportation Commissioner Carol Murray before the state’s Senate.

However, Murray said the department’s budget problems predate the implementation of E-ZPass, and that this new debt represents “minor money” in the department’s overall financial situation, the Globe reported.

“Long term, we’re OK, but next year is tight,” Murray said. “The next year is scary.”

The state Senate voted to increase the cost of the transponders after more research is done on the system.

-- By Aaron Ladage, staff writer
aaron_ladage@landlinemag.com