EASTHAMPTON — Less than an hour into the four-hour distribution event, more than 100 transponders were given out to Massachusetts drivers Saturday.
Finck & Perras Insurance hosted an E-ZPass transponder distribution event at the Eastworks building, giving area residents who use the Massachusetts Turnpike the opportunity to pick up the equipment before the All Electronic Tolling system goes live Friday.
In total, more than 400 transponders were distributed.
Shortly after 10 a.m. the line snaked around the room and out the door as more than 50 people had gathered to get their transponders.
Charles Growhoski, of Easthampton, arrived just before 10 a.m. to get in line for his. About 20 minutes into waiting, Growhoski said the line was moving “right along.”
Although Growhoski said he doesn’t use the Mass. Pike often, he came to get a transponder for convenience when he does use it.
“I was hesitant at first,” he said of the change to all electronic tolls.
“I don’t use it that often. Why should I give the state my $20 to hold?” Growhoski said, referring to the $20 minimum balance to open an E-ZPass account. “My wife convinced me it was a good idea.”
Waiting outside the room on a bench for her daughter, Barbara Arrighi of Southampton already had her transponder.
Arrighi said she and her husband ordered theirs online about two months ago to avoid the line. Being a senior, standing in line is a chore and it surprised her to see many seniors in line Saturday morning, she said.
She said her husband had some questions about how the transponders worked but thought the electronic tolls were convenient.
“I think we’re in a world of electronics today. It’s like everything else,” she said. “It’s making it easier. People can get through — everyone is in a hurry.”
Not everyone who came out Saturday left with a transponder. Some saw the line and left while others like Mark Baldwin, of Williamsburg, picked up an application for a commercial vehicle that he would have to send in.
As those who waited finally made it to the front table, two employees of the state checked over the application, answered last-minute questions and handed out the transponders in silver packaging.
Those who picked up the device were told it may take up to 10 days before the transponders were activated.
While many who spoke to the Gazette said they didn’t mind the transition to an all-electronic toll system, some expressed concern or sadness over the toll workers who would likely lose their jobs.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation made the decision in 2012 to transition to an AET system for the Mass. Pike, I-90, as well as all of the Boston tunnels and the Tobin Memorial Bridge.
Under the new system, 24 toll plazas along the 138-mile highway from Boston to the New York border will be torn down and replaced by 16 gantries that arch over the highway and electronically charge vehicles with E-ZPass transponders without requiring them to stop or slow down, according to the Associated Press.
Drivers without transponders will be billed by mail — cameras in the gantries will snap a photo of their license plates — and will pay a higher rate than drivers with transponders, according to The Boston Globe.
Transponders are also available at Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles Service Centers and at American Automobile Association offices.