Newport Pell Bridge
The Claiborne Pell Newport Bridge in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, a suspension bridge that connects Newport and Jamestown, crossing the Narragansett Bay. It was built in 1969 and is featured on the reverse of the Rhode Island quarter. CC-BY-SA-3.0/Matt H. Wade at Wikipedia Matt H. Wade - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:UpstateNYer Creative Commons: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/ Credit: CC-BY-SA-3.0/Matt H. Wade at Wikipedia / Matt H. Wade

The Rhode Island Turnpike and Bridge Authority (RITBA) on Friday announced that it will waive the $10 fee for an E-ZPass transponder for new account holders, now through January 5, 2024. 

“We are working with every level of government to mitigate the impacts of the situation at the Washington Bridge. There are numerous legal, operational and practical hurdles to changing tolling policies. The most critical is that waiving the toll would actually cause congestion – not alleviate it – and we do not want to add to the challenges that Rhode Islanders are facing,” said Lori Caron Silveira, Executive Director of RITBA.. “We can waive the transponder fee for new account holders and we are glad we can help out in this way.”

E-ZPass accounts can be opened:

  • online at www.ezpassritba.com 24/7
  • by phone at 1-877-RI-EZPASS (1-877-743-9727) from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday
  • in person at AAA offices 
  • in person at the RITBA offices (regular hours at RITBA next week are  Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 9 a.m. until 1 p.m. with  additional hours on Tuesday (12/19) and Thursday (12/21) from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m.)

While RITBA works to update its transponder payment process, RITBA says that customers will pay for the transponder but will receive a credit to their E-ZPass account. As a good faith measure, anyone who has purchased a transponder in the last two weeks will receive a $10 credit.

All transponders will be sent by mail in 7-10 business days.

FAQs

How much is the Newport Bridge toll for a passenger vehicle?

The toll for Rhode Island residents with a transponder is .83 cents. Without a transponder, the toll is $6.00. Each car without a transponder is billed by mail and identified through an image of the plate. Each image must be read and confirmed by two people. 

Ryan Belmore is the owner and publisher of What's Up Newp. He took over the publication in 2012 and has grown it into a three-time Rhode Island Monthly Best Local News Blog (2018, 2019, 2020). He was named LION Publishers Member of the Year in 2020 and received the Dominique Award from the Arts & Cultural Society of Newport County the same year. He has been awarded grants for investigative and community journalism, and continues to coach and mentor new local news publications nationwide. Ryan...

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1 Comment

  1. Wish your walk in office was open on Saturday when we aren’t working.
    Or maybe the AAA office .
    Unbelievable stories people have about the easy pass
    If you don’t have it,an it’s something new to understand.
    How about an easy pass card that could be sold anywhere .
    People could buy the card ,an maybe the transponder.
    An why all the other information, since they can automatically get the license plate too combined .
    A lot $$$$$ money to be made by making it more appealing an less intrusive, an hard to get .
    They could be charged later for firstime users?.
    Not everyone has access to a computer .
    I walk in an pay, by mail.
    Easier to put into use an the money still goes to the Bridge.
    How about rewards program like the restaurants have .
    People will be fighting over their points, But then they would always be using easy pass for more free points etc……?

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