One of the freeways that I take to work added a new toll lane last year. Since I don’t really care for rush hour traffic, I finally decided to bite the bullet and get a MnPASS. This is a little transponder that you stick to your car, and it deducts your tolls from an account as you use the lane. I’ve had it for a couple weeks now, and so far, it’s worked quite well.

The transponder itself gets stuck to your windshield, right behind the rear view mirror. This makes it invisible to you when you’re driving. I opted for the version that you can switch off, when you actually have multiple people in the car, since car pools travel for free in the HOV lane. As you drive under the various signs, the transmitter picks up the signal from the transponder and deducts the toll from your account.

I’ve really enjoyed zipping in to work faster while using it, however, I have run into one small annoyance on my way home. The charge to use the lane is for the entire length of the interstate from one junction to the next interstate junction. There is a highway in-between these junctions that I often take on the way home because of really bad road construction. Even though I’m leaving the main interstate early, I still get charged the full amount.

Hopefully, the road construction will be done before the snow flies, and the insane backups will end, making my route home easier. Until then I’ll suffer through paying more than I need to, for the convenience of getting to move past traffic that is standing still.