EZ TAG Express

Harris County Toll Road Authority

About this app

EZ TAG Express takes the hassle out of paying on Houston-area toll roads. Save time and skip the cash line! Simply download, set up your account with your vehicle and payment information, and get on the road. An EZ TAG Express account lets you use the designated EZ TAG lanes on Houston-area toll roads, and throughout the state of Texas.

EZ TAG Express is a new type of account and is only available within the mobile app.

Highlights:

• Quick and easy account setup
• You do not need to buy a traditional EZ TAG
• Toll history available within the app
• With EZ TAG Express you pay the standard cash rate (non-tag rate)
• Works on all toll roads throughout Texas
• One vehicle at a time, change it as often as you like
• Improved design allows enhanced customer experience

Key benefits:

This app lets you save time by skipping the cash lines, and doesn’t require you to purchase a tag for your vehicle. This app is optimized to run on Android devices.

Please drive safely and remember that the HCTRA Incident Management Division responds to incidents and safeguards stranded motorists who need assistance while using Harris County-operated toll roads.

Enjoying the app? Rate us. Your feedback helps us improve your experience.

Have questions? Call 281-875-EASY to speak with customer service.

Ratings and reviews

For an app claiming to make things easier, it sure makes things difficult. Full requirement list: set up auto pay, have the phone in your car while driving. And yet, it constantly forgets who I am, forgets or declines my credit card (without merit), or simply doesn't work and I get mailed a bill by the state. Needs a lot of work.

I don't normally write a review, but I feel compelled to do so to warn others who are planning to rent a car in Texas and rely on the EZ TAG Express app to avoid paying the convenience fee charged by rental car agencies. A few weeks ago, I rented a car with Budget and immediately registered and activated that rental vehicle's tag in my EZ TAG Express app, which I had set up a couple months earlier, and set it to expire at a date/time that coincided with the vehicle's return. Despite doing everything correctly and having an ample balance that never had to be refreshed, I received inconsistent results. I was charged for four tolls by the app, and I was charged for nine tolls (plus the convenience fee) by Budget. None of the tolls overlapped. (I was driving through Dallas/Denton/Ft. Worth/Austin. I have to presume that the app works in all these areas since the website claims it works "throughout Texas", although this would have been a good question to ask.) After speaking with both a representative and a team lead from the HCTRA, the only conclusion that could be drawn is that the software used by the HCTRA is poorly written. Essentially, when there is a conflict between an app user and a tag that is already registered with a rental agency, sometimes the software system will bill the app ... and sometimes it will bill the rental agency. (There was no discernible EZ TAG sticker - which is different from the Express app - on the windshield of the vehicle.) From a user's perspective, this non-deterministic (i.e., unpredictable) behavior is unacceptable. Granted, I can file documentation with Budget and they will waive the convenience fees, but this is not an ideal scenario and causes me to lose time and productivity. On a side note, if you don't mind waiting on hold for a very long period of time to connect with one of the pleasant folks at EZ TAG Express, they will email you documentation. Alternatively, I could just have used screenshots from the app. Regardless, it's still a pain to file a request for a credit with the rental agency and then wait who knows how long for a refund. That said, if EZ TAG Express had picked up zero charges (instead of four), then based on Budget's policy, I could not ask for a refund, and that would force me to appeal the matter up the chain of command, so to speak. Anyway, I realize this is a long review, but hopefully it will prompt the folks at HCTRA to fix the problem, rather than kick the bucket down the road and suggest that the customer ask for a credit from the rental agency. I noticed that HCTRA seems to read reviews and even respond, and so I will be curious whether the response will be one that is thought out, or just a canned response directing me to a website. :) On one last note, I just now ordered a physical EZ TAG (which is different from the app), and we'll see if this has different results in the future, although I inferred from my conversation with HCTRA that it may not. (I've rented vehicles in Illinois/Indiana and in Florida and never experienced this issue after purchasing a physical tag from those respective toll authorities.)

Although my Android phone (OP6T) is assuredly not rooted (I ran two checkers to reconfirm), the app says the device is rooted and won't launch. I ended up downloading the app onto a Chromebook, which works because the tollgates recognize the license plate, not the device. Many stars off for being overaggressive in the safety checks to the point that it's unusable on my phone and because posting a review seems to be the only way to reach anyone who can provide support for the app.

What's new

Enhancements and fixes