Heard on the Beat / TECHNOLOGY : Internet Helps Drivers Navigate Toll Roads

Toll roads appeal to people in a hurry, so it seems only natural that Orange County’s Transportation Corridor Agencies would sell its 250,000th transponder--a device that automatically charges tolls to drivers’ accounts--over the Internet.

The transponders allow vehicles to pass through toll plazas without stopping; the toll is automatically billed to customers’ accounts.

The agency began accepting applications for transponders through its Web site last September. And in June, the agency said Internet applications accounted for 1,100 of the 4,862 total applications it received that month. So far, about 8,000 people have applied for transponders using the Web site at https://www.tollroad.com.