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You can't say they're selling like hotcakes, because hotcakes are a cold commodity compared to the N.C. Quick Pass.

NCDOT has sold more than 34,000 of these transponders for would-be toll-road drivers. Some are $20 electronic boxes that eventually will be good for travel on toll roads in other states. Most are $5 windshield stickers, good on the Triangle Expressway and any other toll roads in North Carolina's future. You don't need a transponder to drive on the toll road, but transponder users pay lower toll rates than folks who get billed in the mail.

If transponder sales are so heavy -- 10 times what NCDOT had expected -- why is traffic lighter than expected on TriEx so far? I'm writing about this today. If you have a Quick Pass but you aren't using it to drive on the toll road, I'd like to hear from you. Please email me with your workday phone number, or call me at 919 829 4527.