E-ZPass For Drive-Thru Food

Good job technology, you just made access to obesity-inducing fast food that much easier. PSFK reports that a new payment method called iDriveThru allows people to pay for their meals with the E-ZPass device, which is normally used to pay for tolls on the East Coast.

According to PSFK, five Wendy's restaurants in Staten Island, N.Y., are now accepting E-ZPass payments, and while those five stores have reported satisfactory results, the MTA has yet to sign onto iDriveThru.

In the past, however, MTA has allowed programs to allow purchases on E-ZPass accounts with two McDonald's restaurants in Long Island, N.Y., skimming $0.15 off every transaction. The New York Post estimates that if the MTA takes a similar approach, it could make up to $150,000 a year from the five Wendy's in Staten Island.

Customers would also benefit, as the iDriveThru service allows customers to earn food discounts with a point system, and a receipt is automatically emailed to them (to avoid fraud). No word on whether more fast-food restaurants will start using E-ZPass payments, but we imagine it'll up the turnaround rate between ordering and eating, which is good for the business, but not that good for our waistlines.