Want to take your Portland Hearts of Pine fandom on the road with you? Or find a new way to make sure anyone looking at your vehicle knows you’re a Fort Fitzy type of person?
Since July, the Maine Turnpike Authority has been selling E-ZPass stickers that can replace the traditional plastic windshield transponders. But beginning last week, Mainers can purchase stickers with a logo of the Portland Hearts of Pine.
“It’s like having a bumper sticker where you get to show your favorite team but it’s on your windshield,” Rebecca Grover, an MTA spokesperson, said Tuesday by phone.
The Hearts stickers are about the size of a credit card. These stickers, which use a passive RFID system via a tiny chip and antenna embedded in them, attach directly to the inside of the windshield, just like traditional transponders. The sticker eliminates the need for a battery, thereby saving the agency money on eventual replacements, Grover said.
A traditional, hard-case transponder costs $15. A basic sticker costs $5, while the Hearts-branded stickers cost $20. All proceeds from the stickers with a Hearts logo go to the club’s foundation, according to a news release from the club.
“Support like this gives the Hearts of Pine Foundation the ability to say yes to more ideas, more partnerships and more communities across Maine,” Sarah Stickney, executive director of the Hearts of Pine Foundation, said in a statement. “What makes this especially meaningful is that something as everyday as driving the turnpike can now help fuel work that has a lasting impact far beyond the road.”
If the stickers are removed from the windshield, they are immediately deactivated, which MTA officials say should reduce theft.
“We are constantly looking for smart technology that can improve cost efficiency, reduce our environmental impact, and make travel easier,” Andre Briere, executive director of the Maine Turnpike Authority, said in a statement. “When we can pair those benefits with something creative and personal, it is a win for Maine drivers.”
The MTA is the first agency in the E-ZPass consortium to offer officially licensed professional sports sticker tags. The agency is also selling branded stickers for the Boston Red Sox and the Portland Sea Dogs. Other local teams, including the Maine Mariners, may participate later this year, Grover said.
Briere is a huge fan of the Hearts of Pine, which meant it was an easy sell when the idea was first proposed, Grover said. So far, Red Sox stickers have been the top sellers while the Hearts logos have sold the second most, Grover said. The agency sold about 100 Hearts stickers on the first day, she added.
Hearts of Pine E-ZPass sticker tags can be purchased through the MTA’s online system, its new mobile app (the App Store for iPhone users or Google Play for Android users), by calling 888-682-7277, or in person at the E-ZPass Customer Service Center at 2360 Congress St. in Portland.