The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority and BankBoston Introduce New Electronic Toll Collection System.

BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 1998--The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority (MTA) and BankBoston today announced a first-of-its-kind corporate naming program to promote the Turnpike Authority's new FAST LANE electronic toll collection system.

"The MTA is the first Authority in the nation to sell the naming rights of a toll collection system, which is a new way for us to pursue non-toll revenue. Since 1996, we have worked to generate revenue from fiber optic cable, telecommunications and cell phone towers, air rights development and advertising. Initiatives such as this naming rights sale will ease reliance on tolls, and will help us eliminate tolls west of Route 128 by 2007," said Authority Chairman James J. Kerasiotes.

"This is the first time such sponsorship has been established. FAST LANE will prove to be an enormous convenience for motorists. Corporate sponsorship of FAST LANE gives BankBoston a premier corporate sponsorship opportunity. This is a terrific opportunity for thebank, and a terrific opportunity for us. It is a credit to the bank that they saw to value it," Kerasiotes said.

"This sponsorship is a continuation of an ongoing relationship we have established with the MTA," said Chad Gifford, chairman and CEO, BankBoston. "We already have BankBoston ATMs at the service areas along the MassPike and we celebrated the merger of Bank of Boston and BayBank with Toll-Free Day at the Boston Extension. Our aim is to make money management easier.

"Aligning ourselves with programs like the BankBoston FastLane, and organizations like the MTA, demonstrates our desire to offer innovative conveniences that provide value to our customers and all residents and visitors to the Commonwealth," Gifford said.

FAST LANE will use a transponder mounted on a car's windshield near the rear view mirror to signal that a vehicle is going through a designated toll plaza lane. The cost of the toll will then be automatically deducted from or charged to a pre-established account.

A refundable deposit of $27.50 will be required for each transponder. In order to pay for the tolls, drivers can either pre-fund a special MTA toll account with $50, or they can have the tolls automatically deducted from a bank checking account. For BankBoston customers only, the security deposit is waived with the automatic deduction option -- an upfront savings of $50.

BankBoston FAST LANE applications will be available beginning late August. The program is scheduled to start this fall at the Ted Williams and Sumner-Callahan Tunnels and on the Boston Extension. Applications will be available at the Allston-Brighton and Weston toll plazas, Sumner-Callahan and Ted Williams Tunnels toll plaza, select BankBoston branches; and through the BankBoston 24-hour Telephone Center at 1-800-2-BOSTON, and at the MTA's Customer Service Center at 1-877-MASSPIKE.

TransCore, Inc. of Harrisburg, PA, was awarded the MTA contract to design, implement and operate an electronic toll collection system for the Turnpike Authority. Last year, approximately 166 million vehicles went through a plaza and paid a toll on the MassPike and Metropolitan Highway System.

BankBoston (NYSE:BKB), with assets of $70.5 billion and some 23,000 employees, is the nation's oldest commercial bank and New England's only global bank. BankBoston is engaged in consumer, small business and corporate banking in New England; delivering sophisticated financial solutions to corporations and governments nationally and internationally; and full-service banking in leading Latin American markets. The Corporation's common stock is listed on the New York and Boston stock exchanges.

    CONTACT: MTA
              Robert R. Bliss, 617/248-2823
              or
              BankBoston
              Bruce Spitzer, 781/788-7812