New Jersey drivers, buckle up—because your personal data, travel habits, and daily routines are on the verge of being handed over to a foreign company with troubling ties to the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s decision to award a $1.73 billion, 11-year E-ZPass contract to TransCore—a Nashville-based firm owned by Singapore Technologies Engineering (ST Engineering), which is in turn controlled by Singapore’s Temasek Holdings—is nothing short of a reckless gamble with our privacy and security. Governor Phil Murphy must hit the brakes on this deal immediately, launch a full investigation, and rebid the contract to an American company worthy of our trust. Our tolls shouldn’t be managed by a country on the opposite side of the world—especially one with a cozy relationship with Beijing.
Let’s be clear about what’s at stake. Every time you zip through an E-ZPass lane, you’re entrusting the system with sensitive information: your home address, credit card details, license plate number, and a detailed log of your movements.
This isn’t just about tolls—it’s a treasure trove of data that reveals where you live, work, and travel. Now, imagine that information falling into the hands of a company whose parent entity, Temasek Holdings, has deep ties to the CCP. Until recently, Temasek’s board included Fu Chengyu, a high-ranking CCP official with connections to China’s United Front—an influence network notorious for extending Beijing’s reach into foreign systems. Even with Fu’s departure, the web of ownership linking TransCore to Singapore’s government (and its extensive business dealings with China) raises red flags that can’t be ignored.
Why does this matter? Because China has a track record of exploiting technology to surveil and control. From TikTok’s data harvesting to Huawei’s backdoors, the CCP doesn’t play by our rules—it bends them to its advantage. Former Senator Robert Torricelli called this deal “worse than TikTok,” and he’s right. While TikTok tracks your scrolling habits, E-ZPass could expose the physical movements of millions of Americans—including government officials, military personnel, and everyday families—to a foreign power.
Congressman Jeff Van Drew put it bluntly: “This is a direct threat to both our national security and the privacy of millions of Americans.” Are we really okay with the CCP potentially knowing when and where our troops travel between New York and D.C.?
Governor Murphy’s silence is deafening. His administration pushed this contract through despite a cheaper $1.48 billion bid from Conduent, a Newark-based American company that’s managed E-ZPass for over two decades. Why snub a homegrown firm for a costlier foreign bidder with questionable ties? The Turnpike Authority claims TransCore’s National Security Agreement with the U.S. government ensures data safety, but that’s cold comfort when the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) approved the deal under the lax oversight of the Biden years. With President Trump back in office, it’s time for a second look—starting with a pause on this contract until every detail is laid bare.
This isn’t just about security; it’s about sovereignty. Why should a Singapore-based company, tethered to a government that’s a major player in China’s orbit, control a critical piece of American infrastructure? New Jersey’s highways are our arteries—vital to commerce, defense, and daily life. Handing their oversight to a firm 9,000 miles away defies logic when American companies can do the job better, cheaper, and without the specter of foreign influence.
State Senator Joe Pennacchio hit the nail on the head: “This is an issue that transcends politics.” It’s about protecting Jersey families from a deal that smells more like a geopolitical favor than a sound business decision.
Governor Murphy, the clock is ticking. Halt this contract now.
Demand a transparent investigation into TransCore’s ties to the CCP and the Turnpike Authority’s baffling choice to prioritize a foreign firm over an American one. Then, rebid the project to a U.S. company that answers to us—not to Singapore or Beijing. Our E-ZPass system shouldn’t be a pawn in some global chess game. It’s time to put New Jersey first—before our data ends up on the wrong side of the world.
Jeff, Paramus