Coming to PA Turnpike: Sorry, No Cash Accepted for Tolls

Original reporting by Brittany Tressler.

A lot more Pennsylvania Turnpike Toll takers will have Labor Day off in just a few more years.  All of them, as a matter of fact.  In fact they'll have no work (as it exists today) under the current toll booth system.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission plans to remove the 76 toll plazas and toll collectors along the 545-mile stretch of road spanning the commonwealth, opting instead for an All-Electronic Tolling system (AET).

“We fully expect we will be converted to an all-electronic system (AET) by 2018,” Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFabo said, according to the PA Independent.
AET would require the construction of an overhead toll gantry on the turnpike or on entrance and exit ramps and turnpike spurs,according to a feasibility study.

For motorists traveling with no E-ZPass, a camera will capture the vehicle’s license plate and a bill will be mailed to the registered owner.
“When we covert to all-electronic tolling, those (non-E-ZPass) vehicles are going to be post-billed, so the commission, in order to not risk revenue loss, is going to want to increase E-ZPass usage so more people are paying,” DeFabo said.

Before moving to electronic system, the turnpike is embarking on a marketing campaign to increase E-ZPass use to 85 percent of turnpike travelers; currently 70 percent of turnpike drivers use E-ZPass.

Reasoning for implementing the AET includes safety, less delay for travelers, elimination of backups at tollbooths, a “greener” approach and a reduction in “footprint,” and reduced operating costs.

For more on the conversion, visit the Pennsylvania Turnpike’s website.