Turnpike announces tolls at new cashless plazas

As it moves toward a full cashless toll system by 2022, the Pennsylvania Turnpike is pushing to convert stragglers to the prepaid E- ZPass system by hitting them in the wallet.

Tolls announced Wednesday for two new cashless plazas will be higher for motorists who use the Toll By Plate system, in which a vehicle’s license plate is photographed when it passes through a toll plaza and a bill is mailed to the motorist. Previously, Toll By Plate users paid the same as cash customers, but with cash being phased out, the new fees are higher to reflect the turnpike’s actual cost for issuing a bill, turnpike CEO Mark Compton said.

The turnpike is going cashless to eliminate toll collectors — most of whom have moved to other jobs or left through attrition — to reduce operating costs. About 85% of motorists now use E- ZPass, but that means the agency still needs employees to handle cash and process Toll By Plate payments.

It would rather convert everyone to E- ZPass, but it also is working with a consultant to develop a smartphone app to automatically deduct the payment from the

driver’s account. The fee for the smartphone app, which should be ready by the end of the year, would be more than E- ZPass but less than Toll By Plate.

“The [ turnpike’s] four cashless tolling projects implemented in 2016, ‘ 17 and ‘ 18 have provided a clearer picture of the actual cost of collections associated with the Toll By Plate program,” Mr. Compton said in a statement. “Without a doubt, E- ZPass, used by nearly 85 percent of Turnpike travelers, will continue to be the least- expensive option and the only one accepted everywhere on our system.”

Mr. Compton stressed the convenience of EZPass, which can be obtained at many grocery stores across the state and can be used in 16 states, including all states adjacent to Pennsylvania.

“With hundreds of grocery stores in the commonwealth offering E- ZPass, chances are you pass by at least one of them every day,” Mr. Compton said. “Because of our low enrollment and administration fees, and the ability to set up an automatically replenished or cash- funded EZPass account, there’s simply no reason not to get it.”

Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFebo said the agency receives about 92% of its funds within 60 days — 85% from E- ZPass and 7% from Toll By Plate.

Of the remaining 8%, 5% is Toll By Plate revenue the agency has to track down through violation notices, collection agencies, registration suspensions or the court system. The remaining 3% is unbillable.

Tolls will go up 6% over the current fees for E- ZPass users when cashless tolling begins Oct. 27 at the Gateway station in Lawrence County for motorists coming from Ohio and on the Turnpike Route 66 bypass in Westmoreland County.

At Gateway, E- ZPass users will pay a new toll of $ 5.90. The current toll is $ 5.50. The Toll By Plate cost, which had been the same as cash at $ 7.90, will jump to $ 12.20 to reflect processing costs.

At the Route 66 bypass, the new E- ZPass fee will be $ 2.10, up 20 cents from the current fee. The Toll By Plate fee will go to $ 4.30 from the current rate of $ 2.80 for cash customers.

New fees also will begin Oct. 27 at another cashless system in Western Pennsylvania, the Beaver Valley Expressway. For westbound travelers, the new EZPass fee will be $ 2.10, up from the current $ 1.90, and the new eastbound fee will be $ 1.10, up from $ 1.

For Toll By Plate, the new westbound fee will be $ 4.30, up from $ 2.80, and the new eastbound fee will be $ 1.10, up from $ 1.

Those sites won’t have another increase when the turnpike’s mainline tolls increase by 6% on Jan. 5.