Contactless Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike Enable Motorists to Glide through Safely

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Bucks County Pennsylvania Turnpike
Image via bobbsled at Creative Commons.

Ten months after initiating toll-by-plate, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is on track with expectations, writes Kate Sweigart for ABC27 News

Currently, E-ZPass users outnumber and toll-by-platers 85 percent to 15 percent. 

Those data show that PA commuters enjoy the convenience and the economy of having that little transponder Velcroed inside their windshields. 

Toll-by-plate is more expensive. Processing times associated with matching images to drivers’ names and addresses adds to the expense. The system also incurs postage costs. 

“Some customers who have E-ZPass can save as much as nearly 60 percent on their tolls over toll-by-plate. So that’s an important distinction. That’s a key reason we continue to see more and more people sign up for E-ZPass,” said Pennsylvania Turnpike spokesperson Carl Defebo. 

It might be tempting to think of toll-by-plate drivers succumbing to the scofflaw temptation. Drivers who glide through toll plazas statewide have their plates photographed by overhead cameras. The data are then matched with drivers, who receive invoices 35-40 days after scooting through tolls. 

But do they pay? 

Commission data show that they do. It has collected 95 percent of all revenue from these customers. 

Read more about Pennsylvania Turnpike payment methods at ABC27 News

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