TOLLING: Pa. Turnpike moving towards all-electronic fare-collection system

Soon you will not be able to request a booth on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.

The tolling authority announced on Nov. 12 that it would be eventually removing its toll attendants in favor of an all-electronic system. The move is projected to save the Turnpike $21 million annually, but will eliminate the 755 toll-taker workforce.

Those who do not have an E-ZPass transponder will be billed accordingly through the mail.

According to last year’s data, only 60% of all transactions were electronic, and critics like Pennsylvania Rep. Michael McGeehan are questioning the technology, saying that other states, like Florida, have had issues regarding license-plate readers. Florida officials have admitted to having problems, but are adapting to better systems.

Turnpike spokesman Carl DeFabo said the move to an all-electronic collection system is not definite, and cautioned if other states did not share license information for billing the project would be cancelled.