A new era in toll collection is just months away in Massachusetts. Most drivers have peered into this future, and it makes a lot of sense.
After three years of work that began under Gov. Deval Patrick’s administration, the state Department of Transportation will phase out toll booths and the jobs of toll collectors this October.
Newly erected “gantries” will hold transponders like those already in use with the EZ Pass system. Drivers who don’t have EZ Pass devices will be billed by mail after their license plate numbers are captured by overhead cameras.
Those drivers will have an incentive to opt in to transponder use, since tolls will be higher for those billed by mail. The new system is expected to save the state $50 million a year by cutting expenses in toll collection on the Massachusetts Turnpike. That’s a blow to the roughly 400 people who collect tolls, about half of whom will be offered retirement packages; others will be able to apply for other DOT jobs, with the net number of actual jobs lost put at about 115. We hope they find other work soon.
Because vehicles won’t stack up in lines at toll booths, wider use of the transponder technology will cut down on fuel consumption. It’s a smart and welcome change.