NEW YORK – The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey announced Wednesday that the agency’s latest vehicular pass to upgrade to a new state-of-the-art toll system will use the automatic cashless toll collection system at starting from Sunday 11 December.
The last of the agency’s cash toll booths will be disabled early that morning in the Lincoln Tunnel.
The newly installed modernized toll collection system will collect payment via E-ZPass or by capturing license plate information to enable payment by mail for non-E-ZPass customers, eliminating the need for cash toll collection at booths or by requesting motorists to drive through toll lanes that forced confluence and often caused accidents or traffic slowdowns.
The raised portals will now collect all the necessary information for E-ZPass and Toll-By-Mail customers. The agency previously completed the fully electronic toll passage on the George Washington Bridge in July, the Holland Tunnel in 2020, and all three Staten Island bridges in 2019.
“Toll booths have served us well in the past when toll collection required someone to accept coins or tickets in exchange for a fare, but at some point nostalgia must give way to technological advances that improve our lives, which for many of us in this region revolve around our daily commute, “said Port Authority President Kevin O’Toole.” Deactivating the last Port Authority toll booths and upgrading to a cashless electronic system is not just a sentimental note in the timeline of our legacy bridges and tunnels, but a milestone in the management of our agency for critical infrastructure in the bi-state region. “
Activation of the new Lincoln Tunnel toll system completes a multi-year $ 500 million capital project to upgrade the toll collection system at the agency’s six intersections into a completely cashless 21st century system, similar to those using the overhead cranes that have been implemented on modern highway networks around the world.
The upgrade has been particularly critical as the new toll technology has proven to exceed the accuracy and customer service benefits provided by the current toll system, which was installed in the late 1990s. In addition, motorists are expected to save 1, 3 million gallons of fuel per year and help reduce 11,500 tons of carbon dioxide per year by eliminating toll lanes and toll booths.
“With the activation of this new 21st century toll system on the Lincoln Tunnel, all bridges and tunnels of the Port Authority will use the best of online toll payment technology with the modern conveniences of digital financial transactions and customer service.” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said. “This upgrade benefits all drivers using our intersections by reducing precious commuting minutes, reducing traffic accidents in toll lanes and reducing emissions from vehicles waiting to pay in cash at toll booths.
New toll platforms were installed in the Lincoln Tunnel in November 2021, housing equipment for collecting vehicle toll information and other related infrastructure, such as a new concrete pavement, while the installation and testing of the technology was completed in last year. As at other crossings, the agency’s toll collectors at the Lincoln Tunnel will be reassigned to other port authority positions if they wish to continue working for the agency.
Since the modern cashless toll system was implemented at Bayonne and Goethals bridges and Outerbridge Crossing, traffic accidents in the old toll areas at these structures have been reduced by 70%. The port authority expects similar traffic safety improvements across its three Hudson River crossings, particularly as the agency continues to see a return to pre-pandemic vehicular traffic levels. More than 3.4 million vehicles used the Lincoln Tunnel in July 2022, similar to its traffic levels in July 2019.
Once the updated system is activated, E-ZPass users will not notice any difference in how toll billing is done, although customer service and toll resolution will improve substantially as new state-of-the-art equipment provides more accurate invoice processing and timely. . Drivers who do not have an E-ZPass account will have license plate images captured by aerial cameras, then an invoice will be sent for the amount of the toll.
With Lincoln Tunnel toll booths decommissioned, the rideshare discount plan, used by approximately 3% of motorists at all agency intersections, will end due to the inability of current technology to electronically determine the number of passengers in a vehicle. The Port Authority continues to explore new technologies to address this problem.
For more information on Cashless Tolling, including benefits and the billing process, click here. For information on E-ZPass, including how to register and the types of discounts available, click here.
