Entire PA Turnpike Going Cashless By 2021

HARRISBURG, PA — The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced Monday that it will fully transition to cashless tolling by 2021. Once the change is implemented, cash or credit card payments will no longer be accepted anywhere along the 552-mile tollway.

Instead, drivers who once paid their tolls with cash or credit cards will receive a PA Turnpike "Toll By Plate" bill in the mail. A photo of the license plate is taken, and a bill is then mailed to the vehicle’s owner. Payment can then be mailed or made online.

There will be no change for drivers who pay with E-ZPass.

All sections of the turnpike will be cashless by the fall of 2021, Turnpike officials said.

Authorities say cashless tolling improves safety and mobility. “Everybody pays electronically, so there’s no need to stop; everyone benefits from the convenience of uninterrupted travel. Plus, cash and E-ZPass customers no longer need to dart across tollbooth traffic to reach their lanes,” PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton said.

No layoffs are expected prior to Jan. 1, 2022, Compton said. Collectors will staff toll plazas to offer guidance and aid to customers during a "familiarization period."

Four sections of the turnpike recently underwent a cashless pilot program, and the results indicated the setup should go statewide, Compton said. “Data from these pilots is clear: Performance is on par with projections after 58 million AET (All-Electronic Tolling) transactions have been processed to date at four cashless-tolling locations."

Last year, the Findlay Connector in Washington and Allegheny counties and the Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit tolling points on the Northeastern Extension in Lackawanna County were converted to cashless. In 2017, the Beaver Valley Expressway (PA Turnpike 376) in Beaver and Lawrence counties went cashless. And in January 2016, a cashless tolling point opened near the Turnpike Bridge over the Delaware River at the New Jersey border in Bucks County.

“We recognize that customers pay a premium to travel the Turnpike, and for that reason we are continually reviewing the safety and efficiency of our system,” explained Compton. “Nine years ago, we undertook an AET feasibility study at a time when E-ZPass users were at around 60 percent. Today, our studies and pilot conversions have been completed and now more than 80 percent of our travelers prefer E-ZPass.”

Compton said as the Turnpike moves to all cashless tolling, "we will continue to do all we can to help transition impacted employees — whether that means moving to another position here at the PTC or one elsewhere.”