The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has announced that the Lincoln Tunnel will, from Sunday December 11, see a new tolling system that will use an automatic, cash-free process to collect revenue.
The new collection system will collect toll fees either via E-ZPass or by capturing license plate information to enable payment by mail for non-E-ZPass customers, meaning cash will no longer be taken by toll booths. Overhead gantries will reportedly be used to collect all relevant information.
The transport body previously installed all-electronic tolling at the George Washington Bridge in July, at the Holland Tunnel in 2020 and at all three Staten Island bridges in 2019.
What’s more, the installation of the new system represents the completion of a multi-year US$500m (£428m) project to introduce a cashless process and improve the accuracy of revenue collection, especially considering that the prior technology dated back to the late 1990s.
Additionally, it is hoped that motorists will cut back on 1.3 million gallons of fuel a year and help reduce 11,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually with the elimination toll lanes and toll booths.
“Toll booths have served us well in the past when toll collection required someone to accept coins or tickets in exchange for passage, but at some point, nostalgia must make way for advances in technology that improve our lives – which for many of us in this region revolve around our daily commutes,” said Kevin O’Toole, chairman of the Port Authority.
“The deactivation of the Port Authority’s last toll booths and upgrade to a cashless electronic system is not just a sentimental footnote in the timeline of our legacy bridges and tunnels, but a key milestone in our agency’s stewardship of the bistate region’s critical infrastructure.”
Drivers who do not sign up for an E-ZPass account will be billed by having images of their license plate captured by overhead cameras, with this data being used to organise fees sent by mail.
The agency strongly recommends that all motorists sign up for E-ZPass, as it claims this remains the most convenient way for customers to pay vehicle tolls in the region.
