Tollbooth

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A car stopping at a tollbooth on the Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway in the Philippines Subic-Clark-Tarlac Expressway Toll Plaza - Tarlac Barrier 9.jpg
A car stopping at a tollbooth on the Subic–Clark–Tarlac Expressway in the Philippines
Tollbooth in Selangor, Malaysia. NSE towards southbound at Rawang Selatan Interchange 20230423 100420.jpg
Tollbooth in Selangor, Malaysia.

A tollbooth (or toll booth) is an enclosure placed along a toll road that is used for the purpose of collecting a toll from passing traffic. A structure consisting of several tollbooths placed next to each other is called a toll plaza, tollgate, or toll station. They have historically been staffed by transportation agents who manually collect the toll, but, in the modern day, many have been replaced with automatic electronic toll collection systems, such as E-ZPass in the Northeastern United States.

Contents

Replacement

Toll plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike before conversion to all-electronic tolling EZ Pass Pennsylvania Bensalem.jpg
Toll plaza on the Pennsylvania Turnpike before conversion to all-electronic tolling

In the 21st century, electronic toll collection (ETC) has replaced former locations of tollbooths around the world. ETC is an automated system that allows drivers to pay tolls without stopping. Benefits of automatic toll collection include reducing air pollution and fuel consumption, and saving motorists time and money compared to traditional tollbooths. [1] [2]

Some tollbooths have been widened with the addition of toll gates to accommodate increasing automobile traffic, such as this one on the New Jersey Turnpike. I-95 NJTP North - Toll Booth Before Leaving New Jersey (25254133007).jpg
Some tollbooths have been widened with the addition of toll gates to accommodate increasing automobile traffic, such as this one on the New Jersey Turnpike.

The COVID-19 pandemic led to further losses of tollbooths, causing the U.S. state of Maryland to accelerate its shift towards all-electronic tolling by eliminating all cash payments from toll facilities. [2] Similarly, the Pennsylvania Turnpike accelerated its plan to move to all-electronic tolling. While tollbooths are currently still in place throughout the turnpike system, signs inform drivers to keep moving through toll plaza, "we bill you". [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">New Jersey Turnpike</span> Toll road in New Jersey

The New Jersey Turnpike (NJTP) is a system of controlled-access highways in the U.S. state of New Jersey. The turnpike is maintained by the New Jersey Turnpike Authority. The 117.2-mile (188.6 km) mainline's southern terminus is at the Delaware Memorial Bridge on I-295 in Pennsville. Its northern terminus is at an interchange with I-80 and US 46 in Ridgefield Park. Construction of the mainline, from concept to completion, took a total of 22 months between 1950 and 1951. It was opened to traffic on November 5, 1951, between its southern terminus and exit 10.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toll road</span> Roadway for which a fee (or toll) is assessed for passage

A toll road, also known as a turnpike or tollway, is a public or private road for which a fee is assessed for passage. It is a form of road pricing typically implemented to help recoup the costs of road construction and maintenance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pennsylvania Turnpike</span> East–west toll highway

The Pennsylvania Turnpike, sometimes shortened to Penna Turnpike or PA Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road that is operated by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in the United States. It runs for 360 miles (580 km) across the state, connecting Pittsburgh in Western Pennsylvania with Philadelphia in eastern Pennsylvania, and passes through four tunnels as it crosses the Appalachian Mountains in central Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Electronic toll collection</span> Wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles

Electronic toll collection (ETC) is a wireless system to automatically collect the usage fee or toll charged to vehicles using toll roads, HOV lanes, toll bridges, and toll tunnels. It is a faster alternative which is replacing toll booths, where vehicles must stop and the driver manually pays the toll with cash or a card. In most systems, vehicles using the system are equipped with an automated radio transponder device. When the vehicle passes a roadside toll reader device, a radio signal from the reader triggers the transponder, which transmits back an identifying number which registers the vehicle's use of the road, and an electronic payment system charges the user the toll.

E-ZPass is an electronic toll collection system used on toll roads, toll bridges, and toll tunnels in the Eastern United States, Midwestern United States, and Southern United States. The E-ZPass Interagency Group (IAG) consists of member agencies in several states, which use the same technology and allow travelers to use the same transponder on toll roads throughout the network.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">FasTrak</span> Electronic toll collection system in California

FasTrak is the electronic toll collection (ETC) system used in the state of California in the United States. The system is used statewide on all of the toll roads, toll bridges, and high-occupancy toll lanes along the California Freeway and Expressway System.

Florida's Turnpike, designated as unsigned State Road 91, is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Florida, maintained by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). Spanning approximately 309 miles (497 km) along a northwest–southeast axis, the turnpike is in two sections. The SR 91 mainline runs roughly 265 miles (426 km), from its southern terminus at an interchange with Interstate 95 (I-95) in Miami Gardens to an interchange with I-75 in Wildwood at its northern terminus. The Homestead Extension of Florida's Turnpike continues from the southern end of the mainline for another 48 miles (77 km) to US Highway 1 in Florida City. The slogan for the road is "The Less Stressway". The mainline opened in stages between 1957 and 1964, while the extension was completed in 1974. The turnpike runs through Miami, Fort Lauderdale, and West Palm Beach, where it parallels I-95, and through Orlando, where it crosses I-4.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ohio Turnpike</span> Highway in Ohio, United States

The Ohio Turnpike, officially the James W. Shocknessy Ohio Turnpike, is a controlled-access toll road in the U.S. state of Ohio, serving as a primary corridor between Chicago and Pittsburgh. The road runs east–west for 241 miles (388 km) in the northern section of the state, with the western end at the Indiana–Ohio border near Edon where it meets the Indiana Toll Road, and the eastern end at the Ohio–Pennsylvania border near Petersburg, where it meets the Pennsylvania Turnpike. The road is owned and maintained by the Ohio Turnpike and Infrastructure Commission (OTIC), headquartered in Berea.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">SunPass</span> Electronic toll collection system in Florida, United States

SunPass is an electronic toll collection system within the state of Florida, United States. It was created in 1999 by the Florida Department of Transportation's (FDOT's) Office of Toll Operations, operating now as a division of Florida's Turnpike Enterprise (FTE). The system utilizes windshield-mounted RFID transponders manufactured by TransCore and lane equipment designed by companies including TransCore, SAIC, and Raytheon.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">EZ TAG</span> Electronic toll collection system in Houston, Texas, United States

EZ TAG is an electronic toll collection system in Houston, Texas, United States, that allows motorists to pay tolls without stopping at toll booths. Motorists with the tags are allowed to use lanes reserved exclusively for them on all Harris County Toll Road Authority (HCTRA) roads. As of late 2003, the EZ TAG can also be used on all lanes of tolled roadways in Texas that accommodate electronic toll collection.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benicia–Martinez Bridge</span> Bridge in California, U.S.

The Benicia–Martinez Bridge refers to three parallel bridges which cross the Carquinez Strait just west of Suisun Bay in California; the spans link Benicia on the north side with Martinez on the south.

State Road 589 (SR 589), also known as the Veterans Expressway and Suncoast Parkway, is a controlled-access toll road near the Florida Gulf Coast. Maintained and operated by Florida's Turnpike Enterprise, this 68-mile (109 km) transportation corridor extends from State Road 60 in Tampa, north to State Road 44 near Lecanto. The Veterans Expressway was built to accommodate the increasing commuter traffic in the Tampa-St. Petersburg metropolitan area, with the Suncoast Parkway opening in 2001, extending from near the northern terminus of the Veterans Expressway to U.S. Route 98, with a possible northern extension to U.S. Route 19/U.S. Route 98 in Crystal River in Citrus County in the planning and development stages. As of February 28, 2022, Phase I of the extension is now open between US 98 and Florida State Road 44. Phase II, which would further extend the highway to County Road 486, is undergoing the design phase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Interstate 476</span> Interstate Highway in Pennsylvania, US

Interstate 476 (I-476) is a 132.1-mile (212.6 km) auxiliary Interstate Highway of I-76 in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. The highway runs from I-95 near Chester north to I-81 near Scranton, serving as the primary north–south Interstate corridor through eastern Pennsylvania. It consists of both the 20-mile (32 km) Mid-County Expressway, locally referred to as the "Blue Route", through Delaware and Montgomery counties in the suburban Philadelphia area, and the tolled, 110.6-mile (178.0 km) Northeast Extension of the Pennsylvania Turnpike, which connects the Delaware Valley with the Lehigh Valley, the Pocono Mountains, and the Wyoming Valley to the north.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Open road tolling</span> Boothless toll collecting

Open road tolling (ORT), also called all-electronic tolling, cashless tolling, or free-flow tolling, is the collection of tolls on toll roads without the use of toll booths. An electronic toll collection system is usually used instead. The major advantage to ORT is that users are able to drive through the toll plaza at highway speeds without having to slow down to pay the toll. In some installations, ORT may also reduce congestion at the plazas by allowing more vehicles per hour/per lane.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dallas North Tollway</span> Highway in Texas

The Dallas North Tollway is a 30.2-mile (49 km) controlled-access toll road operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority (NTTA), which runs from Interstate 35E near Downtown Dallas, Texas (USA), to U.S. Highway 380, in Frisco, Texas. On December 20, 2023, the NTTA announced the Tollway's next extension which runs 6 miles (9.7 km) through Prosper and Celina and ends at FM 428.

The Mon–Fayette Expressway is a partially-completed controlled-access toll road that is planned to eventually link Interstate 68 near Morgantown, West Virginia with Interstate 376 near Monroeville, Pennsylvania. The ultimate goal of the highway is to provide a high speed north–south connection between Morgantown and the eastern side of Pittsburgh while revitalizing economically distressed Monongahela River Valley towns in Fayette and Washington counties, serving as an alternative to Interstate 79 to the west, as well as relieving the PA 51 alignment from Pittsburgh to Uniontown.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Toll roads in Europe</span> Overview of toll roads in Europe

A toll road is a road over which users may travel over on payment of a toll, or fee. Tolls are a form of use tax that pays for the cost of road construction and maintenance, without raising taxes on non-users. Investor's bonds necessary for the construction of the roads are issued and sold with the expectation that the bonds will be paid back with user tolls. The toll roads may be run by government agencies that have bond issuing authority and/or private companies that sell bonds or have other sources of finance. Toll roads are usually a government guaranteed road monopoly that guarantees limited or no competing roads will be built by government agencies for the duration of the bonds. Private toll roads built with money raised from private investors in expectation of making money from the tolls probably dominated early toll roads. Government sponsored toll roads often guarantee a minimum payment to the bond holders if traffic volume and toll collections are less than predicted. If the toll authority is a private company there is often a maximum amount of fees that they may extract from users. Toll road operators are typically responsible for maintaining the roads. After the bonds are paid off the road typically reverts to the government agency that authorized the road and owns the land it was built on. Like most government taxes it is not unusual for tolls to continue to be charged after the bonds have been paid off.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Video tolling</span> Form of electronic toll collection

Video tolling is a form of electronic toll collection that uses video or still images of a vehicle's license plate to identify a vehicle liable to pay a road toll. The system dispenses with collection of road tolls using road-side cash or payment card methods, and may be used in conjunction with "all electronic" open road tolling, to permit drivers without an RFID device to use the toll road.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ticket system</span> Method of collecting tolls on highways

A ticket system, also known as a closed toll collection system, is a system used on some toll roads in which a user pays a toll rate based on the distance traveled from their originating entrance to their destination exit.

References

  1. Zahedieh, Farnaz; Lee, Chris (2024). "Impacts of a Toll Information Sign and Toll Lane Configuration on Queue Length and Collision Risk at a Toll Plaza with a High Percentage of Heavy Vehicles". Vehicles. 6 (3): 1249. doi: 10.3390/vehicles6030059 . ProQuest   3110698339.
  2. 1 2 Lazo, Luz (August 12, 2020). "Another victim of the Coronavirus: Cash tolls". The Washington Post. Retrieved September 28, 2020.
  3. Glaser, Susan (June 17, 2020). "Pennsylvania Turnpike goes cashless, will bill you". cleveland.com. Retrieved October 29, 2024.