The New York State Thruway is officially going cashless on Saturday.
The 570-mile superhighway system will transition from traditional toll booths to an entirely cashless system late Friday night into theearly morning hours Saturday, ending a six-decade tradition of Thruway staffers taking tolls from traveling motorists.
Gov. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday announced the official start date, nearly three years after first announcing the $355 million project in his 2018 State of the State address.
Cashless tolling, in which overhead cameras snap photos of license plates so drivers can be billed by mail,has already been put inplace on the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge in the Hudson Valley,the Grand Island Bridges near Buffalo and certain other interchanges downstate.
Now, the system is being expanded across the entire Thruway, with those who regularly travel Interstates 90 and 87 watching asgantries, or overhead toll gates,were erected inrecent months.
Those gantrieswill be activated Saturday, marking the end of an era for manned toll booths at Thruway entrances and exits.
"That's going to be rolled out Saturday morning when people get up," Cuomo said Thursday on Spectrum News Albany. "We're going to do it overnight Friday, so by Saturday morning, unless we have a weather problem etc., it will be up."
Here’s what you need to know about the new cashless tolling system and how to use it without hassle:
How does cashless tolling work on the New York Thruway?
The tolling method will replace employee-staffed toll booths with overhead gantries outfitted with cameras and sensors to capture license plate numbers as motorists zoom by.
As motorists come on and off the Thruway, gantries will record their locations and bill them accordingly, without requiring them tostop or slow down on the roadway,or complete a cash transaction.
The idea is to make the system more efficient by allowing motorists to travel through at highway speeds and requiring fewer employees.
Drivers with E-Z Pass transponders on their vehicles will be billed automatically, while those without E-Z Pass will receive a toll bill in the mail, approximately 30 to 40 days after travel.
To help driverswith the transition from cash tolling, NY E-ZPassreleased a new TollsNY mobile app to help drivers manage E-ZPass accounts, find and pay Tolls by Mail invoices, and get important account alerts for tolls accrued at Thruway, MTA, and Port Authority tolling sites. For more, go to www.tollsny.com.
If drivers wantto pay a toll beforereceiving abill in the mail, they can go to www.tollsbymailny.com and search for their toll fee by license plate.
Motorists have 30 days to pay a bill after its arrival, after which alate fee of $5 is added to the total.
If the toll is still unpaid after a second bill, a $50 toll violation is triggered. The motorist will receive the violation in an orange envelope about 100 days after the original trip, according to the Thruway Authority.
If the violation isn't paid within 15 days of its "issue date," the Thruway Authority can refer it to a collection agency. If you ignore three or more violations within a five-year period, the state can suspend your vehicle registration.
When and where does cashless tolling take effect in New York?
Overhead gantries were constructed this year along the entire tolled stretch of the Thruway, from the Pennsylvania border in Western New York to both the Massachusetts border and the Woodbury exit in Orange County.
Electronic tolling gantries had previously been installed in the southern-most section of I-87, including in Yonkers, Harriman, New Rochelleand on the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.
The gantries are eitheralong the roadway itself orat highway interchanges, depending on the width of the exits and the available land nearby.
When cashless tolling starts, the now-obsolete toll booths will remain in place and drivers will drive through at below-highway speeds.
Those toll booths are slated to be removed in 2021, at which time drivers won't have to slow down as they get on an interchange.
Will cashless tolling increase toll rates in New York?
If you don't have an E-ZPass: Yes.
If you do have E-ZPass: No.
On Dec. 1, the Thruway Authority Board of Directors is scheduled to approve a toll hike for motorists without E-ZPass, a move that is designed to boost the authority's finances while also encouraging more people to sign up for E-ZPass.
Once approved, tolls will increase by 30% for non-E-ZPass users.On top of that, each mailed bill would come with a $2 surcharge.
That means a trip in a passenger vehicle from Exit 47 near Rochester to Exit 23 in Albany would cost $14.50 plus the $2 surcharge, up from the current $11.15 cash toll.
The E-ZPass toll for the same trip would remain $10.59.
The toll hike will take effect Jan. 1, assuming the board approves them as expected next month.
What is E-Z Pass and how do I sign up?
E-ZPass is a electronic tolling system that allowsdrivers to affix small transponders, or tags, to their windshields, whichtrigger automatic toll payments when the vehicles pass under Thruway toll gantries.
Drivers can opt to let their E-ZPass accounts reload fundsautomatically using a bank account or credit card, or they can reload the account manually when it gets low.
More:E-ZPass will become more vital in New York: Here are helpful tips to know
You can choose to receivea periodic E-Z Pass statement by mail or email, or you can check your account balance by calling 1-800-333-TOLL (8655).
To sign up in New York, go to www.e-zpassny.com to fill out an application. You can also sign up at a variety of retailers or other locations across the state, including Wegmans, AAA and the Department of Motor Vehicles. You can find a list of those locations at www.e-zpassny.com.
When you go to sign up, be prepared with the type of vehicle for which you intend to use the E-Z Pass, its license plate number, a payment method and information about any discount plans that might apply to you.
What should I do at the toll booths once they go dark?
After the Thruway switches over, the traditional toll booths will still be in place.
Those toll booths will be removed as part of the next phase of the Thruway's cashless-tolling project, which will carry into Summer 2021.
What to do when you approach a toll booth until then? Slow down, but don't stop.
Drivers will still pass through the toll booths, albeit at a reduced speed. They will not be required to come to a full stop, but will be expected to follow any speed limits posted, according to the Thruway Authority.
My cashless toll bill is wrong. What do I do?
There is likely to be a learning curve for both the Thruway Authority and motorists who have been used to the old tolling system for decades.
When the Thruway first launched cashless tolling on the Tappan Zee Bridge (now known as the Mario Cuomo Bridge) in 2016, it was met with a barrage of complaints from commuters who found themselves with big bills with huge late fees, with some claiming they never received an initial bill at all.
Four years later, the authority has expressed confidence in its billing system and has benefitted from motorists getting used to cashless tolling.
If you travel on the Thruway and don't receive a bill, or if you have any sort of billing dispute, you can call the Tolls By Mail customer service center at 1-844-826-8400.
What will happen to the toll collectors?
Unfortunately, they will be out of jobs.
There are about 1,100 toll workers, according to the Thruway Authority. Of those, 200 are full-time workers and 900 are part-timers.
Of the 200 full-timers, about a third of them are eligible for retirement, according to the authority.
"The Thruway Authority has offered impacted toll collection staff numerous career development and training opportunities, including tuition assistance, CDL certification and Civil Service Exams for placement in other positions within the Thruway and the state," Thruway Authority spokesperson Jennifer Givner said in a statement.
The final day for toll collectors is set for Sunday, while toll plaza managers will work through Wednesday
More:Cashless tolling remains on track for Thruway despite pandemic
More:Cashless toll fees: Your stories, your bills
Sarah Taddeo is the consumer watchdog reporter for USA Today Network's New York State Team. Got a story tip or comment? ContactSarahat STADDEO@Gannett.com or (585) 258-2774. Follow heronTwitter @Sjtaddeo.
This coverage is only possible with support from our readers.Please consider becoming a digital subscriber.
