New York State plans to phase in cashless tolling on the Thruway between Friday night and Saturday morning…replacing all the toll booths with new sensors and cameras that either read your EZ Pass tag, or snap a photo of your license plate at speed.
In the first case, the money is automatically deducted from your EZ Pass account, in the second, you get a monthly bill in the mail.
Governor Andrew Cuomo says this speeds up travel time by as much as 25 percent because drivers won’t have to stop. It also cuts emissions. He calls it “good news all around.”
Good news, that is, unless you’re a toll collector. USA Today reports about a thousand of them are being laid off after this weekend.