Ask a Toll Collector anything

122 Questions

Last Answer on September 11, 2020

What happens when you accidentally hit a toll arm

Asked by Male almost 7 years ago

The section I worked on didn't use toll arms so I couldn't say.

Is there a lot of hate towards Toll Collectors in New York State? How do you deal with people offending you because of your job?

Asked by MarieAbend over 6 years ago

Can’t control how people treat you. Nobody wants to pay tolls, so I get it. Just have to figure out a way to ensure you don’t take it personally and kind of compartmentalize those unpleasant interactions. It’s not an easy adjustment and it’s not for everybody. I had no intention of making it a career and 5 years was plenty.

605 Votes

Do the toll collectors st the Lincoln tunnel have to take pennies?

Asked by Mike about 5 years ago

I don’t know, probably. You’re using pennies to pay a 15 dollar toll? I’d just take them to the bank.

600 Votes

What was the longest conservation you had with a customer?

Asked by Chris almost 7 years ago

Great question! Traffic typically doesn't allow for long conversations but on my section if you were covering overnight hours at small stations there would be long stretches without traffic so you could chat with people for longer. Usually if you both felt like talking you could get 3-5 minutes in if you wanted to, sometimes longer. I feel like sometimes the late night drivers could sense that we could use someone to talk to so they were generally more talkative. The transaction just feels too rushed during the daytime hours as it seems like there is ALWAYS someone behind the car you're currently processing. All that being said, I have had VERY long conversations with VERY confused drivers in the middle of the day. I've had people in my lane for 10 minutes with maps and questions and issues. So much so that I've briefly had to shut my lane down to signal to traffic that they should avoid my lane.

578 Votes

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What's the hardest thing about being a toll collector

Asked by Nycole almost 8 years ago

I'm sure you'd get a myriad of answers from different collectors so just speaking solely for myself- the interpersonal aspect was by far the most difficult for me. Nobody is happy to see a toll collector, and toll collectors aren't particularly jazzed that they have to spend the whole day dealing with people that don't want anything to do with them. Honestly it got to the point where saying nothing was sometimes the safest option. And I can definitely understand why people might find that rude, but it was mostly self-preservation. It's just one of those jobs where finding your center is crucial because if you react to every outside stimulus, you just won't last.

575 Votes

Who collects the money made from the toll booths????????

Asked by Anthony over 6 years ago

If you're asking who physically comes and gets the money, a service like Brinks is typically utilized.

563 Votes

My boyfriend drove my car into the ez pass lane then pulled out and entered the propper lane. The operator was upset and said we could have got a ticket. Is there a chance I will get mailed a ticket due to this?

Asked by TBlake almost 7 years ago

Possibly. Pictures are generally taken of cars that go through E-ZPass lanes without tags and bills are mailed out. The collector was probably upset because we're trained to keep all traffic moving in one direction if possible. You really don't want to be backing up at a toll barrier while traffic continues to come through. Even if there aren't cars behind you at the moment you start backing up that can change pretty quickly as cars coming through sometimes accelerate through the barrier as they just don't anticipate someone backing up.

554 Votes