Ask a Toll Collector anything

122 Questions

Last Answer on September 11, 2020

Have you ever seen a co-worker just absolutely lose his shit mid-shift and explode on a driver or pull a walk-out? Gotta think it's not dissimilar from disgruntled postal workers.

Asked by johnno85 about 13 years ago

I will say this about the people I worked with and are still out there to this day- they exercise incredible restraint. If you ever wonder why collectors aren't very talkative, I suspect this may be the reason. It's one of those jobs that the less you say sometimes, the better. I didn't personally witness anything catastrophic but there was a guy I worked with who flipped off a customer. I remember hearing a story about a guy who freaked out, locked up all his money at a small station and left. Not exactly sure how that one panned out but I think he kept his job for some time after that incident. People have definitely walked out on the job, though. I've heard of people going on their first break and just taking off.

1057 Votes

I'm appalled to hear that someone asked you "Is this what you're going to do for the rest of your life?" How did you respond to that? If you didn't tell him off, you're a better person than most.

Asked by Myra about 13 years ago

At the time he asked I think it was around 2-3 in the morning and I wasn't particularly interested in getting into it with him. I think I muttered a 'yup', gave him his change and turned away. It stung. People find themselves in places for a myriad of reasons and to have that guy bring my entire life to judgement at that moment hurt.

1054 Votes

If someone pulled up to a tollbooth and the car smelled of booze, weed, etc, would you get the license plate number and alert the cops to look for that car on the highway?

Asked by tr3 about 13 years ago

This is a judgement call on the part of the collector. I'm going to assume based on the question that I don't actually observe any booze/weed and if that's the case all I'm going on is my impression of the driver. If something seems off, then I would escalate the situation- better safe than sorry. But, it's also entirely possible that they are just the DD. It's hard to paint these situations with one broad stroke. But if I ever did make the call, I always made sure to observe as much as I could. The more information you can provide, the better. Plate number, vehicle/operator decription, etc...

1045 Votes

Did you ever see drivers get into physical altercations with one another if someone was holding up the line?

Asked by Rikitime about 13 years ago

Thankfully, no. I occasionally had people get out of their cars and approach the booth to see what the heck was going on, though. Some even offered to pay the toll of the person holding up the line.

1044 Votes

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Has anyone ever exhibited some total random act of kindness with you when you were in the booth? Maybe during the holidays, a driver who gave you a tip or a cookie or a cupcake or something like that?

Asked by Hutcher about 13 years ago

Sure! I actually was offered snacks from cars with some frequency. Don't get me wrong, there are a ton of very decent people out there and as long as it was sealed up or I felt okay about how it looked, I usually took it. Probably the best random act of kindness I encountered was from an older lady who gave me a twenty for her toll. She told me that she didn't want any of her change back, and to let the next people go on her. The look on the next few drivers' faces was priceless. I enjoyed it too, because toll collectors rarely get to give good news! One guy missed out though because he was in a big rush and just dropped his money into my hands and sped off without a word. Never hurts to say hello...

1041 Votes

What were the most common peeves you and your employees had with drivers? The stuff you guys would regularly complain to each other about....

Asked by frumunda about 13 years ago

Oh God, this could go on for a while but I suppose there were a few that stood above the rest. In our system, the ticket you're issued at your point of entry has your toll printed on it. During my last few years, the toll due (along with my collector number) was even displayed on the EZ-Pass 'Christmas Tree' light stand just beyond the booth. But two general rules apply- people don't look at signs and they definitely don't read things handed to them unless absolutely necessary. So as the hours pile up and each car pulls up with a 'how much is it?' we start to get a little worn down. Now people are fully within their rights to ask us how much it is, but our main objectives are to move traffic quickly and collect tolls accurately. If people were just a little proactive before they reach the booth, everybody wins. It's like the guys who stare out into space while they're twenty cars deep. get to the booth, can't find their ticket, need to undo their seatbelt as they get their wallet out of their back pocket, etc. We're all here, we're paying tolls, no one is happy about it, and absolutely no one is happy about waiting to pay tolls. So if we were a little more prepared, we could keep this line moving. Another big pet peeve is directions. If you have twenty cars behind you, this is not a good time to ask for directions. And if you do ask for directions, please don't start to pull away as I'm explaining the route to you. I used to play a game with people when they started to creep by just stopping mid-sentence and staring. If they stopped, I continued. If they kept moving forward, oh well. Dirty change was another one. We all understand that money is money, and we will accept your money, but this is a grimy job as is, without pennies coated in fast food grease, dirt, and other unidentifiable substances. Those are just some of the big ones.

1036 Votes

When I worked for the federal government, I had a paygrade class, a GS-3. I was wondering if municipal employees in NYC also have that kind of numbering system, and if so, what number/grade a toll collector would have?

Asked by Jane over 12 years ago

I actually can't speak to collectors here in New York City as I worked in the Western part of the state and they are part of a different agency. I took a look at the civil service listing in 2010, which I believe was the last time the test was offered, and the salary grade is listed as 'Equated to G-9.' I'm not too versed in that part of the job though, as I was a part-timer for the five years that I was there.

1033 Votes

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Toll Collector

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Have you ever seen a co-worker just absolutely lose his shit mid-shift and explode on a driver or pull a walk-out? Gotta think it's not dissimilar from disgruntled postal workers.

I'm appalled to hear that someone asked you "Is this what you're going to do for the rest of your life?" How did you respond to that? If you didn't tell him off, you're a better person than most.

If someone pulled up to a tollbooth and the car smelled of booze, weed, etc, would you get the license plate number and alert the cops to look for that car on the highway?

Did you ever see drivers get into physical altercations with one another if someone was holding up the line?

Also on Jobstr...

Has anyone ever exhibited some total random act of kindness with you when you were in the booth? Maybe during the holidays, a driver who gave you a tip or a cookie or a cupcake or something like that?

What were the most common peeves you and your employees had with drivers? The stuff you guys would regularly complain to each other about....

When I worked for the federal government, I had a paygrade class, a GS-3. I was wondering if municipal employees in NYC also have that kind of numbering system, and if so, what number/grade a toll collector would have?

Toll Collector

Ask me anything!

What do YOU do?

Have you ever seen a co-worker just absolutely lose his shit mid-shift and explode on a driver or pull a walk-out? Gotta think it's not dissimilar from disgruntled postal workers.

I'm appalled to hear that someone asked you "Is this what you're going to do for the rest of your life?" How did you respond to that? If you didn't tell him off, you're a better person than most.

If someone pulled up to a tollbooth and the car smelled of booze, weed, etc, would you get the license plate number and alert the cops to look for that car on the highway?

Did you ever see drivers get into physical altercations with one another if someone was holding up the line?

Also on Jobstr...

Has anyone ever exhibited some total random act of kindness with you when you were in the booth? Maybe during the holidays, a driver who gave you a tip or a cookie or a cupcake or something like that?

What were the most common peeves you and your employees had with drivers? The stuff you guys would regularly complain to each other about....

When I worked for the federal government, I had a paygrade class, a GS-3. I was wondering if municipal employees in NYC also have that kind of numbering system, and if so, what number/grade a toll collector would have?

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