Cashless tolls pilot coming to the Atlantic City Expressway

A move to change the way tolls are collected on major New Jersey roadways is starting with a pilot program in South Jersey.

A request for bids to convert the Atlantic City Expressway to cashless tolling is underway at the South Jersey Transportation Authority. The goal is to remove toll plazas at Egg Harbor and Pleasantville, along with other toll collection points at several exits along the roadway. They would be replaced with cameras to record license plates of vehicles that do not have EZ Pass transponders. The drivers would then receive bills in the mail to pay their tolls along the 44-mile roadway.

The cashless operation should be in place by May 2025 and could be a precursor to cashless tolls on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike, since the request for proposals is also asking for a quote to add cashless tolling to those highways.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike was converted to cashless tolls in March 2020, one year earlier than expected, but has not completely removed all the collection booths. The Delaware River Port Authority, which manages most of the bridges into Philadelphia, said it is not considering a move to completely cashless tolls at this point.

Proposals for the Atlantic City Expressway conversion are due in mid-March. A contract is expected to be awarded in July.