PA Turnpike to launch Open Road Tolling System

The Spark

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission will soon convert its tolling system to Open Road Rolling east of Reading and on the Northeast Extension. The Open Road Tolling system will be in place in January 2025. The turnpike was opened in 1940 with a cash collection system, then in the 2000’s the EZ pass was added.

Craig Shuey, Chief Operating Officer of the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, says the Open Road Tolling (OTR) system will be safer for drivers, and will be better for the environment.

“When we remove the toll plazas, the 6 or 7 lanes that exist in many of those areas will be shrunk down to a smaller number of lanes, moving the same amount of traffic more efficiently with less, less impervious surface. So, we'll be able to pull up the pavement, refocus the lanes, you know, recede and allow a more natural environment to, to, to be a part of the, of the landscape than all of the buildings and structures that go along with our existing toll plazas, “said Shuey.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) believes the OTR system is what their customers prefer. According to PTC, more than 86 percent of drivers own an EZ pass, indicating a preference for electronic payments.

“So, what our customers are telling us is they don't really want to stop anymore. They for a while, they were really, you know, struggling. They weren't carrying cash. So that was becoming a bit of an issue. But by and large, the motoring public wants to keep going to get to this destination. So, what this allows us to do is really shoulder in with the majority of our customers and give them the free-flowing experience that I think they've been looking for, “said Shuey.

This summer, PTC has also been focused on warning the public of the rise of Smishing Scams. It’s basically a text message claiming to be from PA turnpike.

“So, what was happening is you were getting a text to your phone that said, you owe the Pennsylvania Turnpike $8 or something to that effect. And if you pay it now, it will grow to $86. And they give you a, a fake website that looks like the words PA turnpike.com, which is not, but enough to close enough to fool your eyes. And when you click on that and give them your credit card information, they then use your credit card for, for, to make charges that obviously you are not, authorizing, “said Shuey.

Those who receive a fraudulent text can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov. That is a site dedicated to sharing information on Internet crimes across law enforcement agencies

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