WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — The days of seeing toll booths along Florida's Turnpike in South Florida are now numbered.
The turnpike is now shifting to a cashless system.
An all-electronic tolling system will enable cashless toll collection through transponders or license plate readers and eliminates the need for a vehicle to stop to pay a toll.
Lecie Langille was traveling to Orlando on Florida's Turnpike. She's been using the SunPass for a while now.
"It is very convenient, you know," Langille said. "With technology these days, it does make things more convenient."
Technology will be replacing the toll booths along the turnpike to be cashless. The process has already begun in certain sites in Palm Beach County.
"I think it's a good thing. It's more efficient," Vanessa Osorio said. "But it's a little sad to see that people are losing their jobs because of that. That's just my opinion"
The all-electronic tolling system, which is something already in place in many other states, will rely on cameras, sensors and other advanced equipment to collect tolls electronically from prepaid accounts like SunPass or through toll-by-plate.
"It might make things go faster, and that's the best part about being on the turnpike, having things move nice and smooth," Amanda Ramsey said.
Susan Lloyd agrees that the cashless tolls can better maintain the flow of traffic. But she said she'll miss the in-person interaction.
"You kind of lose the personality, having, like, you know, seeing a person," she said. "Everything has become so electronic."
Sensors at the tolling points determine the number of axles on each vehicle, which establishes the appropriate toll amounts.
It'll be a couple of years before all the toll booths along Florida's Turnpike will be removed and replaced.
