4 ms·

Cash tolls cost more. You either need people stationed to collect the toll or send people every so often to collect the tolls from the machines. The machines wo

Cash tolls cost more. You either need people stationed to collect the toll or send people every so often to collect the tolls from the machines. The machines would also need more maintenance than the camera or EasyPass system because they're mechanical. You also need the camera system regardless in case someone drives through without paying or simply doesn't have cash on hand. Plus, people will need exact change or have the machine (or employees) return the correct change if it's not a coinage machine. This also means cash tolls are slower and cause more congestion. Finally, fewer and fewer people have cash on hand.

chiefalchemist 7y ago
Maybe. But the lack of cash tolls also enables the Surveillance State. So once again, we're trading privacy and liberty for what amounts to pocket lint. I think we have closure on the American experiment. Laziness/convenience trumps anything else.
- scohesc 7y ago
  I mean the person in the booth could press a button to take a picture or write down the license plate every time someone goes through...
- joshuamorton 7y ago
  Why do they need toll booths to add cameras? What prevents the surveillance state from just putting some cameras on the highway?
  - chiefalchemist 7y ago
    They might not. But I'm guessing the ACLU would likely have something to say about it. Just because it feels normalized doesn't mean we should be so accepting.
- xboxnolifes 7y ago
  > the lack of cash tolls also enables the Surveillance State There are cameras there whether it is a cash toll or not.
  - chiefalchemist 7y ago
    Right. It's so normalized that even more aware ppl such as yourself aren't phased by making such observations.
maximente 7y ago
sure, but all this relies on a fundamental assumption: that the entity running the toll booth already has the means to collect outside the point of transaction pretty reliably. so, it's either a highly connected society, or more cynically, a high surveillance society. in a sense it's a self fueling machine: you need to have that data linked to collect outside the tool booth, which requires data linked from DMV or whatever local equivalent is, then strong (enough) justice system/penalties/enforcement to get those who didn't pay at toll booth to pay, etc. you can bet that the smarter investment, despite these drawbacks, in less "advanced" countries is to have manned tolls because there's a high probability that they won't be able to collect using the sort of infrastructure upon which this relies.

chiefalchemist 7y ago

Maybe. But the lack of cash tolls also enables the Surveillance State. So once again, we're trading privacy and liberty for what amounts to pocket lint. I think we have closure on the American experiment. Laziness/convenience trumps anything else.

scohesc 7y ago
I mean the person in the booth could press a button to take a picture or write down the license plate every time someone goes through...
joshuamorton 7y ago
Why do they need toll booths to add cameras? What prevents the surveillance state from just putting some cameras on the highway?
- chiefalchemist 7y ago
  They might not. But I'm guessing the ACLU would likely have something to say about it. Just because it feels normalized doesn't mean we should be so accepting.
xboxnolifes 7y ago
> the lack of cash tolls also enables the Surveillance State There are cameras there whether it is a cash toll or not.
- chiefalchemist 7y ago
  Right. It's so normalized that even more aware ppl such as yourself aren't phased by making such observations.

maximente 7y ago

sure, but all this relies on a fundamental assumption: that the entity running the toll booth already has the means to collect outside the point of transaction pretty reliably. so, it's either a highly connected society, or more cynically, a high surveillance society. in a sense it's a self fueling machine: you need to have that data linked to collect outside the tool booth, which requires data linked from DMV or whatever local equivalent is, then strong (enough) justice system/penalties/enforcement to get those who didn't pay at toll booth to pay, etc. you can bet that the smarter investment, despite these drawbacks, in less "advanced" countries is to have manned tolls because there's a high probability that they won't be able to collect using the sort of infrastructure upon which this relies.