The promise of a fully automated toll system on the Atlantic City Expressway becomes a reality Sunday.
Drivers can forget making sure they're in the right lane to pay cash. Neither a change basket nor a toll-taker will be available.
Instead, gantries along the 44.1-mile stretch will keep track as vehicles continue on their way.
The move is meant to reduce congestion, improve safety and enhance the customer experience, according to the South Jersey Transportation Authority.
Those with E-ZPass will have the toll deducted as usual. But those without an account or a transponder will be billed by mail through their license plate.
The new system comes with a price, which will be paid by increases in tolls, especially for those without an E-ZPass account, who will be charged about double the toll.
Bills will be sent after 30 days or once a vehicle hits $50 in tolls, whichever comes first. Those who do not pay in time will get a $5 late fee.
Previously, those who went through toll areas without either having an E-ZPass or paying at the booth were charged a $50 fine.
The SJTA will host an official Launch Ceremony at 10 a.m. Monday, more than 24 hours after the automated system officially launches.
It will be in Hammonton at the Farley Service Plaza at milepost 21.3, which also is where customers can open E-ZPass accounts and pay their tolls. But not on Sunday when the system starts, since it's closed on weekends.
The hours of operation are from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Mondays, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesdays through Thursdays, and 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Fridays
In May 2025, the Cape May County Bridge Commission converted to a cashless, all E-ZPass system for its five bridges that link the shore communities along the Ocean Drive from Ocean City to Cape May.
Pennsylvania went fully automated years ago, with a scheduled pushed up by the pandemic, according to Marissa Orbanek, press secretary for the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission.
They first explored the idea in 2011, with a feasibility study in 2012, followed by a pilot at the Delaware River Bridge in 2016, she told BreakingAC.
"We were always planning on implementing a cashless tolling system," she said.
But the pandemic moved the start time from 2021 to 2020.
Pennsylvania's much longer system will be fully automated by next year, when there will be a total of 45 gantries.
Currently, they have 26 gantries live. Demolition started on their non-functioning toll plazas, with 18 still in operation on the west of their system.
The gantries work the same, and accept E-ZPass regardless of state. They also give the same discounts, she said.
It was not clear if that would be the case for the New Jersey side. No one at the SJTA responded to several emails from BreakingAC about details.
E-ZPass holders in Pennsylvania pay 50 percent less than those without accounts. They also allow for drivers to pre-register their license plates without having an E-ZPass account, which gives those drivers a 15 percent discount on tolls, Orbanek said.
Only about 1 to 2 percent of toll-by-plate customers use that feature, she said.
CLICK HERE for frequently asked questions about the Atlantic City Expressway's new automated system.
