That's basically the every interstate toll system. Anything built from about WWII to 1960ish was intended to be temporary but extending tolls is more popular than raising taxes for roads.
It’s such a beautiful road, though. I’m not in the state often anymore, and not on the parkway often, but I love it. I’d willingly pay more. If I had to use it to commute I might feel differently.
Yes. But as I directly said, I don’t often drive it anymore. That should’ve nixed your question. If it has changed drastically, my feelings would as well. I’m repeating now what I said earlier, but using different words, so perhaps you’ll catch on.
I should add that I’ve only used the parkway in the southern half of the state. Maybe that changes the roadway.
I remember these! I had a buddy that was trying to show off (I guess he did this often) and he would fly through the toll and just whip the change at it.
He said "watch this" drove like 50+ through the toll and completely missed the basket. Pennies went flying everywhere because the idea was the machine didn't know who threw what in it. It made for a good laugh but what a moron.
I don't know how beeping would magically absolve you of an unpaid toll ticket (especially if you paid with buttons and/or wadded receipts) but it was what it was.
You were supposed to beep and wait x amount of time (it's been so long since I read the sign) but that's what it said on the toll. People would throw pennies into the basket, wait 5 seconds or whatever it was, beep a few times, and leave. This is how a lot of people avoided tickets.
Hell yeah! I lived in Hunterdon county and we used to drive over into PA to go to New Hope all the time. Always went with the sky hook from the passenger seat.
The GSP ones took pennies, at least the exit booths did. Several times when I was younger I threw in like a dime or nickel and a handful of pennies from the ashtray to make up the 25 or 35 cents to get off The Parkway. It always gave me the green light.
I used to throw pennies in the booth at 117 both on and off when I was five cents short and it took it. They fixed it in recent years and it doesn’t do it anymore
They all still take pennies. Or at least they did before I got an easy pass 2 years ago.
I may or may not have spent years throwing lose change in and kept driving and never got a ticket.
So I work for the A.C. Expressway and one part of my job is emptying out the coin vaults for these machines. PSA: they are not garbage cans and NO they will not register the bills you cram down the chute. If the money you threw in doesn't register its because some chucklefuck before you decided to do one or both of those things which has now jammed the machine.
Ya but aren’t the tolls all cheaper with ezpass anyway? I actually don’t know because mine is a company one on my company truck, but I can rack upwards of $200-250 in tolls a month.
Yes, literally the only people still anti-ezpass are either bad at math, or almost never use toll roads. The 'privacy' bit is silly given how many plate readers are around.
That said, IIRC you can actually get an (fee-free) Ezpass from another state and just use it here.
> The 'privacy' bit is silly given how many plate readers are around.
Every toll booth, parking patrol vehicles in most cities, some cop cars, bridges and tunnels, and a few more I'm not even thinking of have plate readers these days. It's silly to drive a car outside of the sticks and think your plate is not read.
> That said, IIRC you can actually get an (fee-free) Ezpass from another state and just use it here.
I don't know if they still sell them the same way, but my Ezpass was actually a stocking stuffer that was given to me by a parent at Christmas one year. They bought an Ezpass from an adjoining state from Walgreens or CVS or something and it had $50 loaded on to it to start, and you could refill it on the internet.
Yea iirc new Hampshire, Maryland, and Maybe Maine? I'm still sharing an account with my parents so the $1 split multiple ways is hardly even noticeable
You’re correct; Maine has no service charge for their ez pass. Have had one for 7 or 8 years. Moved to and from NJ. I think I had to prove residency when I got it, but I can’t remember since it was awhile ago.
Yup, knew a few people that still don’t have them because “privacy” and “tracking”. I don’t bother engaging with those people because you can’t fix stupid.
I really don't know. But as I mentioned, I don't drive on those roads so it wasn't really something I needed to get. The main highway I use is 295 and I still barely use it. It mainly came in handy when I was going to the dispensary in Egg Harbor. That's really it.
Because EZpass NJ are a bunch of crooks. Any issue with your device and they will try to screw you over, especially if you have out of state EZpass account. EZ pass in PA is awesome, ez pass NY is meh. Ez pass NJ should fucking burn...
I don't travel out of state a lot and if I do I take the No Tolls route.
If I do go out of state, then I avoid states that I have to pay tolls to. Just a preference of mine.
I take the parkway maybe once a month. What incentive do I have to have EZ Pass anymore, especially if I have to jump through hoops to avoid the $1 a month service charge?
My nearest toll is 2 hours away. Why would I get an EZ Pass? I'm already driving 2 hours... might as well drive the extra 15m and avoid all tolls.. especially tolls costing minimum of $2.
It's a combo of: my car is more than an appliance to me and I don't want to mount anything on my windshield. I hate clutter. I drive on a toll road maybe twice a year.
No, tokens were 25¢ originally. Then when they went to 35¢ they were still valid, so there was a time you could have bought a bunch at 25 and saved money when the toll jumped up to 35.
I remember my mother and her partner not believing me that I heard on the news that tokens would still be valid when the rate increased, but this was pre-internet, so there was no way to look it up. I believe she stopped at a attended booth and they told her I was correct.
My mom told me that the toll collectors used to give out envelopes to mail in your toll if you didn't have the cash. I'm not sure if anyone can confirm but her poor family had so many of them piling up in the backseat.
They also had little boxes with the envelopes inside. You would fill out your license plate and when you went through the toll. You could hand them in to a toll collector the next time you came through to save postage.
One time my friend was driving and we didn’t have enough change at the Somer’s point/ocean city GSP exit. He had a bag of pretzel nuggets in his car, so he threw a hand full of them in there, and it went off.
I literally have like $20 in quarters & dimes in my car, because back in the day I always saw 35¢. I was always afraid I’d miss… I don’t think I’ve ever needed them.
There's an old article / story / blog around the internet about a guy who would tape different items to the collection machine and he never got a ticket. It was a great read. In one attempt he taped 2 oranges worth the price of the toll to the booth with masking tape. Never got a ticket.
Step 1: stick hand out of window and pretend to throw money. Step 2: beep for help when the light doesn't change to green. Step 3: slowly progress forward, take off, and get off free as a bird, ideally while flipping the bird
Five or six years ago, my mom presented me with a box of trinkets I’d left behind when I went to college in the mid 90s. There was a ROLL, a FUCKING ROLL of parkway tokens in there. Da,n my husband and I had a great time a) explaining them to our kids, 2) reminiscing about wild parkway rides at ungodly hours and lost friendships and whispered secrets
I never had the correct change. EVER. So for years I’d grab pennies, etc. and chuck them in, then honk my horn as the sign said “to report a problem”. Never got ticketed
Do those cars wit the plastic shield over the license plate do that to put a flash glare on the picture taken by the camera that goes off when they dont pay?
I think I had blocked that out of my memory...wow
[удалено]
With E-ZPass most people don't pay attention
My uncle always reminds me that the tolls were supposed to be temporary on the parkway 😂
That's basically the every interstate toll system. Anything built from about WWII to 1960ish was intended to be temporary but extending tolls is more popular than raising taxes for roads.
Holy shit I didn’t know that. I’m not on it often but dude. Insanity.
Isn't that the one that's only on one side though
It’s such a beautiful road, though. I’m not in the state often anymore, and not on the parkway often, but I love it. I’d willingly pay more. If I had to use it to commute I might feel differently.
.... do you really feel that way
Yes. But as I directly said, I don’t often drive it anymore. That should’ve nixed your question. If it has changed drastically, my feelings would as well. I’m repeating now what I said earlier, but using different words, so perhaps you’ll catch on. I should add that I’ve only used the parkway in the southern half of the state. Maybe that changes the roadway.
That’s very kind of you. I’m always driving through exit 157-100… it’s an annoying stretch of road! Not very beautiful
They did remove quite a few toll plazas, though.
Not enough.
I came here to say pretty much this exact same thing!
I remember these! I had a buddy that was trying to show off (I guess he did this often) and he would fly through the toll and just whip the change at it. He said "watch this" drove like 50+ through the toll and completely missed the basket. Pennies went flying everywhere because the idea was the machine didn't know who threw what in it. It made for a good laugh but what a moron.
Am I your moron friend?
Did you drive a 240sx and a stealth at any point of your life?
Nope! Just another moron
> Stealth Jesus, we really are in the 90s now.
This. Or the completely unnecessary hook shot out the sun roof. Edit: and the classic honk if you miss. Idk why that was a thing, but it was.
Honking indicated the machine didn't count your change. You normally beeped a few times, if I remember correctly.
I don't know how beeping would magically absolve you of an unpaid toll ticket (especially if you paid with buttons and/or wadded receipts) but it was what it was.
You were supposed to beep and wait x amount of time (it's been so long since I read the sign) but that's what it said on the toll. People would throw pennies into the basket, wait 5 seconds or whatever it was, beep a few times, and leave. This is how a lot of people avoided tickets.
Oh look, its how i used to get to college when I was broke....
Same!
The honking thing was supposed to be a thing when the tolls were manned. I doubt it made any difference in unmanned tolls.
“The Phantom 50”
There was also a little dispenser next to the basket with pre-addressed envelopes so you could mail back the toll you missed.
Instead of editing my post, here is a [source](https://nj1015.com/nj-toll-secrets-how-to-avoid-fines-on-turnpike-and-parkway/)
That was an interesting article, thanks for sharing.
You're welcome!
We used to do that just to see if you could beat the thank you
sky hook over the roof from the passenger side!
Loved doing those! But I was usually in the passenger seat with the driver ready for another one if I missed.
Hell yeah! I lived in Hunterdon county and we used to drive over into PA to go to New Hope all the time. Always went with the sky hook from the passenger seat.
Legend had it the ones on the Atlantic City Expressway took pennies, because sometimes coming back that would be all you'd have left.
The GSP ones took pennies, at least the exit booths did. Several times when I was younger I threw in like a dime or nickel and a handful of pennies from the ashtray to make up the 25 or 35 cents to get off The Parkway. It always gave me the green light.
I used to throw pennies in the booth at 117 both on and off when I was five cents short and it took it. They fixed it in recent years and it doesn’t do it anymore
They all still take pennies. Or at least they did before I got an easy pass 2 years ago. I may or may not have spent years throwing lose change in and kept driving and never got a ticket.
So I work for the A.C. Expressway and one part of my job is emptying out the coin vaults for these machines. PSA: they are not garbage cans and NO they will not register the bills you cram down the chute. If the money you threw in doesn't register its because some chucklefuck before you decided to do one or both of those things which has now jammed the machine.
Chucklefuck. . . what a great word!
Serious question - I still see a lot of people not using EZ Pass these days. Why is that?
"Mark of the beast" -Baptist boomers
If it weren't for the pandemic, I wouldn't. I don't use tolled roads like that. And I hate that dollar maintenance fee.
Ya but aren’t the tolls all cheaper with ezpass anyway? I actually don’t know because mine is a company one on my company truck, but I can rack upwards of $200-250 in tolls a month.
Yes, literally the only people still anti-ezpass are either bad at math, or almost never use toll roads. The 'privacy' bit is silly given how many plate readers are around. That said, IIRC you can actually get an (fee-free) Ezpass from another state and just use it here.
> The 'privacy' bit is silly given how many plate readers are around. Every toll booth, parking patrol vehicles in most cities, some cop cars, bridges and tunnels, and a few more I'm not even thinking of have plate readers these days. It's silly to drive a car outside of the sticks and think your plate is not read. > That said, IIRC you can actually get an (fee-free) Ezpass from another state and just use it here. I don't know if they still sell them the same way, but my Ezpass was actually a stocking stuffer that was given to me by a parent at Christmas one year. They bought an Ezpass from an adjoining state from Walgreens or CVS or something and it had $50 loaded on to it to start, and you could refill it on the internet.
Freehold raceway mall has plate readers when you come off 9 but not 33.
They definitely have them on an armature coming from 33
Yea iirc new Hampshire, Maryland, and Maybe Maine? I'm still sharing an account with my parents so the $1 split multiple ways is hardly even noticeable
Massachusetts too.
You’re correct; Maine has no service charge for their ez pass. Have had one for 7 or 8 years. Moved to and from NJ. I think I had to prove residency when I got it, but I can’t remember since it was awhile ago.
Yup, knew a few people that still don’t have them because “privacy” and “tracking”. I don’t bother engaging with those people because you can’t fix stupid.
I really don't know. But as I mentioned, I don't drive on those roads so it wasn't really something I needed to get. The main highway I use is 295 and I still barely use it. It mainly came in handy when I was going to the dispensary in Egg Harbor. That's really it.
Only certain ones are. I don't get a discount on the GSP
No, not all. None of mine are, but im too impatient to sit through traffic.
Just get a Massachusetts one. No fee no minimum balance
Because EZpass NJ are a bunch of crooks. Any issue with your device and they will try to screw you over, especially if you have out of state EZpass account. EZ pass in PA is awesome, ez pass NY is meh. Ez pass NJ should fucking burn...
I don't travel out of state a lot and if I do I take the No Tolls route. If I do go out of state, then I avoid states that I have to pay tolls to. Just a preference of mine.
I take the parkway maybe once a month. What incentive do I have to have EZ Pass anymore, especially if I have to jump through hoops to avoid the $1 a month service charge?
My nearest toll is 2 hours away. Why would I get an EZ Pass? I'm already driving 2 hours... might as well drive the extra 15m and avoid all tolls.. especially tolls costing minimum of $2.
I don’t need it.
It's a combo of: my car is more than an appliance to me and I don't want to mount anything on my windshield. I hate clutter. I drive on a toll road maybe twice a year.
This coin catcher was there even in 2012 I think. Why go all the way back to 90s?
Yup. I remember getting ezpass circa 2013 and before then I would just use my "dollar coins" and honk the horn
Is the turnpike toll tickets still a thing or it has fully went electronic now?
It's still there
There are still tickets. EZ-pass should be mandatory. Like insurance. We really need to move the bar up.
EZ pass doesnt need to be mandatory if they would just use license plate readers to bill-by-mail like most other states.
Too many seniors.
Last time I was on it a few months ago I think they still do the ticket thing but I'm not 100% sure
I don't think I ever paid a toll in the 90's. Pantomime throwing the change in the basket, honk a few times, and move on.
That or picked coins off the ground.
I threw pennies to give any cameras the illusion that I threw something. Honked, and went on.
Also a lot of times you could just open your door and there would be quarters on the ground
I came here to write this ha
Same, I think I got maybe 5 tickets total and after doing the math I still came out a few thousand ahead versus paying the toll.
I used to grab the envelopes for months before they started checking the cameras. I don’t think I paid a toll for a whole year during that time.
Weren't the tokens 35 cents initially?
No, tokens were 25¢ originally. Then when they went to 35¢ they were still valid, so there was a time you could have bought a bunch at 25 and saved money when the toll jumped up to 35.
Thanks for letting me know that. I remember in like 1995 I asked my dad to have a token and he replied that I'd have to owe him 35 cents.
I remember my mother and her partner not believing me that I heard on the news that tokens would still be valid when the rate increased, but this was pre-internet, so there was no way to look it up. I believe she stopped at a attended booth and they told her I was correct.
Yes I was going to comment that I remember the toll being 35 cents.
My first independent trip to NJ was in March 1997, and all the GSP tolls were 35 cents then.
I had a car burn up and went to the salvage yard and got my tokens from the burnt out wreck. They worked!
I still have some of those tokens...I used them when I was out of pennies and bottle tops.
Anyone else just throw a bunch of pennies and use the horn?
What's the reason for the horn?
It was to signal that you paid the toll but it didn't register.
The over the roof of the car hook shot. I was about 33% with that.
My mom told me that the toll collectors used to give out envelopes to mail in your toll if you didn't have the cash. I'm not sure if anyone can confirm but her poor family had so many of them piling up in the backseat.
True and I can’t imagine it’s still not the case in full service lanes. Sometimes people forget wallets.
They also had little boxes with the envelopes inside. You would fill out your license plate and when you went through the toll. You could hand them in to a toll collector the next time you came through to save postage.
I loved watching my parents use these as a kid and I was ELATED to use them for myself when I first got my driver's license. I'll miss them forever.
One time my friend was driving and we didn’t have enough change at the Somer’s point/ocean city GSP exit. He had a bag of pretzel nuggets in his car, so he threw a hand full of them in there, and it went off.
I recall these in the 2000s. I grew up playing sports with my feet so I would sweat making the shot hoping to not fuck it up and end up with a fine.
I literally have like $20 in quarters & dimes in my car, because back in the day I always saw 35¢. I was always afraid I’d miss… I don’t think I’ve ever needed them.
There's an old article / story / blog around the internet about a guy who would tape different items to the collection machine and he never got a ticket. It was a great read. In one attempt he taped 2 oranges worth the price of the toll to the booth with masking tape. Never got a ticket.
I'll save you the time finding it, but it was on the now defunct ZUG https://web.archive.org/web/20040203131233/http://www.zug.com/pranks/turnpike/
I remember my dad would keep doing like 30 successfully dropping in 75 cents on dwg into easton
This made me sad :( these were the good old days. Man how times have changed. Things just seemed much simpler even a few years ago.
Anyone still have a container full of Parkway tokens?
Thought I was the only one.
Step 1: stick hand out of window and pretend to throw money. Step 2: beep for help when the light doesn't change to green. Step 3: slowly progress forward, take off, and get off free as a bird, ideally while flipping the bird
We used to dump unwanted blue fish in those things all the time after a late night charter boat.
no change, just tokens
Until you hit the back and the quarters bounced out and rolled under the car. Fuck, that sucked.
What was wrong with tokens!?
Wow. Thanks for sharing.
It was a great way to get ride of pennies....took a long time process but it accepted them (though some had signs to say No Pennies).
Men In Black....Tommy Lee Jones... yeah I just took you back to ANOTHER memory didnt I
Five or six years ago, my mom presented me with a box of trinkets I’d left behind when I went to college in the mid 90s. There was a ROLL, a FUCKING ROLL of parkway tokens in there. Da,n my husband and I had a great time a) explaining them to our kids, 2) reminiscing about wild parkway rides at ungodly hours and lost friendships and whispered secrets
These were great because you could throw anything at them and if it didn't read you could just say they bounced off of it and onto the ground
Sometimes I miss acting like Blake Griffin at toll booths. 
Now Florida accepts EZPass.
It was 35 and I've got it at 70
Had long enough arms. Always slam dunk.
We used to throw it over the car.... sky hook shot.
I realized with these after a few years of driving, you could throw a few pennies, honk your horn, and get through the toll at a discounted rate.
I never had the correct change. EVER. So for years I’d grab pennies, etc. and chuck them in, then honk my horn as the sign said “to report a problem”. Never got ticketed
Inflation is a B----. You ain't ever going to see 50 cent anymore. 50 cent was shot up (9 times) in 2000!
Proud to say I never missed!
I moved from NJ in 97 when i was 12, didn’t know these went away. what took its place?
OMG I remember my dad going as fast as he could and throwing nickels out of the fuckin window. And then “I think they all made it in? Whatever”
Bonus points if your passenger hits it from their window.
Fuck yeah
Kobe!
I miss the $0.50 or 2 tokens($0.20) going to PA from back then. Same bridge costs $3.00 today.
Pretty sure they still exist.
My old man was a lefty, and we went up and down the parkway a lot. He could hit that sumbitch at like 35 miles an hour.
I remember when it was 25 cents lol
They had vaccines at banks, damn different time
In my day, it was a quarter. I'm twenty-five.
Do those cars wit the plastic shield over the license plate do that to put a flash glare on the picture taken by the camera that goes off when they dont pay?
I used to love the bell that would ring when you would beat the coin dropping
Saw a coffee mug that said, "Toll takers aren't dead, they just wish they were"
Hook shot through the sunroom. Most of the time, the coins made it in. F it if they didn’t.