As a kid, I can always remember the ashtray in my dad’s car always being full, but not of cigarette butts. No, this is where he would put his sacred spare change. It wasn’t stored there to buy us kids penny candy and a Slurpee.
No, that money was used for the toll on the Norfolk-Va. Beach Expressway. Dad had to travel the expressway every day to get to work on the naval base, so nickels, dimes and quarters were never taken for granted.
The exact amount of toll depended on where you entered and how far you traveled on the expressway. A dime on the low end and a quarter on the high end and you could avoid the State Trooper lurking in the shadows waiting for the red lights to flash and alarm to sound, indicating a driver sped through the toll plaza without tossing his change in the basket.
Those were the good ole days when a quarter guaranteed you a free ride. I am here to tell you times have changed, and not just by a quarter or two.
o, a couple of Fridays ago, I was mapping out my route to Athens, Ohio, and — as most people would do — I chose the fastest route. I looked over the route on my map app just to get familiar with the route and I saw I-77 in West Virginia had a toll. I thought, no big deal, I will rob the jar above the washing machine where we stash any change found when doing laundry. I mean, what is a couple of quarters to save thirty minutes of travel time?
It was hours later when I saw the first sign displaying “toll plaza ahead,” when I realized I failed to grab the jar of change. No big deal — I fail to pack something on every trip… why should this trip be any different?
The next sign made me feel better because the change jar would have done me no good. The toll was over four dollars. No big deal — I have several forms of electronic currency at the ready. Wrong!
It seems the Turnpike Authority have not advanced into the 21st century. I pulled up to the toll window with my hand stuck out the window holding my debit card. The very nice toll attendant smiled and said, “we only accept cash.” What? No cards, no apple pay, no Facebook pay, how is this possible in 2024? Did I miss the signs, “last exit with an atm before tolls?”
This attendant was very helpful, but the turnpike consists of 88 miles with three toll plazas. So, as I reached each of the next toll plazas, the attendants physically wrote down my license plate number and made me sign an agreement to pay the toll within fifteen days. No big deal, right? Wrong!
The Turnpike Authority penalizes you an extra five dollars per toll for failing to carry cash. So, my total toll bill went from a total of $12.75 to $9.25 cents per toll.
The Turnpike Authority should rename the highway from I-77 to Jesse James Highway, because they are robbing the motoring public. As life would have it, when I logged in to pay the toll on the turnpike website, you guessed it, you can only pay with a card.
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