One day, New Jersey’s toll roads and bridges may wake up to a cashless future, with camera-equipped plazas that negate the need to slow down to a crawl in order to pay to use the Parkway or the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

But, right now, it’s slow going.

"There no formal plan, and it's not going to happen this year," said New Jersey Turnpike Authority spokesman Tom Feeney in a voice mail message left on Friday, after being asked about reports from last year stating studies were being conducted into cashless tolls.

The delay could scuttle plans to eliminate all toll collector jobs by July of this year, as the authority, which oversees both the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway, had in the past been looking into either going cashless or privatizing the tolls. In April 2011, both toll collectors’ unions agreed to salary concessions in order to head off the prospect of privatization.

However, that doesn’t mean the idea of negating the need for legal tender on toll roads has been abandoned.

“[Cashless tolls] are still something we’re working toward,” added Feeney.

Under the cashless toll model, vehicles without an E-ZPass tag would pass through tolls lanes equipped with cameras that would snap pictures of their license plates. A bill for the appropriate toll amount would then be sent to the driver’s home.

However, one of the major problems with this system is the question of how to enforce the bills on out-of-state drivers.

While highway and bridge authorities in New Jersey can threaten to revoke registration on delinquent toll payers in-state, they lack such jurisdiction in other states.

"The critical factor is you would have to have reciprocal agreements between states like Delaware, and Pennsylvania, but also Maryland and maybe even add Virginia, too," said Jim Salmon, spokesman for the Delaware River and Bay Authority (DRBA), which is currently looking toward the possibility of going cashless at the Delaware Memorial Bridge years from now.

“Basically, for it to work, failure to pay would have to affect the driving record of the person in his or her state,” said Salmon. “Without those agreements, there’s no teeth to it.”

The DRBA is currently seeking proposals for a new toll system to replace its current, 12-year-old plazas on the bridge, which is the main link between Delaware — and all points south on I-95 — and New York. According to Salmon, the authority is requesting specifications that would allow the new toll plazas to “seamlessly” go cashless.

However, Scott Green, executive director of the DRBA, said it's not a process that's going to be rushed.

“We’re evaluating cashless tolling technology, but more work needs to be done,” he said. “It’s something we won’t pursue until it’s clearly viable at the Delaware Memorial Bridge.”

According to Salmon, the time to begin studying cashless tolls will be when at least 70 percent of drivers moving through the tolls have E-ZPass.

“That’s according to industry experts,” he said.

Right now, approximately 65 percent of all tolls paid at the Delaware Memorial Bridge are paid electronically.

E-ZPass vehicles also make up just more than 60 percent of the traffic crossing the Delaware River Port Authority’s (DRPA) four bridges. While the Delaware Memorial Bridge caters to mostly interstate and commercial traffic, the DRPA’s four bridges between South Jersey and the Philadelphia area are chiefly traveled by commuters.

In addition, tolls are only collected from westbound traffic on the DRPA’s bridges.

“While the DRPA is always interested in emerging toll collection and toll enforcement technologies, we have no plans at this time to adopt a ‘cashless’ toll collection system,” said spokesman Timothy Ireland in an email.

Despite the slow going, even at the authorities that are interested in the technology, Salmon stated he and the DRBA are optimistic about its future prospects.

“It’d be good for us, and there’d be no idling in the toll plaza, so it would be good for drivers, too,” he said. “It would be a plus to just have the bill sent to your home and you can pay it like a credit card bill.”

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Contact Jason Laday at 856-845-3300 ext. 228 or jladay@southjerseymedia.com.