LACKAWANNA COUNTY, Pa. — At the onset of the pandemic, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission got rid of toll booth workers and started collecting money using only technology.
State Senator Marty Flynn of Lackawanna County believes that move was made too quickly.
"The Transportation Committee had the Turnpike Commission come in and give testimony, and when they said they couldn't account for $104 million, it kind of made me sit up straight in my seat," said Sen. Marty Flynn, 22nd District.
The commission estimates it's missed out on $104 million in tolls in 2020.
Now, Sen. Flynn has proposed a bill in Harrisburg that would give the state legislature oversight of the Turnpike Commission. It gives police more time to catch toll-dodging drivers and takes some of the technology out of toll collection.
"My bill brings back these toll workers to high-density areas, you know, puts people back to work on the Turnpike to collect them. Where people from other states drive by and say, 'I'm never going to be back in Pennsylvania again,' they probably would have stopped if they saw a cash option."
The proposed bill in Harrisburg got some strong reaction from drivers who actually pay their tolls. Most of the drivers we talked to outside the Hickory Run rest stop in Carbon County pay using an E-ZPass.
"It's pretty crazy, and ridiculous, pretty much insulting, I guess, if I'm paying every day for my E-ZPass and people are getting away scot-free, yeah, that's concerning," Jeremy Benfield said.
"I automatically take it out of my debit card to travel, and unfortunately, I also get bills. so, I have to call them and say, 'What's going on here?' It automatically comes out of my account. I think there might be a little bit of a glitch in the system," Lisa James said.
There is another pretty big glitch. Turnpike Commission documents show that when drivers use the Toll By Plate option, there's a 50/50 chance the cameras will not catch an image of your license plate.
"The people who use it every day, they pay for it every day. You know, whether it's a company, a personal owner, whatever it might be, they're all paying for it," Nolan Fayerweather said. "It's a little bit annoying that someone's abusing the fact that they're not doing anything about it."
The Turnpike bill still needs to pass both the State Senate and House, but it has support from lawmakers on both sides of the aisle.