Erin Lanahan 
More establishments are embracing a cashless system, including New Jersey highway tolls. As of January 4th, 2026, the Atlantic City Expressway in New Jersey has switched to all electronic tolling, aiming to keep traffic flowing and make the driving experience smoother. The South Jersey Transportation Authority is replacing the cash payments at toll plazas with a new toll-by-plate system. Read on for what to know about tolls the next time you drive on the Atlantic City Expressway.
No Cash No Problem: A Cashless System
The new electronic tolling system, known as Toll-by-Plate, on the Atlantic City Expressway is used across the country in several states, like Florida, Pennsylvania, New York, Virginia, and more.
Drivers with an E-ZPass will continue to be billed through their E-ZPass. For drivers without it, cameras will scan their license plate, and a bill will be sent in the mail, charging a higher toll than the E-ZPass fee. The registered owner of the vehicle can expect a bill in the mail after 30 days or once $50 in tolls are recorded, whichever comes first. Once drivers without E-ZPass get their bill in the mail, they will have 30 days to pay it. If they fail to do so, there will be a $5 penalty fee.
The Toll-by-Plate system is used for anyone who does not have a valid E-ZPass account. The system uses license plate data to bill the vehicle’s registered owner for the amount of the tolls at a higher Toll-by-Plate rate.
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For those with an E-ZPass whose transponder is not read by the camera, the transaction will begin processing as a Toll-by-Plate, but will convert to E-ZPass once it’s determined that the license plate is attached to an E-ZPass account.
More information on how to make payments and dispute tolls can be found online here.
The goal is to make it a better and faster experience for drivers on the road. “It’s just a lot safer for our customers that travel on the roadway. It makes a smoother experience,” Karen Hutchings, the Director of Tolls for SJTA told CBS News. “We won’t have traffic backups.”
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If you were to drive the length of the Expressway from Route 42 in Washington Township to Atlantic City with an E-ZPass now, it would cost drivers in a passenger car $6.30, according to CBS News. The Toll-by-Plate rate for the same passenger car would be $13.60.
For now, the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike still accept cash payments for the tolls. There are no plans to change those systems to cashless tolling.
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