Toll collection involves receiving a fee for using a good or service, such as roads and bridges or telecommunications. The process can be manual or automated, and tolls generate revenue for the owner to fund repairs and government services.
Toll collection is the process of receiving a fee or charge associated with the use of a good or service. The term is generally applied to the collection of tolls on roads and bridges where there is a charge for using such facilities. Tolls are also levied in exchange for using some telecommunications services, although this has started to change in recent years.
In some situations, the toll collection process is manual. This is often the case with toll roads and bridges. An individual designated as the Toll Collector is positioned at a strategic point where the fee or charge can be collected from anyone wishing to cross the bridge or continue down the road. The collector is normally housed in a toll booth located at the bridge entrance or toll road head.
Once upon a time, the process of collecting tolls along roads and bridges didn’t involve much in the way of equipment. The collector will receive the commission by hand, make adjustments if necessary, then raise a bar blocking how the paid customer could proceed. Over time, this process became more mechanized, allowing the collector to receive the fee, then push a button to activate a hydraulic lift that removed the barrier. Today there are examples of tolls and highways that work with the use of a fully automated system. In this case, computerized equipment automatically records the transaction and triggers a motor that moves the barrier, allowing the paid customer to pass.
Even when the system is fully automated, there is usually still a binder present. The collector has the opportunity to make changes and answer questions from motorists who pass through the toll portal. He or she can also take appropriate action if someone tries to pass without paying the required toll.
With telecommunications services, toll collection was a process that involved placing a toll on the customer’s bill. This usually occurred when the customer was attempting to place a call outside the local exchange’s jurisdiction. Pay phone systems required the customer to deposit coins into the system to pay tolls on a long distance call. With the advent of larger calling areas and numerous toll-free plans for calls outside the local area, relatively few telephone customers have to pay tolls today, even when using land lines.
Toll collection has normally been a means of generating more revenue for the owner of the good or service. In the case of toll roads, the cost of the toll often allows states and local jurisdictions to raise revenue that can be used to fund road and bridge repairs, as well as support other services offered by local or state government.
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