A toll collector is someone who collects the fees, or tolls, that vehicles must pay to use highways, bridges, and tunnels. A toll collector is a person who collects fares from passengers on a ferry boat. Toll collectors are in charge of collecting money and providing change to customers. This person may also accept toll or fare tickets that have already been purchased. Toll collection dates back to antiquity, and earning the privilege of not having to pay tolls while traveling was considered a prestigious privilege in the Middle Ages.
A toll road can be either privately constructed or constructed by the government. The builder collects tolls to pay for the road’s construction and maintenance. In the United States, a toll road is known as a turnpike. Toll collectors typically work from a toll booth in a toll plaza, toll station, or toll gate on these roads.
Tolls can be collected in two ways: one way or the other. The first is a barrier toll gate, which involves placing toll barriers at various intervals along a roadway. The main disadvantage of the barrier method is that it tends to clog up traffic and cause congestion.
Tolls for entry and exit are the most common. Toll booths are placed at all entry and exit points along a roadway, bridge, or tunnel to collect fees in this manner. When a driver enters the roadway, he is given a ticket, which lists the tolls for each exit, sometimes by a machine. The more time a driver spends on the road, the more money he owes, and when he exits the road, he pays the toll collector.
Tolls are usually collected 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Toll collectors may work shifts ranging from early morning to late at night. Senior employees may prefer weekday shifts, leaving weekend and late-night shifts to newer employees.
Throughout the day, a toll collector is expected to collect money from drivers, return any change owed, and keep track of the balance in his money drawer. He’ll have to balance this drawer at the end of his shift by taking out the tolls he collected and leaving what was in it when he started. Typically, the money he collects is given to his shift manager or placed in a safe.
A toll collector must ensure that his booth is passable and free of debris in addition to collecting money. If a car breaks down in his lane, he may be asked to assist the driver as well as maintain traffic flow. Toll collectors frequently engage in social interactions with the customers they see on a daily basis.