Toll Collectors

Toll collectors may either stand or sit on stools in the booths they occupy. Toll collectors are exposed to all types of weather, including hail, sleet, snow, or extreme heat or cold, but booths usually are equipped with space heaters and sliding doors to keep out dampness and cold. Collectors are also exposed to exhaust and other potentially toxic fumes. (Those with respiratory difficulties need to be especially aware of this condition.) Toll collectors sometimes have to interact with stressed, impatient, or irate motorists and must be able to deflect potentially heated situations while maintaining a peak level of service and efficiency. Full-time toll collectors usually work an eight-hour shift, but they may have to work at different times of the day, since many tollbooths need to be staffed around the clock.

Most tollbooth complexes have restroom and shower facilities for their employees. Some may have kitchens and break rooms as well. Some workers have assigned lockers or share lockers with workers on different shifts. Usually the employee facilities are better when no oasis or service stations are adjacent to the toll plaza. Toll stations have communications equipment so that they can notify state police or the state department of transportation of any emergencies, hazardous conditions, or violations of the law.