tokens

Garden State Parkway toll tokens will cease to be accepted in payment of tolls in the new year, signaling the end of an era for an early mode of automatic toll payment. The tokens were last sold Jan 1 2002 but motorists hoarded so many - an estimated 50 million -  they continue to be used in small numbers in the Parkway's automatic coin machines.  Sold in rolls of 30 for $10 vs $10.50 for the same number of cash tolls they have offered a 4.8% discount over coins since 1989.

Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) is sending its inventory of tokens to a scrap metal merchant - a reminder of the changing technology of toll collection. The tokens with a face value of 10c each were used to provide commuter discounts for three decades through Dec 2002 when transponder based tolling was introduced by DRJTBC (known colloquially as 'Doctor J').