Starting Monday, no more cash at Tobin tolls

David L Ryan/Globe Staff

Starting Monday morning, cash will no longer be accepted on the Tobin Bridge.

At a Massachusetts Department of Transportation meeting Wednesday, Highway Administrator Frank DePaola announced that the bridge — a test site for the state’s planned transition to all-electronic tolling — will become a completely cash-free operation late Sunday night, and the last open toll booth will be shuttered.

Drivers will have to pay the toll with an E-ZPass transponder, or, if they don’t have an E-ZPass, a bill will be mailed to the address associated with their vehicle’s license plate number.

“My advice? Don’t stop in the middle of the bridge, whatever you do,” DePaola said.

This month, the agency began testing license plate readers installed at the Boston end of the Tobin to ensure that the high-speed cameras were able to accurately capture license plate numbers. At the same time, MassDOT crews began to remove tollbooths from the middle of the bridge to allow cars to continue driving over the bridge without slowing.

“They’re trying to make a clear path to allow traffic to pass,” DePaola said.

Toll prices on the bridge will remain the same: E-ZPass users will pay $2.50 per trip into Boston, while those without an E-ZPass will pay $3 — and now, those drivers will also have to pay an extra transaction fee for having the bill sent to a home address.

The switch to all-electronic tolling is meant to save the transportation agency money in the long run by eliminating the need to employ toll collectors. The Massachusetts Turnpike is expected to switch to all electronic tolling in summer 2016.