JULY 1: Preparing for tolls to go cashless on the Kansas Turnpike

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (KCTV) - On July 1, all tolls on the Kansas Turnpike will go cashless. The Kansas Turnpike Authority (KTA) said things will change both on and off the roads for drivers and staff.

If you already have a KTAG, you’re in luck as not much will change besides where you access your account and pay tolls.

After July 1, the cost and way you pay tolls will change if you don’t have a KTAG.

The Kansas Turnpike is 236 miles.

It’s a route Kayla Todd takes just twice a year to visit Colorado.

“I just give ‘em my credit card, I don’t even really pay attention to how much it is I gotta do it anyways,” said Kayla Todd, who lives in Columbia, Mo.

In the early morning hours of July 1, cash or card won’t be accepted at any of the 21 KTA Toll Plazas.

About a decade ago, KTA started planning for this switch.

“Whether that was at the cash lane or with this new cashless system, and so we chose to modernize and to put that money into a new technology rather than the old cash collection system,” said Kansas Turnpike Authority Director of Business Services and Customer Relations, Rachel Bell.

This is an estimated $102.5 million update to move to cashless tolling.

KTA said there are three main reasons for this change.

Safety is number one.

“Anytime you have traffic that is stopped or is moving slower and traffic that is continuing on it is just a less safe experience for everybody,” said Bell.

Texas resident, Tom Cossette feels there are a lot of benefits to switching like Texas did.

“Wear and tear on the car, gas mileage, if you can just keep going it is great,” said Texas resident, Tom Cossette.

Another benefit for KTA is customer convenience.

The new cashless service is allowing KTA To offer a more consistent toll rate per mile.

KTAG users will save 50% on tolls once the system switches over.

“If you are billed by your license plate you will see an increase compared to the cash rate,” said Bell.

Since KTAGs are free, it’s something many drivers like Todd are now deciding to sign up for.

“I like to save money,” said Todd.

The third benefit is operational efficiencies, making it easier to process tolls.

When KTA first looked into doing this, they wanted the impact to be low for staff.

They learned nearly 70% of toll collection staff would be ready to retire by 2023 or 2024. Some have worked on the roads for 30 years.

“They want to see the last day but they are ready to be done,” said Bell. She added, “We have been working to move staff over as we have increased electronic tolling.”

Many plan to switch positions once they convert to the new system.

Once they do the transition, the toll plazas will be demolished over the next 18 months.

They ask drivers to follow directions during the transition and drive carefully as construction may create some changes.

The customer service platforms will also be closed from June 29 to July 7 as they move the system to DriveKS.com for account access.

“All of the statements will come from Drive KS and part of the reason that we are moving to that system not only to support cashless but to support the US 69 express lanes then that will come online here in about 18 months,” said Bell.

You can learn more about the transition here.