Salary for a Toll Booth Collector in New York State

There are more than 2,000 toll collectors in New York

New York employs more than 2,000 toll collectors who work for the Bridge Authority or the Thruway Authority collecting the toll money motorists pay as they pass through toll plazas. They're accountable to their senior toll collectors and toll plaza managers for the tolls they collect. Toll booth collectors are civil servants whose earnings depend on the category the state assigns their job title and the salary grade the state assigns to that category.

Qualifying for the Job

Toll booth collectors aren't required to have experience, as they learn on the job. However, they must take a civil service exam that evaluates their ability to identify different types of motor vehicles, count money and make change, tally receipts and interact appropriately with customers. The state also requires that toll collectors be bonded and fingerprinted.

Salary

New York state toll booth collectors begin G-9 salary classification. As of a 2004 announcement for the toll collector's civil service exam--the most recent available--Bridge Authority collectors earned $30,197 while Thruway Authority collectors earned $11.78 per hour. Collectors working in Westchester and Rockland counties earned a $1,200 annual salary differential. Part-timers at the Thruway Authority earned $9.66 per hour.

Salary in Perspective

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics classifies toll collectors as cashiers. The median salary for all cashiers is $8.89 per hour, or $18,500 per year, as of 2010. The median salary for cashiers employed by state government is $15.20 per hour, or $31,610 per year. Federally employed cashiers earn $17.77 per hour or $36,960 per year. The highest paid cashiers work in rail transportation, which pays a median wage of $20.08 per hour or $41,770 per year.

Career Advancement

Toll collection is an entry-level position that gives collectors several options for advancement. Collectors can be promoted to senior collector positions, which have three levels of seniority, each with a corresponding salary grade. Toll collectors and senior collectors report to a toll plaza manager--a position to which they might aspire.

References

• BLS: Occupational Employment and Wages, May 2010; Cashiers
• New York State; Career Mobility Office; Toll Collector
• NY Dept. of Civil Services Examination Announcement: 2004
• NY Dept. of Civil Service: A Guide to the Written Test for the Toll Collector Series