Oklahoma is taking a big step in modernizing our turnpike payment system. Cash lanes, toll booths and coin machines will soon become a thing of the past.
Starting this weekend, the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority will convert the payment system on the John Kilpatrick Turnpike in Oklahoma City to a new system called PlatePay for travelers who normally pay with cash. With PlatePay, a picture is taken of a vehicle’s license plate, and then the registered owner of that vehicle will be mailed an invoice. Details on how to pay will be on the invoice.
The next turnpikes to go cashless will be the H.E. Bailey and the Creek Turnpike in the Spring/Summer of 2022. Over the next 4 years, the rest of the turnpikes throughout the state will transition to PlatePay.
“You spoke, and we heard your frustrations with the coin machines, the bill changers, and stopping to pay, in general,” says Jack Damrill, the Director of Communications for the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority. “We’re working diligently to change that.”
The cashless system made its way onto Oklahoma turnpikes starting in 2017 with PlatePay installed at the Peoria/Elm Interchange exit on the Creek Turnpike in Jenks.
According to PlatePay.com, the camera system associated with PlatePay only takes a photo of the license plate and does not take pictures of the interior of the vehicle. Officials also insist that PlatePay cameras will not be used to issue speeding tickets, says they are “only being used as a cashless tolling system to create a free flow of traffic that will save drivers time while providing a safer and more efficient means of travel.”
The change will not affect PIKEPASS customers, whom the OTA says will continue to enjoy the lowest toll rates available. Sign up for a PIKEPASS account at pikepass.com
