Toll collector jobs can range from the typical tool booth collector on a turnpike to a toll collector at the turnstile on a subway. Toll bridges, ferries and tunnels are all manned by individuals working in toll collector jobs. Collecting money due for tolls as well as selling toll passes and discount ticket booklets are all part of the duties required in toll collector jobs. A toll collector is often required to give directions, call for emergency services and report suspected intoxicated drivers. The toll collector is also required to count and balance the toll money and count and arrange any toll tickets, discount coupons and other promotional materials received at the end of the shift.
Many roads throughout the world are classified as toll roads. This calls for any vehicle using the road to stop and pay a toll. Typically, a person will be manning a small toll booth and will take money. These toll collector jobs can be extremely cold in the winter and very hot in the summer months as the booths are typically not heated or cooled. The people with these toll collector jobs are also subject to exhaust fumes, verbal assaults from disgruntled drivers and sob stories from patrons that do not have the money to pay the required toll.
Many bridges and tunnels also require paying a toll to cross. Workers in these toll collector jobs typically man a booth at the entrance to the bridge or tunnel. Often, users of a toll bridge or tunnel will purchase tokens or tickets that can be used in lieu of toll money. The users are typically offered a discount for purchasing these toll tokens and tickets in advance by the toll authority. In this scenario, one of the toll collector jobs is to divide the tokens and tickets from the actual toll money and record the amount of each that was taken in during a shift.
Some toll collector jobs are actually a combination of two or more jobs. This is often the case for the individual that collects tolls for a ferry boat. The toll collector is commonly stationed at the entrance of the ferry while it is being loaded with passengers and vehicles, and once loaded, the toll collector often is asked to give safety briefings, demonstrate emergency exit techniques and occasionally aid in untying the ropes that secure the ferry to the dock. Once safely across the water, duties of workers in toll collector jobs expand to docking and securing the ferry to the pier.