New Jersey Turnpike

[Zeffy]

Tesla Car charging stations approved for New Jersey Turnpike rest areas:

Drivers of Tesla electric cars will be able to charge up at two stations the auto maker plans to install at New Jersey Turnpike service areas

Authority commissioners approved an agreement Tuesday morning with Tesla to install charging stations in the Molly Pitcher and Joyce Kilmer services areas –both in Middlesex County – at no expense to toll payers.

Four parking stalls will be wired for Tesla charging stations, which O'Hern said won't interfere with parking or traffic in the service areas. Tesla also will wire the charging stations in case other manufacturers of electric cars decide to install charging stations, he said.

Teslas use a charger that is specific to their vehicles, which doesn't fit other electric cars. The charging stations could be operational by the end of the year, depending on how long it takes for Tesla to obtain permits needed to do the work, O'Hern said. Tesla owners would not be charged to power up their vehicles, he said.

Future expansion to other turnpike service areas or to the Garden State Parkway will depend on driver demand, he said.

[Pete from Boston]

There are Tesla spots on the Connecticut Turnpike.  My Ranger fits in them very nicely.  I'm about as interested in heeding signs reserving spots for a smattering of very rich people as I am in the "fuel-efficient vehicle" spaces closest to the door at Whole Foods (I park in those, too, because sometimes I can get the Ranger well over 19mpg if I keep it steady, and that's very efficient for a Ranger).

They represent public privatization at its douchiest. 

[storm2k]

On the turnpike southbound, the 1 mile sign for Exit 13A is not 1 mile to the interchange. This is an error which should be corrected to 1/2 mile. I looked it up on Google Maps measuring tool.

Given that all that signage will eventually be replaced with MUTCD compliant signage, it's a mostly moot thing at this point.

[Duke87]

I really don't mind there being chargers for electric cars. Makes those cars more usable. More and better infrastructure is only a good thing.

But this:

Teslas use a charger that is specific to their vehicles, which doesn't fit other electric cars.

is not OK. I can fill my gas tank at any gas station, car manufacturers do not have proprietary fuel pumps that only their vehicles can use. Indeed, this universality is part of what makes gasoline-powered cars so usable. For electric cars to not follow the same open model is a hindrance to their proliferation since you are artificially reducing the number of charge points available to any given person.

I get that Tesla is installing and operating these things entirely at their expense and isn't going to want their competition taking advantage. But it would seemingly be uncomplicated and more civilized to simply charge for the electricity and give Tesla owners special debit cards that allow them to get it on the house. Could even make Tesla some extra money that way. But no, the brand is all about elitism and "this is my charging station, you can't use it" has too much douchebag appeal to turn down.

[Pete from Boston]

I really don't mind there being chargers for electric cars. Makes those cars more usable. More and better infrastructure is only a good thing.

But this:

Teslas use a charger that is specific to their vehicles, which doesn't fit other electric cars.

is not OK. I can fill my gas tank at any gas station, car manufacturers do not have proprietary fuel pumps that only their vehicles can use. Indeed, this universality is part of what makes gasoline-powered cars so usable. For electric cars to not follow the same open model is a hindrance to their proliferation since you are artificially reducing the number of charge points available to any given person.

I get that Tesla is installing and operating these things entirely at their expense and isn't going to want their competition taking advantage. But it would seemingly be uncomplicated and more civilized to simply charge for the electricity and give Tesla owners special debit cards that allow them to get it on the house. Could even make Tesla some extra money that way. But no, the brand is all about elitism and "this is my charging station, you can't use it" has too much douchebag appeal to turn down.

It would be douchier (and kind of funny) if they made their cars very narrow so the spaces couldn't be used by other makes.  But fortunately, all the rest of our cars fit there.  And on a busy day with 300+ people milling about that plaza, I don't expect they'll get around to removing many non-Tesla vehicles from those spots. 

[vdeane]

Didn't Tesla just release all their patents to the public domain?  I get the impression that they're trying to turn their supercharger stations into the standard (rather than adopt some other company's way of doing it).

[BrianP]

From a NJ Turnpike traffic alert:

As of 3:58pm, there's an Accident on the New Jersey Turnpike southbound North of Interchange 8A - NJ 32 in South Brunswick Twp. All lanes blocked.

I guess this either at the current merge or just south of it since they don't mention which roadway is blocked.  The merge is currently north of exit 8A right?

[Alps]

Gas cap discussion has been moved to Off-Topic.

https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=13560.0

[jeffandnicole]

Paving is going on along the Northbound Inner Roadway of the Turnpike.  Driving up from the south to Exit 7 this morning, it appears most of the final paving has been completed from the new diverge point south of Interchange 6 to the US 206 overpass (near Interchange 7).  Just north of US 206 is where they are paving this morning.  From the looks of it, they are taking advantage of the fully shutdown roadway and paving across the entire roadway at one shot, which eliminate the seams.  Where they are paving, there was an army of dump trucks and paving equipment...probably at least 2 dozen trucks just waiting for their chance to dump asphalt into the paving machines!

The goal is to have all 12 lanes of the Turnpike between 6 & 8A open by Thanksgiving.

[Roadsguy]

I went with a friend to the Maker Faire in New York this weekend.  On the way, I caught a few shots along the Turnpike.


Northbound, approaching the beginning of the dual carriageways.

I wish my camera's sensor could process the LED background, but in person, these look great.  I like the borderless appearance of the electronic sign.

Leaving the Woodrow Wilson Service Area.

VMS displaying travel time information in a format that is not only informative, but simple to understand at speed.  One of the strengths of the Turnpike, from my experience, is to provide effective feedback to its users.  While I miss the RSAs, the newest generation of VMSes is being used in many ways which I find the change to be worth it.

Why does the solid green in the VMS section look like Creeper texture?

[froggie]

Why does the solid green in the VMS section look like Creeper texture?

I wish my camera's sensor could process the LED background, but in person, these look great.

[1995hoo]

Why does the solid green in the VMS section look like Creeper texture?

I wish my camera's sensor could process the LED background, but in person, these look great.

I think what Roadsguy wanted to know is why that happens. The same thing often happens with video cameras; for example, if I use my iPhone at Nationals Park, the huge scoreboard out in right-center field will have a blotchy look (more so than the highway signs seen in this thread). From what I've read, I gather the problem arises because while the lights flicker on and off at a frequency undetectable to the human eye, your camera is operating at a different frame rate such that at points the camera can detect the lights cycling on and off. Many dashcams, for example, record at 30 frames per second. If the sign–or your TV, or the scoreboard, or whatever–refreshes at a different rate, you get flicker.

I'm sure someone will be happy to explain why I've oversimplified it, but I gather the above is the gist. If you're using an SLR, you can try to adjust your shutter speed to compensate for the problem, but that's not necessarily easy nor safe to do if you're the one driving the car.

[jeffandnicole]

Most people are not going to have the equipment to take pictures of LED signs without some sort of interference, especially in terms of shutter speed.  Generally with the iPhone, I'll just hold the button down and take several quick shots...usually one of them is acceptable enough to post.

[Mr. Matté]

From the looks of it, they are taking advantage of the fully shutdown roadway and paving across the entire roadway at one shot, which eliminate the seams.

That's different than my area. Where I go over it daily south of Exit 8, the inner roadway's travel lanes have been repaved for the longest time while the shoulders (left and right) were still milled. I did notice this morning that the Jersey barrier was a different color so they might have replaced it within the past couple of days and now they're going to repave the shoulders.

[Zeffy]

So I was thinking of applying to be a toll collector at the Turnpike. I meet all the requirements, and I might be close to acquiring my own vehicle so I can get there. Looking at it, they try and place you to a close interchange (so I guess it would be from about 6-9 for me) to your house. They pay $12 an hour which is way better than the minimum wage crap in Hillsborough and surrounding towns, and you get at least 20 hours a week. I'm just looking for something to generate revenue for a bit. Anyone have any experience with this? I see the NJTA also provides training for the job, so on a scale of 1-10, how easy is the job? I can't honestly see it being harder than a 4, considering you just collect tolls.

[hbelkins]

So I was thinking of applying to be a toll collector at the Turnpike. I meet all the requirements, and I might be close to acquiring my own vehicle so I can get there. Looking at it, they try and place you to a close interchange (so I guess it would be from about 6-9 for me) to your house. They pay $12 an hour which is way better than the minimum wage crap in Hillsborough and surrounding towns, and you get at least 20 hours a week. I'm just looking for something to generate revenue for a bit. Anyone have any experience with this? I see the NJTA also provides training for the job, so on a scale of 1-10, how easy is the job? I can't honestly see it being harder than a 4, considering you just collect tolls.

I'm not sure if Rob Sargent is on this forum or not, but he works for the NJTP. He'd be a good contact.

[jeffandnicole]

So I was thinking of applying to be a toll collector at the Turnpike. I meet all the requirements, and I might be close to acquiring my own vehicle so I can get there. Looking at it, they try and place you to a close interchange (so I guess it would be from about 6-9 for me) to your house. They pay $12 an hour which is way better than the minimum wage crap in Hillsborough and surrounding towns, and you get at least 20 hours a week. I'm just looking for something to generate revenue for a bit. Anyone have any experience with this? I see the NJTA also provides training for the job, so on a scale of 1-10, how easy is the job? I can't honestly see it being harder than a 4, considering you just collect tolls.

I'm not sure if Rob Sargent is on this forum or not, but he works for the NJTP. He'd be a good contact.

As I have posted many times (and comments like this make me wonder if my posts are ignored by everyone), I have worked the Turnpike Tolls from 2001 - 2004.  Rob actually did work alongside me as well during that time period, before taking a full time position with the Turnpike.

I think the equipment is still the same as when I left the turnpike - it's easy stuff - you punch in the classification of vehicle, put in the ticket, it tells you the amount.  Obviously, you can look at the ticket yourself and figure it out. And once you're in an interchange for a few weeks or less, you start to memorize the toll rates anyway.  People will ask for directions and such.  It's a great job...you sit on your ass and collect money, and can play on your phone when no one is at the booth.  Supervisors are generally friendly and will back you up in my experiences.

The biggest issue for some is that you have to calculate the change yourself.  Some people bring a calculator to do this. 

The job otherwise is easy.  I worked the weekends at Interchange 1 and 3, and for the most part it was traffic coming thru on vacations, rather than motorists that use the Turnpike every day to/from work.  I've said it here before - if you get the job, you will be in for an awaking at how bad people are out there on the roads, and how clueless as to where they are.  It makes it quite interesting, actually.

When you apply, I think you can put down what toll plazas you will be willing to travel to for work.  Interchange 1 was further away from me than 2, 3 or 4, but the chances of getting actual employment there was easy.  After a year or so, I asked for and eventually got a transfer to 3.  I never worked 2 (the least busiest interchange of the Turnpike).  I was asked a few times to work 4 & 7A as an overtime shift, which they paid for my travel to/from (I don't know if they still do that).  Other than that, I was always at my main interchange.

For you, you can ask them what interchanges are in the most need of help.  7A and 9 are large interchanges and would probably be your best bets.  11, if you can travel up there, may even be better. 

EZ Pass has certainly changed things, and usage is way higher than when I worked there.  Plus, EZ Pass vehicles can go thru any lane.  During my time there, EZ Pass vehicles could only use EZ Pass lanes, and it was fairly frequently that people would have no clue what EZ Pass was.

Remember though - you are a part time employee. The Full Timers can have a bit of an attitude, especially as their pay and benefits have been slashed over the past several years.  So when you get the job, just go in and respect them, and it'll help in the long run when you need a hand!

If you apply for a position - good luck!  Be patient...it may take a few weeks (or longer) for them to get back to you!

[1995hoo]

....

I think the equipment is still the same as when I left the turnpike - it's easy stuff - you punch in the classification of vehicle, put in the ticket, it tells you the amount.  Obviously, you can look at the ticket yourself and figure it out. And once you're in an interchange for a few weeks or less, you start to memorize the toll rates anyway.  People will ask for directions and such.  It's a great job...you sit on your ass and collect money, and can play on your phone when no one is at the booth.  Supervisors are generally friendly and will back you up in my experiences.

The biggest issue for some is that you have to calculate the change yourself.  Some people bring a calculator to do this. 

....

You mention playing on your phone. For what it's worth, if you bring a smartphone, you probably already have a calculator on there if you need one (obviously this wasn't an option in the 2001 to 2004 timeframe you cite, of course).

[Zeffy]

As I have posted many times (and comments like this make me wonder if my posts are ignored by everyone), I have worked the Turnpike Tolls from 2001 - 2004.  Rob actually did work alongside me as well during that time period, before taking a full time position with the Turnpike.

I think the equipment is still the same as when I left the turnpike - it's easy stuff - you punch in the classification of vehicle, put in the ticket, it tells you the amount.  Obviously, you can look at the ticket yourself and figure it out. And once you're in an interchange for a few weeks or less, you start to memorize the toll rates anyway.  People will ask for directions and such.  It's a great job...you sit on your ass and collect money, and can play on your phone when no one is at the booth.  Supervisors are generally friendly and will back you up in my experiences.

The biggest issue for some is that you have to calculate the change yourself.  Some people bring a calculator to do this. 

The job otherwise is easy.  I worked the weekends at Interchange 1 and 3, and for the most part it was traffic coming thru on vacations, rather than motorists that use the Turnpike every day to/from work.  I've said it here before - if you get the job, you will be in for an awaking at how bad people are out there on the roads, and how clueless as to where they are.  It makes it quite interesting, actually.

When you apply, I think you can put down what toll plazas you will be willing to travel to for work.  Interchange 1 was further away from me than 2, 3 or 4, but the chances of getting actual employment there was easy.  After a year or so, I asked for and eventually got a transfer to 3.  I never worked 2 (the least busiest interchange of the Turnpike).  I was asked a few times to work 4 & 7A as an overtime shift, which they paid for my travel to/from (I don't know if they still do that).  Other than that, I was always at my main interchange.

For you, you can ask them what interchanges are in the most need of help.  7A and 9 are large interchanges and would probably be your best bets.  11, if you can travel up there, may even be better. 

EZ Pass has certainly changed things, and usage is way higher than when I worked there.  Plus, EZ Pass vehicles can go thru any lane.  During my time there, EZ Pass vehicles could only use EZ Pass lanes, and it was fairly frequently that people would have no clue what EZ Pass was.

Remember though - you are a part time employee. The Full Timers can have a bit of an attitude, especially as their pay and benefits have been slashed over the past several years.  So when you get the job, just go in and respect them, and it'll help in the long run when you need a hand!

If you apply for a position - good luck!  Be patient...it may take a few weeks (or longer) for them to get back to you!

Wow, thanks for all of this! This doesn't sound like a bad job at all, especially since it sounds like a pretty lax environment.

[Alps]

Zeffy: The current hiring rate, or the potential to be picked out of the pool, is somewhere between "pufferfish learning to ski" and "legalized gay polygamy in Uganda." Do not get your hopes up for this. Sorry to be a reality check, but with the potential specter of All Electronic Tolling, there's very little movement of personnel.

[Zeffy]

Do not get your hopes up for this.

Considering that my applications to multiple jobs have so far been completely fruitless - my hopes when it comes to being hired are as low as you can imagine... of course, this is in Hillsborough. If I can get a vehicle, I would go as far as Trenton, New Brunswick, or Newark if I got a decent paying job... and if I weren't at risk for getting slaughtered. This is just something I noticed a few days ago and thought about it.

[jeffandnicole]

The biggest issue about the environment is the traffic.  You're sitting in a 3' wide booth, watching traffic come at you or behind you.  They are always going faster than the speed limit allows...or they stop in an EZ Pass lane when they're not supposed to.  They often have no idea what they're doing. 

At Interchange 3, at least once a weekend I would have someone come up and argue that the signs said this was a rest area.  They would claim there were even signs on the Turnpike saying it was a rest area, and there was a McDonalds according to the signs.  Being that the Turnpike has Service Areas, and there's nothing along the road that would allude to a McDonalds (not even a billboard or sign visible for a nearby one), I could only conclude that they were a bit tired, and might've mistook the Red Roof Inn logo on the blue lodging signs for a McDonalds logo. 

[Pete from Boston]

Do not get your hopes up for this.

Considering that my applications to multiple jobs have so far been completely fruitless - my hopes when it comes to being hired are as low as you can imagine... of course, this is in Hillsborough. If I can get a vehicle, I would go as far as Trenton, New Brunswick, or Newark if I got a decent paying job... and if I weren't at risk for getting slaughtered. This is just something I noticed a few days ago and thought about it.

What are your experience, education, goals?

[Roadrunner75]

The biggest issue about the environment is the traffic.  You're sitting in a 3' wide booth, watching traffic come at you or behind you.  They are always going faster than the speed limit allows...or they stop in an EZ Pass lane when they're not supposed to.  They often have no idea what they're doing. 

After seeing the video of that guy plowing into the GSP Somers Point toll booth at high speed, there's no way I would do that job.  At least the majority of the Turnpike booths are not on the mainline, and they should be going much slower since they're on an interchange ramp.  Cars zip through the booths at 11 pretty fast though.  Not to discourage you Zeffy, but safety is a big concern there.  Also, as Alps has noted, that job is disappearing fast....

[jeffandnicole]

The 2 experiences I had was a car driving up onto the concrete blockade for the lane next to me. She was laughing about it. Me and the other toll guy there were irate, then she got pissed off at us! She's lucky she was able to drive the car still. And one time I was running across the lanes at Interchange 1...and ran into a car leaving the lane! :-). That was the old plaza there and there were no tunnels or bridges for is at the time!

Overall I wouldn't say it's a dangerous job...after all people have been killed simply sitting at their desk in an office. Stuff happens everywhere.