photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A K-Tag scanner is pictured on the Kansas Turnpike on July 7, 2023.

Many drivers who use the Kansas Turnpike currently have to stop at booths to collect a ticket and pay their toll. But starting next year, they won’t need to stop at all — instead, their license plates will be scanned and a bill will be sent to them in the mail.

The new cashless tolling system will apply to all drivers on the turnpike, which runs on I-70 from the Kansas City area to Topeka and then down I-335 to Wichita. In many ways, it’s similar to the department’s optional K-Tag system, which has been in use for years.

K-Tag requires drivers to affix a special tag to their vehicles and then uses scanners to detect when those drivers get on and off the turnpike. The new cashless system will pair the K-Tag scanners with new cameras that will read a vehicle’s license plate. If a customer who doesn’t have a K-Tag drives through, the cameras will read their plate, and then an automated system will be used to send them a bill in the mail.

“If customers have K-Tag, life for them won’t change all that much,” said Rachel Bell, director of business services and customer relations with the Kansas Turnpike Authority. “It’s customers who currently stop and pay at a tollbooth who will have to do something different.”

When the KTA makes the change in 2024, Bell said the entire system would switch over at the same time. She said there were currently construction crews working along the turnpike to prepare for the change, installing additional K-Tag scanners and license plate readers. Signs will inform drivers when they are entering a toll zone, Bell said.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A ticket dispenser at a Kansas Turnpike toll booth in North Lawrence on July 7, 2023.

The KTA, which Bell described as a “quasi government entity,” is supported entirely by tolls and does not receive state funds, so the new system will not cost the state anything.

It was in 2020 that the KTA first announced it would be making the change to a cashless tolling system for all drivers, but the plans were put on hold during the COVID-19 pandemic, Bell said. Part of the reason for the changes was to improve safety, she said.

“Anytime you have stopped traffic at a toll booth and other traffic that’s trying to continue moving, you have the opportunity for additional accidents,” Bell said.

Other factors in the KTA’s decision included customer convenience and the age of the current tolling system. Bell said much of the tollbooth network would have to have been replaced soon — and, in fact, the physical booths themselves will be removed in the coming years.

One thing that won’t go away is the existing K-Tag system. Drivers will still be able to register for K-Tag, and if they choose to do so, they’ll pay less in tolls.

K-Tag users already pay about 30% less than the average driver, especially after the KTA stopped charging an annual fee for using a K-Tag a few years ago. And if a vehicle drives through a tollbooth without a K-Tag under the new system, the driver will be charged extra for the postage used to send out the bills in the mail, Bell said. With a K-Tag, users can pay tolls online and won’t be charged postage.

It’s not clear yet whether tolls will be higher under the new system to pay for the improvements because the KTA’s board has not made that decision yet. The board tries to increase toll amounts incrementally every few years to avoid any large hikes, Bell said.

Bell also said that cash collectors who currently work for the KTA would be offered new positions with the organization after the switch, including at the new KTA support call center, but that the majority of cash collectors were eligible for retirement when the KTA made the decision to switch in 2020. The change will affect about 35 employees across 21 different interchanges, Bell said.

Drivers can register for a K-Tag at myktag.com. There is no cost to sign up for the program.

photo by: Chris Conde/Journal-World

A Kansas Turnpike toll ticket booth in North Lawrence on July 7, 2023. The KTA will stop using booths to dispense tickets and take payments after changing to a new cashless system in 2024.