Pennsylvania Turnpike to lay off hundreds of toll collectors

 Traffic flows through an entrance to the Pennsylvania Turnpike, whose union is on strike, November 24, 2004 in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania.
Photo credit (Photo by William Thomas Cain/Getty Images)

HARRISBURG, Pa. (AP) — About 500 fare collectors and other toll workers along the Pennsylvania Turnpike are about to those their jobs. The Turnpike Commission voted Tuesday to make the entire interstate network a cashless system. The cuts are the latest development in the agency’s multi-year transition from a system that's largely relied on workers stationed in toll booths to collect cash to one that employs E-ZPass as well as automated license readers. The job losses will begin June 18, and the commission said some health benefits will remain in place for two years.