The Lincoln Tunnel will go fully cashless next month, marking the end of cash tolls for drivers traveling in and out of the city, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey said.   

Starting Sunday, Dec. 11, tolls will be collected through E-ZPass or by mailing a bill to the address affiliated with a vehicle’s license plate, the agency said in a press release.

The Port Authority has spent $500 million over the past few years to upgrade to cashless tolling at all of its bridges and tunnels, the release said.

The agency transitioned to all-electronic tolling at the George Washington Bridge in July, after making the shift at the Holland Tunnel and its three Staten Island bridges in 2020 and 2019, respectively, it said.

“Toll booths have served us well in the past when toll collection required someone to accept coins or tickets in exchange for passage, but at some point, nostalgia must make way for advances in technology that improve our lives – which for many of us in this region revolve around our daily commutes,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O'Toole said in a statement.

“The deactivation of the Port Authority’s last toll booths and upgrade to a cashless electronic system is not just a sentimental footnote in the timeline of our legacy bridges and tunnels, but a key milestone in our agency’s stewardship of the bistate region’s critical infrastructure,” O’Toole added.

Port Authority officials said the move to the new technology will cut down on greenhouse gas emissions and improve traffic safety.  

Motorists “are expected to save 1.3 million gallons of fuel a year and help reduce 11,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually with the elimination [of] toll lanes and toll booths,” the release said.

The number of car accidents recorded in "former toll areas” at the Bayonne and Goethals bridges and the Outerbridge Crossing, meanwhile, fell by 70% after the agency rolled out cashless tolling, according to the release.

The agency said it expects that trend to continue in areas like the Lincoln Tunnel once the transformation is completed.

“Similar to other crossings, the agency’s toll collectors at the Lincoln Tunnel will be reassigned to other Port Authority positions should they wish to continue working for the agency,” the release noted.