The Kansas Turnpike converted to a cashless toll system early this morning, KTA officials said.
KTA’s three customer service centers are closed and related websites and mobile app are unavailable until July 8, as the transition continues. During this time, June billing will be finalized in the old system and data will be migrated to the new DriveKS system.
Additional conversion details are available online.
Those with K-Tag will continue to travel the turnpike in normal fashion, officials said.
“About 70 percent of our customers right now, they’ll just keep driving like they have been for the last several years,” Bell said. “If you don’t have a K-Tag, however, that means that we’ll take a picture of your license plate, we’ll look up your vehicle registration information, and we’ll send you a bill in the mail.” (Continue story below ads.)
Activities to decommission old toll booths have already begun. Contracts for toll plaza demolition and lane configuration begin at the end of July and will take about 18 months. KTA officials said drivers are encouraged to stay alert and watch for crews as they use these interchanges.
Signs were up this morning informing drivers that manual pay options were no longer functioning. The Kansas Turnpike operated with some level of manual toll pay for nearly 68 years.
A key factor in the decision to move to cashless tolling, officials said, was improving traffic flow at interchanges and eliminating stopped traffic that could cause accidents.
