San Francisco's most recognizable attraction plans to implement a new toll collecting system beginning in March. The new completely electronic toll collecting system will eliminate the need for human toll collectors on the Golden Gate Bridge. A recent SF Gate article explains how, over the next eight years, this new method is expected to save over $19 million.The tolls will simply be collected by the use of either FasTrack or a camera which captures the license plate number. People can create accounts linked to this number, make payments online, or, for those who choose to do neither of these options, will be mailed an invoice. This will eliminate the costly citations and fines, as well as the time to stop and pay the toll collectors.
This, however, raises an important question: what will happen to those who have jobs collecting bridge tolls? There are 28 workers whose jobs are to be replaced by machines. A second SF Gate article states that people knew this would happen eventually. A toll collector at the Carquinez Bridge, also California state-owned, Larry Collins, said, "We know it's modern technology, and we know it's coming." Those who lost their jobs have either been moved to other jobs at the Golden Gate Bridge Highway Transportation District, or voluntarily resigned. Those who do not find other places to work will be given severence packages.
So what do you think? Is this a beneficial change for the Golden Gate Bridge? What does this mean for the future of human jobs that can easily be replaced by technology?
3 comments:
I feel that this change is definitely beneficial, it makes it much more efficient for drivers to pass through without stopping and there will be no more errors in giving change. The growing trend in replacing human jobs with technology also means that mundane tasks will be faster, more efficient and have less possibility for errors. This change is quite representative of a new era of less labor based jobs and more technology based jobs that will be sure to dominate the job market for decades to come.
I believe this is a positive change for the Golden Gate bridge because it will allow cars to pass through faster which will reduce the amount of traffic that might occur on the bridge. In addition, the workers who are currently working will only gain the benefits. They will be given replacement jobs and services and they will no longer have to work in a place where they inhale noxious fumes constantly.
I agree with both Alvin and Eddie that this change will be beneficial for most. For commuters, there will be much less traffic which saves time and money on gas. For the workers, it may be slightly less beneficial as they possibly have to find a new job in this economy. As more and more manual labor jobs are being filled by machines and technology, it displaces those who may not be able to find another job. For example, the people who work as toll collectors might not have the knowledge to get a job in the evolving world of technology.
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