San Francisco Chronicle talks with Bay Area toll collectors to get a sense of what they (and motorists) will miss with the passing of an occupation that the newspaper traces to ancient roots. Barbara Quintero, a transit bus driver who used to work the Golden Gate Bridge tollbooths, tells the Chronicle, “Toll collectors were once the sentries of Bay Area roads, but technology made us obsolete.”
Los Angeles Times reports, the COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated a global trend toward more automation of jobs in “every sector, including manufacturing, distribution, transportation, retail, restaurants and many kinds of personal and government services.” The article looks at the impact automation and robotizing is having on workers, including two former Pennsylvania Turnpike toll collectors.