The Life of a Philadelphia Toll Bridge Worker

Two college summers I worked on the Walt Whitman Bridge in Philadelphia, PA.

Tollbooth worker is a fun job for any 19 or 20 year old. And it's unique. Below, you will find the interesting life of a Philadelphia Toll Booth Worker.

The life of a Philadelphia tollbooth worker is interesting at best. Well, you have to make it that way because it can actually be a little bit boring. I had the opportunity to work two shifts. One summer, I worked the 2-10 shift, and another summer I worked the 6-2 shift.

My day began like this. I went into the tunnel each shift to obtain all of my materials that I would need for working in the Philadelphia tollbooth. Walking down the tunnel was one of the most memorable parts of those mornings for a few reasons. Most of those reasons had to do with the outfit we were required to wear. I had on dark baggy blue pants and an oversized red shirt. I remember keys dangling from my belt buckle and that I was required to wear steel-toed shoes.

As I walked down the tunnel five days a week, the keys jangled against my hip and the heavy shoes dragged along the floor. As I entered the toll office, I received some money, and maybe some of that sticky pink stuff that makes the cash slip through your fingers easier.

As I sat on in a high chair in a booth for eight hours a day with the radio blasting a burned cd I had made, I had entirely too much time to think about in the tollbooth of the Walt Whitman Bridge. Too much time to think meant my mind wandered from worries, to dreams, to the past, and back around again, and I collected $3.00 from what must have been at least a thousand cars each day.

My mind probably wandered so much because I was bored. And yes, working on the Philadelphia tollbooth is quite boring. Some people think it's relaxing. Some think it's easy, but for me my mind just wasn't stimulated enough.

But working on the Walt Whitman tollbooth isn't the same for everybody. I say this because in the booth next to me was a full-timer with a college degree in marketing, and she still works on the Walt Whitman today. On the other side of me was a woman who had worked in the medical field.

So working on the Walt Whitman toll is interesting. You meet some unique people, but I couldn't do it for any longer than a couple of summers. If you however, want to work on the tollbooth, the city of Philadelphia has an internship program each summer for all of it's bridges. You must be in college though, and only off for the summer. You have to show proof that you get some sort of financial aid. For more information, you can contact the Delaware River Port Authority.

What drew me to working on the Walt Whitman Bridge was the great pay. You can make 10 or more dollars an hour, and you get paid every week. So if you can withstand sitting in one place for eight hours (with good breaks though) and saying "thank you" a thousand times a day, contact the DRPA. And you probably can do that for just a summer or two out of your lifetime. I did it.