Many park systems still rely on staffed entrance lanes to collect daily vehicle or entrance fees. For decades this has been the standard model. A visitor pulls up to the booth, pays the fee, and continues into the park.
But behind the scenes, this model creates a number of operational challenges that are becoming harder for agencies to manage. 
The most obvious one is staffing. A single entrance lane operating eight hours per day requires eight staff hours dedicated solely to collecting transactions. If a park runs two lanes during peak season, that can easily become sixteen staff hours per day tied up in processing payments.
Over the course of a summer season, that’s a significant amount of labor devoted entirely to collecting fees.
The second challenge shows up on busy weekends. When a large number of vehicles arrive within the same hour, lines can quickly build at the entrance. Each vehicle takes time to process a payment, which means visitors often begin their park visit waiting in traffic before they even reach the gate.
For parks that are trying to improve the visitor experience, this is not an ideal first impression.
A number of park systems are beginning to rethink how entrance operations work. Instead of collecting every transaction at the gate, many are allowing visitors to purchase passes or parking ahead of time on their phones.
Staff are still present, but their role shifts. Rather than processing payments, they are validating passes, assisting visitors, and supporting park operations.
In many cases, the same staff hours are still being used — they’re just being applied to higher value activities than standing in a booth collecting fees.
