Turnpike announces toll increases

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission announced Tuesday a 6% toll increase for all E-ZPass rates systemwide.
The increase, to take effect Jan. 3, 2021, will cover maintenance and operation costs for the highways, which see up to 500,000 daily customers, according to a Tuesday news release.
“The primary driver of the annual toll-rate increases continues to be our quarterly transit payments to PennDOT and the resulting debt service that comes along with the legislatively mandated funding obligation,” Turnpike CEO Mark Compton said in the release. “As a result, the PA Turnpike has delivered almost $7 billion in funding to PennDOT in the last decade, primarily to support mass-transit operations in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh.”
Those bond debt-service costs are $440 million annually “and growing,” according to the news release. Even if the Turnpike Commission was granted deferment on the quarterly payments, it still would need to pay the annual cost, the release states. The Turnpike recently requested the deferment of the quarterly payment because of revenue impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, the release states.
The increase will also pertain to the Turnpike’s Toll-By-Plate, which reflects a permanent change to electronic tolling at various locations, including Beaver Valley Expressway (I-376), Delaware River Bridge (New Jersey border), Gateway Toll Plaza (Ohio border), Greensburg Bypass (PA Turnpike 66), Keyser Avenue and Clarkes Summit Tolls (Northeastern Extension) and Southern Beltway (PA Turnpike 576). These locations were converted prior to this year.
As the Turnpike Commissions recently converted more toll facilities to electronic only, those new Toll-By-Plate locations will have an average increase of 45% more than the 2020 cash rate, “to reflect the costs of collections for this tolling method,” the release said.
That increase will also take effect Jan. 3.
For the Toll-By-Plate, a camera at the toll captures the license plate and sends an invoice to the registered driver.
“The new Toll-By-Plate rate reflects the higher costs the commission incurs to process the toll and collect payment – a pricing approach used by tolling agencies across the nation to cover the costs of administering AET systems,” Compton said. “This balanced approach allows us to maintain a lower rate for those choosing a payment method that is less costly to manage, while those who choose a pricier payment option absorb those costs.”
According to the release, the most common toll E-ZPass users will increase from $1.50 to $1.60 for a passenger vehicle and from $12.20 to $13 for a tractor trailer. For Toll-By-Plate, it will go from $2.50 to $3.90 for a car, and from $17.30 to $26.60 for a tractor trailer.
According to the release, the commission is considering discounts on Toll-By-Plate for pre-registered motorists. Still, Compton encouraged drivers to get E-ZPass, since it’s widely used throughout the nation and is cost-effective. He said 86% of turnpike drivers use it.
“Now that hundreds of grocery stores in the commonwealth offer E-ZPass, chances are you regularly pass by at least one of them,” Compton said. “Because of our low administration and enrollment fees, and the ability to set up an automatically replenished or cash-funded E-ZPass account, there’s simply no reason not to get it.”