The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted Monday to increase its tolls by 12% for cash users and 2% for E-ZPass transponder users, effective in January.
The cash increase would boost a 5-axle, 80,000-pound truck’s toll for the entire main line of the system to $228.59, from the current $204.10.
Comparable E-ZPass users’ toll will rise to $164.15, from the current $160.96. The E-ZPass toll and increases are less because it costs five to 10 times less for the agency to collect tolls through transponders than cash.
The increase is necessary for the Turnpike Commission to fulfill its duty to pay $450 million to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation each year, and to pay for repaving the entire highway, the commission said.
“We understand that these recurrent annual increases can create an economic hardship for some, and for this reason we ardently support a measure in the General Assembly that would modify the funding requirements in Act 44,” Turnpike Commission CEO Mark Compton said in a statement. “If passed, this measure would mean that the PTC could eventually reduce the magnitude of future toll increases.”
