Turnpike announces smallest toll rate hike in over a decade

With a 3.5% increase, turnpike tolls remain below national inflation levels.

By MEGAN TROTTER
TribLive

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission has approved a toll increase for next year — the lowest in over a decade.

On Tuesday, the commission voted for a 3.5% hike, which will go into effect Jan. 3.

It boasted that the increase is lower than the national inflation rate.

Last year’s increase, which kicked in Jan. 4, was 4%.

On most of the turnpike, the per-mile rate will rise to $.075 from $.073 and the segment fee to $1.17 from $1.13, with tolls rounded up to the nearest cent. For extensions that don’t use per-mile and per-segment pricing, existing tolls will increase by 3.5%, the commission said.

The turnpike uses a per-mile rate and a per-segment fee to figure out tolls. Segments are the distances between exits. A vehicle’s E-ZPass or license plate is scanned by overhead sensors and cameras. Drivers pay per segment, plus a distance fee, according to the turnpike website.

The bump in toll rates is an annual ritual which began in 2007. Tolls help fund payments to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation, which stand at $50 million each year, under the state law known as Act 44.

The Act 44 money is used to help fund highways, bridges and public transportation across Pennsylvania. Since 2008, the turnpike has provided $8.1 billion to the state.

Tolls are expected to go up every year through at least 2056, according to the commission. Paying off debt the turnpike has taken on to make its payments to PennDOT drives the annual toll increases, according to the commission.

Total debt stands at $16 billion, according to the turnpike.

Prior to Act 44, the turnpike raised tolls only five times in 64 years, the commission said.

“Despite inflation, recessions and a pandemic, the PA Turnpike has not deviated from its repayment plan over the course of nearly 20 years, which was achieved through controlled spending, efficient debt management and innovation,” the commission said in a news release.

The commission said the turnpike maintains toll rates in the middle of the range of the national average compared with other U.S. toll roads, bridges and tunnels.

The turnpike’s passenger car rate is 10.5% below the national average, according to the commission.

The commission said drivers who use E-ZPass can save up to 50% compared with Toll By Plate. Currently, more than 85% of customers use it.