No Toll Hikes On Delaware River Bridges In 2021, Officials Say

There will be no toll increases on the Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Commodore Barry, and Betsy Ross bridges in 2021, according to the organization that oversees the four bridges.

The Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA) Board of Commissioners unanimously approved a resolution to postpone a scheduled toll increase on the bridges over the Delaware River that connect New Jersey to Pennsylvania until at least 2022 at their meeting on Wednesday, the DRPA announced.

The toll schedule that was implemented in 2011 called for toll increases every two years based on increases in the Consumer Price Index (CPI) for the Philadelphia region.

But Wednesday’s vote marks the fifth time the board has put off these toll increases, and the tenth year that the bridges have gone without a toll increase, according to the DRPA.

The board also voted to decrease the DRPA’s annual operating budget. The budget of $305.1 million is a 0.83 percent decrease from 2020.

In 2021, the DRPA said it expects to collect about $306.4 million in revenue, primarily from bridge tolls and passenger rail fares. The projection is based on expectations that the coronavirus pandemic will continue to impact travel between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

In 2020, traffic was 80 percent of what it was in 2019, according to the DRPA. PATCO ridership ranged between 9 percent and 24 percent of what it was before the coronavirus pandemic hit.

Traffic is down as people work remotely and generally do less amid restrictions that have been imposed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.

Combined toll revenues were down $53.8 million, but the DRPA can compensate for some of those losses with up to $40 million in Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funding, according to the Courier Post.

“The Board and DRPA leadership team has worked over the past several years to ensure that the organization runs efficiently and effectively,” DRPA Chairman Ryan N. Boyer said. “This hard work is acknowledged by a budget that freezes tolls for our customers and ensures we have the necessary resources to maintain and enhance the public assets entrusted to the DRPA.”

“The DRPA continues to maintain a strong focus on fiscal stewardship,” DRPA Vice Chairman Jeffrey L. Nash said. “The fact that we are able to reduce the operating budget, invest in our public assets and infrastructure and do so without a toll increase, speaks volumes to the work of DRPA’s Board and leadership.”

To see the current toll amounts, visit drpa.org.