PA Turnpike Open Road Tolling Begins Sunday

EASTERN PENNSYLVANIA, PA —Open Road Tolling begins on Sunday on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in the Philadelphia region.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission said that the toll collection change takes place at 12:01 a.m. on Sunday east of Reading and on the Northeast Extension.

The commission said the switch also provides a new statewide toll schedule that moves the PA Turnpike to a consistent per-mile rate and moves away from weight-based classification to Axle and Height under Automated Vehicle Classification (AVC).

“The launch of Open Road Tolling is perhaps the most significant change since the Pennsylvania Turnpike opened in 1940 as ‘America’s First Superhighway’ and continues our legacy as a national leader in transportation,” said Mike Carroll, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation Secretary and PA Turnpike Commission Chairman.

In an ORT system, tolls are charged electronically as customers drive at highway speeds without slowing down or stopping beneath overhead structures — called gantries — located between interchanges. Equipment on the gantry and in the roadway processes E-ZPass or Toll By Plate transactions.

ORT eliminates the confusion and lane switching associated with traditional, stop-and-go tolling. Removal of toll booths eliminates obstacles, increases sight lines for customers, and ultimately reduces stress and distractions when entering and exiting the system, officials said.

Before Sunday’s launch, the PA Turnpike is encouraging customers to take the following steps to support a seamless transition:

• E-ZPass customers should properly mount their transponder at all times
• Pre-registered Toll by Plate customers or E-ZPass customers should keep their vehicles, license plates and credit card information up-to-date on their accounts
• Open an E-ZPass account to save 50 percent on your tolls and take advantage of the most cost-effective way to travel on the PA Turnpike.

The commission said the toll increase will keep PA Turnpike’s rates at mid-range among tolling agencies across the country.

Customers may notice their bill will look different after the launch of ORT, as invoices will show each gantry a customer passes under during their trip. Until ORT fully launches statewide on the mainline Turnpike in January 2027, tolls west of Reading where gantries are not yet operational will still be charged to a customer as an interchange-to-interchange trip like they were before.