PA Turnpike Rates About To Rise Yet Again

PENNSYLVANIA — Tolls on the Pennsylvania turnpike will increase 5 percent for all E-ZPass and toll by plate riders beginning Jan. 7. According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, the most common toll for a passenger vehicle will increase from $1.80 to $1.90 for E-ZPass customers and from $4.40 to $4.70 for toll by plate motorists.

For those driving a Class-5 tractor trailer, the most common toll increase will increase from $14.40 to $15.20 for E-ZPass and from $29.40 to $30.90 for toll by plate.

Why another year of increases?

The turnpike commission contends it must raise rates annually as part of a 2007 legislative mandate to provide supplemental funding for transit systems across the state. Because of the amount that has been borrowed, motorists who use the turnpike can expect annual toll increases through 2053.

Commission CEO Mark Compton said that despite the annual increases, the turnpike's per-mile passenger rate continues to be below the national average when compared with other tolling agencies across the country. Among 47 toll road, bridge, and tunnel operators in the U.S., the PA Turnpike’s E-ZPass passenger rate of 15 cents per mile is nearly 20 percent below the national average of 18 cents.

Additionally, the turnpike's E-ZPass commercial rate of 55 cents per mile is 12 percent below the national average of 62 cents per mile.

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