PA Turnpike Tolls To Rise Again As Open Road Tolling Goes Statewide

PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls will rise again as the entire turnpike mainline stretching from the New Jersey to Ohio borders converts to open road tolling on Jan. 3.

Open road tolling was rolled out in the eastern part of the state, specifically east of Reading on the Northeastern Extension, in 2025. The statewide conversion is nearly complete.

Under the ORT system, tolls are charged electronically as customers drive without slowing down or stopping beneath overhead gantries that have been placed between interchanges.

What that means for motorists is that they will get a drive-by-mile charge and a single toll per segment (the distance between interchanges) rather than the aggregated trip toll they currently receive.

Here's what drivers of a typical two-axle vehicle will pay beginning in January:

• For E-ZPass customers: $.07 cents per mile and $1.09 per segment.

• Toll-By-Plate customers: $0.14 per mile +and $2.18 per segment.

That represents a 3.5 percent toll rate hike over current tolls, and it will be the 19th straight year that rates have risen. Turnpike commission officials have said they have had no choice but to increase the tolls.

"The annual toll increases are driven by Act 44, a law passed in 2007 requiring the Turnpike to help fund transportation initiatives across Pennsylvania,"a Turnpike blog post states. "Rather than raising taxes, Act 44 used toll revenue to support state infrastructure."

For the 86 percent of turnpike motorists who use E-Z Pass, toll payments will be deducted from the user's account at the E-Z Pass price. Otherwise, a toll-by-plate invoice will be sent to the vehicle's registered owner. Turnpike officials said this method is more expensive because of processing costs.