By Michael Richter
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For the 15th year in a row, the cost to travel on the Pennsylvania Turnpike is about to go up.
The new rates, which were approved by the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission in July, will take effect 12:01 a.m. Jan. 7.
The PTC said 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 customers. The most common rates for tractor-trailers will increase from $14.40 $15.20 for E-ZPass holders and from $29.40 to $30.90 for Toll By Plate drivers.
“As in previous years, the PTC is obligated to raise rates annually as part of its legislative mandate to provide PennDOT supplemental funding for transit systems around the state as outlined by Act 44 of 2007,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “While these payments were once $450 million a year, they have been reduced to $50 million annually. However, our organization had to borrow to make those payments, which total nearly $8 billion.”
The toll hike is related to Act 44 of 2007, which required the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission to transfer between $450 million and $900 million annually to PennDOT to support transportation projects across the state. A law passed in 2013, Act 89, dropped the annual payments to $50 million starting in 2023.
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