Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
Starting Sunday, it’s going to cost you a little more to drive on the Pennsylvania Turnpike.
Toll rates are increasing by 12 percent for cash customers and 2 percent for E-ZPass customers. The increased rates take effect at 12:01 .a.m Sunday.
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“With the increase, E-ZPass customers who now see about a 25-percent savings on tolls will save at least 35 percent compared to cash,” a Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission press release reads.
The increase is being blamed on funding needed to support “ground-transportation needs and enhance traveler safety across the state.” The state says a portion of the money will be used to upgrade parts of the aging 550-mile highway system and invest in improvements for the future.
From PennDOT:
A transportation-funding law known as Act 89 lowered the amount of funding that the PTC provides to PennDOT under Act 44 of 2007. With the new law, the PTC’s annual payments to PennDOT will remain at $450 million for the next eight years — through June of 2022. But, starting in fiscal year 2023, the payments drop to $50 million per year until the Act 44 agreement ends in 2057.
“We’re grateful to the general assembly and Governor Corbett for the long-term financial relief the PTC saw under Act 89,” said Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “However, it does not erase our debt or end our current Act-44 funding obligation. As a result, the PTC will need to continue to increase tolls annually for the foreseeable future.”
The PTC has transferred almost $4.1 billion to PennDOT in the last six years to meet Act 44 obligations, and it has incurred almost $4.6 billion in bond debt since 2007 to finance those payments. Although the end result of Act 89 is that the PTC’s total obligation to PennDOT over the 50-year term of Act 44 is cut significantly, from $24 billion to $8 billion, it does not indicate an end to the commission’s financial responsibility to the commonwealth.
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Turnpike officials hope to increase the amount of people using the E-ZPass system. The system eliminates the need for as many human collectors at the toll plazas and is overall cheaper than a cash transaction. Lower rates for E-ZPass customers began in 2011. TMABucks notes the average E-ZPass costs five to 10 times less per transaction than processing a cash toll.
Here are two ways to sign up for E-ZPass:
– Many customers get E-ZPass online at www.paturnpike.com or by calling 1-877-PENN-PASS (1-877-736-6727). Customers can also buy an E-ZPass GoPak at more than 300 retailers across the state, including most AAA offices and at certain stores in these chains: Acme, Giant Eagle and GetGo, Karns, Walmart, Wegmans and coming soon to the Sunoco A-Plus convenience stores at all Pennsylvania Turnpike service plazas. The E-ZPass GoPak allows travelers to obtain a transponder that is already activated and can be used immediately.
– TMA Bucks member Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission reminds everyone that E-ZPass account holders are eligible for automatic rebated discounts on their tolls. E-ZPass users also reduce their commuting times and save gas as special E-ZPass only lanes process vehicles more rapidly, enabling travelers to proceed with their trips in a timelier manner. Meanwhile, Express E-ZPass/Open Road Tolling lanes enable E-ZPass-equipped motorists to pay their tolls while traveling at highways speeds. You can sign up for E-ZPass through DRJTBC by going here: https://www.ezpassdrjtbc.com/
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