NEARBY: Toll Bridge Commission May Hike Fees To Cross Bridges

The Lower Makefield-based Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) is considering a toll hike on bridges between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.

If approved by the commission, the toll hike go into effect as soon as April 3 and again on January 6, 2024.

The DRJTBC justified their proposed toll increases by noting that they saw 11.8 million fewer toll transactions than had been anticipated in 2020, a 23.6 percent decline, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

DRJTBC Executive Director Joe Resta said in a statement that the commission collected 9.36 percent less toll revenue than had been projected for 2020.

“The commission has faced a steep reduction of traffic and revenue and is still in the throes of those losses,” said Resta. “The 2020 revenue losses leave a hole in our financial model, now and into the future.”

Below are the proposed toll increases:

The lion’s share of proposed toll adjustments would occur in 2021 and largely affect the seven commission toll bridges that have mixed-mode (E-ZPass and cash) toll plazas:  Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1), New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202), I-78, Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22), Portland-Columbia (Routes 611, 46, and 94), Delaware Water Gap (I-80), and Milford-Montague (Route 206).

Proposed 2021 rate changes at these locations include:

-Raise the $1 E-ZPass toll for Class 1 passenger vehicles (two axles and less than 8 feet high) by 25 cents to $1.25.
-Raise the $1 cash toll for Class 1 passenger vehicles by $2 to $3.
-Raise the $1 surcharge for Class 1 vehicles with a bumper-hitch trailer in tow by a $1, making for an added $2 toll.
-Establish uniform per-axle rates for Class 2-to-7 vehicles (two or more axles and 8-feet and above in height) at $4.50 for E-ZPass and $5 for cash. Class 2 vehicles currently are charged $3.25 per-axle for E-ZPass and cash; Class 3 vehicles and larger currently are charged $4 per-axle for E-ZPass and cash.

The new tolls would be:

-Class 2 — 2 axles — $9 E-ZPass; $10 cash
-Class 3 — 3 axles — $13.50 E-ZPass; $15 cash
-Class 4 — 4 axles — $18 E-ZPass; $20 cash
-Class 5 — 5 axles — $22.50 E-ZPass; $25 cash
-Class 6 — 6 axles — $27 E-ZPass; $30 cash
-Class 7 — 7 axles — $31.50 E-ZPass; $35 cash

The proposed rate changes would be less impactful at the Scudder Falls (I-295) Toll Bridge, which opened to traffic in July 2019 with a toll schedule charging different rates for E-ZPass and TOLL BY PLATE transactions.  The proposed 2021 toll adjustment would affect rates at this location as follows:

-Maintain the $1.25 E-ZPass toll for Class 1 passenger vehicles
-Raise the TOLL BY PLATE Class 1 vehicle toll to $3 from the current $2.60 -Raise the $1 surcharge for Class 1 vehicles with a bumper-hitch trailer in tow by $1, making the additional toll $2.
-Increase the per-axle rates for Class 2-to-7 vehicles (two or more axles and 8-feet and above in height) to $4.50 for E-ZPass and $5 TOLL BY PLATE. Class 2 vehicles currently are charged $3.50 per axle E-ZPass and $4.175 per axle TOLL BY PLATE.  Class 3 vehicles and above currently are charged $4.25 per axle E-ZPass and $4.75 TOLL BY PLATE.  The resulting new tolls would be the same as those listed for Class 2 to Class 7 at the seven other toll bridges.

Proposed Toll Rate & E-ZPass Discount Adjustments – 2024

A second series of less-expansive toll adjustments are proposed to take place on or after January 6, 2024.  The changes would be applied at all eight toll bridges as follows:

-The Class 1 vehicle E-ZPass rate would increase by 25 cents to a $1.50 toll. The combined Class 1 vehicle and bumper-hitch trailer toll for E-ZPass would rise accordingly, to $3.50.
-Commercial vehicles (vehicle classes 2 and above) would see no toll adjustment.
-The Commission’s E-ZPass commuter discount program would be eliminated in its entirety at all eight of the Commission toll bridges.

The commission said their plan calls for reducing or eliminating E-ZPass discounts at all eight toll bridges under the proposed 2021 adjustments.

The DRJTBC called for keeping the frequency-based commuter discount through 2023, but the discount would be reduced to 20 percent from the current 40 percent.

The commission noted that the proposed toll hike is the first system-wide increase in 10 years.

The DRJTBC is offering residents the chance to comment on the proposed toll changes.

The commission is commencing a 26-day comment period for the proposed adjustments.  Due to COVID-19, three virtual/remote hearings will be held through the Zoom online public platform and by teleconferencing.  Pre-registration is required to speak at a remote hearing.

The three virtual hearings are scheduled as follows:

-February 17, 2021 – 10 a.m. to noon
-February 17, 2021 – 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
-February 18, 2021 – 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.

Zoom access links and teleconferencing numbers and codes for the online hearings will be posted Feb. 10 on the webpage the commission is publishing for this toll adjustment comment process — www.drjtbc.org/tollcomments.  Individuals interested only in watching the live-stream Zoom broadcast will need to provide, at a minimum, a name and e-mail address.  Teleconferencing will be the only means for individuals to listen to the hearings without providing any identifying information.

Members of the public who wish to provide verbal comment at a virtual hearing through Zoom or via teleconferencing must register ahead of the meeting dates.  Registrations will be accepted online at a portal on www.drjtbc.org/tollcomments or by phone at 1-855-721-0444 from Feb. 10 to 4 p.m. Feb. 16.  Further instructions for registering online or by phone will be published on www.drjtbc.org/tollcomments by Feb. 10.

Online commenters will need to provide their first name and last name, municipality and state of residence, and an email address (for confirmation purposes).  Individuals planning to speak by phone through a teleconference phone number must provide their first name and last name, municipality and state of residence, and the last four digits of the phone number they will use to call into a selected hearing.

Individuals can provide comment for up to three minutes at one hearing.  Registration is first-come, first-served until all available slots at each respective hearing are filled.

Under commission policy, additional comment methods are available for the public:

-Online: Go to the toll-comment form portal posted at drjtbc.org/tollcomments
-Mail: address to Director of Community Affairs Jodee Inscho, DRJTBC Administration Building, 1199 Woodside Road, Yardley, PA. 19067 (Must be postmarked by Feb. 26 to be part of the official record.)
-Phone (comment and pre-registration line): 1-855-721-0444

The webpage — www.drjtbc.org/tollcomments – provides additional guidance and links on the proposed toll adjustment.  The page has a link for downloading Zoom onto a computer or mobile phone, an explanation of the toll hearing/comment process, key dates, frequently asked questions, and other information related to the proposed toll adjustments.

The public comment period officially begins Feb. 1, 2021 and shall end 4 p.m. Feb. 26, 2021. Comments received after the deadline will not be accepted.  Anonymous comments will not be accepted.  Eligible commenters’ names and municipalities/states of residence will be included with their respective comments as part of the public record for this proposed toll adjustment.

All eligible comments will be presented to DRJTBC Commissioners prior to taking action (approve, modify-approve, or reject) on the proposed toll adjustments at the commission’s monthly virtual meeting scheduled for 10:30 a.m. March 29.

DRJTBC operates eight toll bridges and 12 non-revenue-generating “toll-supported” bridges that connect Pennsylvania and New Jersey along the the Delaware River. In total, the agency also has 73 lane miles of road surface, 34 short-distance approach bridges (overpasses or viaducts), and various other maintenance and operational facilities, including several in Bucks County.

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