NEARBY: Delaware River Toll Bridge Fees Increasing

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) voted Monday to approve toll hikes.

The Lower Makefield-based commission approved toll increases that are set to start on Sunday, April 11 and a second set of increases will take place in January 2024.

The DRJTBC said the most frequently paid toll – passenger vehicles equipped with E-ZPass – will rise 25 cents to $1.25.

The DRJTBC noted one significant change is the establishment of a two-tier toll rate system. Cash and toll-by-plate customers will pay more than motorists using E-ZPass, which is common among toll roads. The different pricing is to cover the additional cost from non-E-ZPass tolling.

The passenger vehicle cash toll will rise from $1 to $3.

The toll hikes are designed to offset the burden of COVID-19 revenue declines, funding capital projects, and pay down financial obligations, officials said.

Below is the DRJTBC outline of plan approved Monday:

1. Provide a uniform toll schedule for the DRJTBC’s eight toll bridges at: Milford-Montague (Route 206), Delaware Water Gap (I-80), Portland-Columbia (Routes 611, 46 and 94), Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22), I-78, New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202), Scudder Falls (I-295) and Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1).
2. Establish a two-tier toll adjustment for Class 1 passenger vehicles starting April 11; to $1.25 for E-ZPass, $3 for cash, and $3 for TOLL BY PLATE (Scudder Falls).
3. Set the added toll for Class 1 passenger vehicles with bumper-hitch trailers in tow at $2 starting April 11.
4. Authorize the Class 1 E-ZPass passenger vehicle toll to be $1.50 in January 2024.
5. Maintain a frequency-based Class 1 E-ZPass commuter discount for 2021 through 2023 at 20 percent (applied retroactively on 16 or more trips across DRJTBC toll bridges in a calendar month with a Commission-affiliated E-ZPass tag) starting May 1.
6. Eliminate the Class 1 E-ZPass commuter discount in its entirety in January 2024.
7. Establish a uniform commercial vehicle rate table (Class 2 and above) and set new two-tier rates for trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles (defined as any vehicle with two or more axles and eight-feet or above in height) at $4.50 per-axle for E-ZPass, $5 per-axle for cash, and $5 per-axle for TOLL BY PLATE (Scudder Falls) starting April 11.
8. Eliminate the off-peak E-ZPass discount for commercial vehicles (Class 2 and above) starting April 11.

DRJTBC Executive Director Joe Resta said the toll increases will help cover losses incurred by the 9.36 percent drop in toll revenue in 2020. Revenue declines have continued in 2021.

The increases will also help cover capital projects, go toward debt service, and strengthen the financial reserves.

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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