MIDDLETOWN, Pa. — The cost of the commonwealth’s largest toll road continued to climb Sunday, as the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission's annual toll increase went into effect.
The average cost for E-Z Pass drivers jumped ten cents to $1.90, and the average cost for those billed via toll-by-plate increased 30 cents to $4.70.
Professional videographer Thato Dadson from Bucks County is a regular on the toll road.
"I’m always traveling back and forth whether for client meetings or going to conventions, you name it," Dadson said. "The turnpike is a very important part of my daily life."
It also makes a big dent in his budget.
"One of the biggest expenses on my account is tolls for travel," Dodson said.
And that expense is about to get bigger.
Tolls increased 5% on Sunday and will do the same in 2025. Additionally, they will increase by 4% percent in 2026, 3.5% in 2027, and 3% percent every year from 2028 until 2051.
Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission spokesperson Rosanne Placey says that they have to raise the cost; it's a response stemming back to debt that occurred over financial obligations signed into law by state legislators in 2007. Click here for a full list oft he 2024 increases.
"Over the course of the past 15, 16 years, we've paid PennDOT $8 billion," Placey said. "But, the debt to borrow that $8 billion is twice that amount.”
Officials state that the increases have nothing to do with uncollected tolls.
"We collect anywhere between 93 and 94% of our tolls," Placey added. "That which is uncollectable we refer to as leakage, and just like any other industry or business, leakage is planned for."
It’s also not a response to projects such as the Open Road Tolling or the agency's general operational costs, which have stayed relatively steady over the last 15 years.
"We do not want to burden our customers any further. So, we keep our operational costs as low as possible," Placey explained.
Some drivers like Raymond Leone from New Jersey say the annual increase doesn’t bother them.
“No I don’t care, no," he said. "If it makes it easier for me, and they make a couple of bucks, I don’t care.”
Meanwhile, others are shifting their opinion.
“I’m not going to stop using the turnpike, but it’s going to make me want to change my routes up a little bit," Dadson said. "If it’s a location I can get to easily without the turnpike, then I’ll go around and take the back roads."
Turnpike officials say despite increases, the road’s per-mile passenger rate continues to be below the national average when compared with other U.S. tolling agencies.