DAUPHIN COUNTY, Pa. — Starting Sunday, Jan 8, tolls along the Pennsylvania Turnpike will increase by 5% for all E-ZPass and Toll By Plate Customers.
Drivers across the commonwealth expressed frustration and dissatisfaction with the price hike.
The most common toll for a passenger vehicle next year will increase from $1.70 to $1.80 for E-ZPass customers and from $4.10 to $4.40 for Toll By Plate customers.
The most common toll for a Class-5 tractor trailer will increase from $13.70 to $14.40 for E-ZPass and from $28 to $29.40 for Toll By Plate.
Harrisburg resident Nicholas Hart says he doesn’t take the Pennsylvania Turnpike often, but tries to avoid the tolls because he doesn’t have an E-ZPass.
“For commuting, it will end up being a bit of a problem because you’re going up a couple of cents but it’s pretty much like when it comes to gas prices, it goes up a few cents but it adds up over time,” said Hart.
According to the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC), the Pa. Turnpike ranks 24th out of 47 U.S. tolling agencies in Electronic Toll Collection (ETC). PTC's Mark Compton said although there are annual increases, the per-mile toll rate continues to be below the midline compared to other U.S. tolling agencies.
“It’s not good,” said Peter Thon, a resident of Harrisburg. Thon moved from South Sudan to Harrisburg 20 years ago and tells FOX43 that the drivers can’t compete with the gas prices or the economy.
“Sometimes you don’t have a choice…when you have to go to York and I-83 is all backed up, there’s no other way… you have to take the Turnpike,” said Thon.
In the 15 years since Act 44 of 2007, the Pa. Turnpike has transferred nearly $8 billion in funding to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the vast majority of which was in the form of borrowing (issuance of bond debt) that must be repaid by the PTC over a 30-year period.
Up until this year, the PTC’s annual requirement to the Commonwealth had been $450 million. But as of July 1, that dropped to $50 million per year in cash proceeds, with no further bond issues, because of Pa. Act 89 of 2013.
“I’m still waiting for the Turnpike to reduce the tolls down to nothing like they were supposed to do back in the beginning,” said Charles Stevens, a York resident. “Once they had enough tolls it was supposed to pay for itself and go away, but I’m not holding my breath on that.”
Based on current traffic and revenue projections, the PTC’s plan calls for future toll increases of 5% through 2025, 4% in 2026, 3.5% in 2027, then 3% annually from 2028 to 2050.
The PTC began making Act 44 payments to PennDOT in August 2007 and has increased tolls annually since 2009, providing $8 billion in toll-backed funding to PennDOT in 15 years.