Bad news for drivers: toll increases will take effect on the Pennsylvania Turnpike this weekend, along with a heavy surcharge for drivers who don’t use the EZ-Pass, drivers recall.
In July, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved a 6% increase to start on Sunday for EZ-Pass users, as well as for those without passes on the Toll by Plate program. They also approved a 45% surcharge on people whose tolls are assessed by post based on their license plates.
In the Toll by Plate option, high-speed cameras capture images of license plates as vehicles pass, and the registered owner then receives an invoice for trips made at the toll station. The authorities said that those who receive a Toll by Plate invoice have the option to open an E-ZPass account and pay the lowest fare.
“This balanced approach allows us to maintain a lower rate for those who choose a payment method that is less expensive to administer, while those who choose a more expensive payment option absorb those costs,” said Mark Compton, executive director of the commission, in a statement this week.
Previously, these drivers paid the same rate as money users, but cash payments were suspended amid the coronavirus pandemic as a way to reduce contact between drivers and tolls. The commission decided in May to keep the system penniless and laid off about 500 people, mostly toll collectors.
Six toll sites will not see the 45% jump as they served as cashless system pilots and the increases were already in place: Delaware River Bridge on the New Jersey border, Gateway Toll Plaza on the Ohio border, Beaver Valley Expressway on I -376, Greensburg Bypass, Findlay Connector and Clarks Summit at I-476 / Northeastern Extension.
Authorities said the changes were mainly driven by annual public transport payments on the $ 450 million highway to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation.
About 500,000 drivers usually travel on more than 550 kilometers of highway motorway each day, but traffic dropped 70% when businesses and schools switched to online operations in the spring and commercial traffic dropped by about 20%, authorities.
Richard Dreher, Turnpike’s chief financial officer, told The Morning Call of Allentown that revenues fell more than $ 200 million between March 1 and June 6, but non-commercial traffic fell by about 25%, while commercial traffic returned to normal.
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