Pennsylvania Turnpike toll increases announced last year will take effect just after midnight Sunday, Jan. 3, and if you’re not using the state’s E-ZPass program, the hike will be a steep one.

Over the summer, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved a 6% hike for all E-ZPass rates systemwide, along with an additional 45% hike over the 2020 cash rate for the PA Turnpike Toll By Plate program.

As in recent years — 2021 will be the 13th year in a row the commission has raised toll rates — the hike is mostly driven by the PA Turnpike’s annual $450 million transit payment to PennDOT, commission officials said Wednesday.

Since 2007, the commission has transferred $7 billion to the state’s transportation agency.

For the new Toll By Plate program, the 51% hike — which reflects the increased cost of collecting tolls in this manner — will not be applied to six existing toll plazas:

• Beaver Valley Expressway (I-376)

• Delaware River Bridge at the New Jersey border

• Gateway Toll Plaza at the Ohio border

• Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit (I-476/Northeastern Extension)

• Findlay Connector (Turnpike 576/Southern Beltway).

“The new Toll By Plate rates offset the higher costs the commission incurs to process the toll, mail the invoices and collect payment — a pricing approach used by tolling agencies across the nation to cover the cost of administering AET systems,” commission CEO Mark Compton said. “This balanced approach allows us to maintain a lower rate for those choosing a payment method that is less costly to administer, while those who choose a pricier payment option absorb those costs.”

The move to an all-electronic system resulted in 500 layoffs in June, most of whom were toll collectors.

E-ZPass is cheapest

E-ZPass users will receive the lowest rate across the PA Turnpike.

Starting Jan. 3, the most common passenger-vehicle toll will increase from $1.50 to $1.60 for E-ZPass customers — but will jump from $2.50 to $3.90 for those using Toll By Plate. The most common toll for a Class 5 tractor-trailer will increase from $12.20 to $13 for E-ZPass users, and from $17.30 to $26.60 for Toll By Plate users.

Compton said 86% of PA Turnpike travelers currently use E-ZPass.

“Now that hundreds of grocery stores in the Commonwealth offer E-ZPass, chances are you pass by at least one of them,” Compton said. “Because of our low administration and enrollment fees, and the ability to set up an automatically replenished or cash-funded E-ZPass account, there’s no reason not to get it.”

Visit PATurnpike.com for a full 2021 toll schedule.

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