Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike went up on January 3rd. In July, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission approved a 6% toll increase for all E-ZPass rates systemwide and for the PA Turnpike TOLL BY PLATE rates that had been established before the March 2020 conversion to All-Electronic Tolling (AET) at these six locations:

• Beaver Valley Expressway (I-376)
• Delaware River Bridge (New Jersey border)
• Gateway Toll Plaza (Ohio border)
• Greensburg Bypass (PA Turnpike 66)
• Keyser Avenue and Clarks Summit Tolls (I-476/Northeastern Extension)
• Findlay Connector (PA Turnpike 576/Southern Beltway)

According to the announcement, the toll increase, like others, was primarily driven by the PA Turnpike’s annual transit payments of $450 million to PennDOT as mandated by Acts 44 of 2007 and 89 of 2013. Since 2007, the commission has transferred $7 billion in funding to PennDOT.

In July, the commission also approved new TOLL BY PLATE rates at all other toll facilities that were converted to All-Electronic Tolling in March. These new rates, which took effect on January 3rd, include the 6% increase along with an additional 45% increase over the 2020 cash rate for TOLL BY PLATE motorists. The rates — which reflect the higher cost of collecting this way — will not be applied at the six toll facilities listed above.

“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,” PTC CEO Mark Compton explained. “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 2021 toll schedule is currently available here. Find out more about the toll increases here.