PHILADELPHIA (KYW Newsradio) — Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will increase on Sunday, but it shouldn’t come as a surprise. Turnpike tolls have been rising each year since 2009.
Effective Jan. 7, they will go up again by 5%.
The toll hike is the latest in a series of scheduled annual increases. Under state legislation called Act 44 of 2007, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission was required to provide $450 million per year to fund PennDOT and mass transit systems, including SEPTA. It had to borrow money to fulfill that obligation, and it will be paying off that debt for 27 more years.
“We will be servicing that debt through 2051,” said Rosanne Placey, manager of communications and marketing, “and that’s why we’ll be requiring toll increases to continue through that time.”
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However, the toll hikes should shrink in the coming years.
“We’ll be having 5% increases through 2025. And then as of 2026, it’ll be a 4% annual increase,” she said.
From 2028 to 2051, the toll hikes will be reduced to 3%.
For now, that means the E-ZPass toll for a trip between Fort Washington and Valley Forge will cost $3.30, up from $3.10, starting Sunday. Toll-by-plate charges are 60% higher.
Even with the higher tolls, traffic volumes on the turnpike rose 3% last year, Placey said.