Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls will increase by 6% in 2019

Tolls on the Pennsylvania Turnpike will increase by 6% in early 2019, officials from the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission reported on Tuesday (19659002). The increase, approved Tuesday by the commission, will come into effect on January 6th. for E-ZPass customers will increase from $ 1.30 to $ 1.38, according to the commission, and from $ 2.10 to $ 2.25 for drivers paying cash.

Additional revenues will be used to maintain the state's 552-mile toll highway system. The board pays $ 450 million annually to PennDot for transit funding. Tolls have increased every year since 2009, partly to pay for a long-term reconstruction project and to service the debt.

Tolls will also increase on the Delaware River Bridge in Bucks County, which has not increased since. 2016.

The annual turnpike commission payment to PennDot is expected to fall in 2022 to $ 50 million, which could create funding issues for transportation agencies like SEPTA that depend on the money of the company. 39; State. SEPTA is participating in two studies with the Allegheny County Port Authority at a combined cost of over $ 900,000 that will explore how transportation agencies can offset the anticipated loss of toll money, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported last week. The $ 750 million capital budget relies on $ 375 million from the state. SEPTA estimated that one-third to one-half of this money could come from the toll highway.

The tendency to steadily increase tolls is not sustainable, said Eugene DePasquale, the Pennsylvania's Auditor General, in a statement released on Tuesday. have teams that audit PennDOT and the Turnpike Commission, "said DePasquale. The results of these two checks could help relieve motorists who are already tired of duty increases.

DePasquale has, in past audits, noted the amount of money not collected by the offenders, which his office told the Turnpike Commission.

The Turnpike Commission raised approximately $ 1.2 million in net revenue during the previous fiscal year. About 84% of the commission's $ 552 million investment budget is spent on road projects. The debt service for the 2019 fiscal year is expected to rise to about $ 670 million.