The Pennsylvania Turnpike approved a 6 percent increase for toll road drivers at its bi-monthly meeting Tuesday, affecting both E-ZPass and cash-paying customers.
The most common toll for a passenger vehicle with an E-ZPass will go from $1.30 to $1.38, according to the commission. The same cash fare would rise from $2.10 to $2.25.
Higher tolls take effect Jan. 6, 2019. Turnpike officials said the annual increases are necessary to meet the agency's Act 44 funding obligation, which requires the turnpike to pay $450 million to PennDOT annually.
Turpike CEO Mark Compton said the increase also supports maintenance and improvements to its 522 miles of roadway.
“This year, about 84 percent of our $552 million capital budget is focused on renewing, rebuilding and widening our highway system which last year carried more than 200 million vehicles,” he said.
The PTC reported Tuesday it had reconstructed more than 132 miles of its system so far, with another 19 miles of roadway under construction and 82 more in planning and design phases.
Auditor General Eugene DePasquale said in a statement that the eleventh consecutive annual increase is making Pennsylvania roadways unaffordable.
DePasquale reiterated his position that it's on legislators to address rising costs caused by Act 44.
