Truckers hit with a major toll hike on the Pennsylvania Turnpike

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PTC) approved another significant toll increase that will go into effect in early 2024.

On July 18, the PTC voted to approve a 5% toll increase for 2024 for all E-ZPass and Toll By Plate customers.

The most-common toll for a Class-5 tractor trailer will increase from $14.40 to $15.20 for E-ZPass and from $29.40 to $30.90 for Toll By Plate, according to the PTC.

The toll rate increase will go into effect on January 7, 2024, at 12:01 a.m.  

This marks the 16th year in a row that the PTC has increased the Turnpike toll rate.

“As in previous years, the PTC is obligated to raise rates annually as part of its legislative mandate to provide PennDOT supplemental funding for transit systems around the state as outlined by Act 44 of 2007,” said PA Turnpike CEO Mark Compton. “While these payments were once $450 million a year, they have been reduced to $50 million annually. However, our organization had to borrow to make those payments, which total nearly $8 billion.”

“We recognize that our customers pay a premium when they choose to travel on the PA Turnpike,” Compton said. “In return, we endeavor to provide a dependable, premium experience that gets our customers safely to their destinations in a timely fashion.”

While the PTC plans to keep increasing toll rates for the foreseeable future, they hope to decrease the annual increase from 5% to 3% by 2028.