The first toll hike in a decade goes into effect Sunday for drivers crossing Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission spans between Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Last month, the commission approved two sets of toll increases, citing the COVID-19 pandemic’s slashing of commuter traffic and bridge revenue, which has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels.
Toll changes are planned for Sunday and then in January 2024, and affect the commission’s eight toll bridges.
That includes the Route 22 and Interstate 78 crossings in the Easton/Phillipsburg area, as well as the I-295 Scudder Falls Toll Bridge, the Trenton-Morrisville Route 1, New Hope-Lambertville Route 202, Portland-Columbia Routes 611, 46 & 94, Delaware Water Gap I-80, and the Milford-Montague Route 206 bridges.
Cash-paying customers will see a jump from $1 to $3, while E-ZPass customers will start paying $1.25.
The E-ZPass commuter discount will drop to 20% on Sunday and stay that way through 2023. The discount applies to drivers who make 16 or more trips across DRJTBC toll bridges with a commission-affiliated E-ZPass tag in a calendar month.
The E-ZPass commuter discount will end in January 2024, just as the class 1 passenger vehicle E-ZPass toll will increase from $1.25 to $1.50.
At the same time, the 10% off-peak E-ZPass discount for commercial vehicles will also be eliminated.
The last DRJTBC toll increase was in 2011, when the toll jumped from 75 cents to $1 for cash-paying passenger vehicles, 45 cents to 60 cents for the E-ZPass commuter discount, and 75 cents more for multi-axle trucks and commercial vehicles.
Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com.
Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com.