Drivers who use the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway will see their tolls increase by 3% Friday morning, the third increase in three years.
The new toll rates take effect at midnight, meaning commuters will pay the higher tolls for the first time during their Friday drive to work.
Gov. Phil Murphy approved the authority’s $2.6 billion budget on Jan. 30 after the authority’s board of commissioners voted the same day to approve it.
The 3% percent toll increase represents the third toll increase since 2020 done through an annual process called indexing. Turnpike Authority officials said last fall that the toll increase revenues help fund a portion of the agency’s capital budget.
The average toll paid on the Turnpike for a passenger vehicle will increase by 15 cents to $5.11, while the average Parkway commuter will pay an extra 5 cents per trip, said Tom Feeney, an authority spokesman. For a commuter taking the same route and going into the office each workday, that equates to an extra $78 for the year, he said.
Here’s how that breaks down.
Parkway drivers will see the cash toll rates increase to $2.20 for passenger vehicles at the 10 large toll plazas, up from the 2023 rate of $2.10. Most entrance and exit ramp cash tolls would rise to 80 cents from the 75 cent 2023 rate.
The exceptions to that are tolls at Exit 145 in East Orange increase from $1.45 in 2023 to $1.55, Exit 151 Watchung Avenue from $1.05 to $1.10 and at the Toms River toll plaza that increases from $1.05 to $1.10 on Friday.
E-ZPass rates on the Parkway increase from the 2023 rate of $2.02 for passenger cars to $2.09, reflecting a discount for using the electronic payment method. Most entrance and exit ramp tolls increase from the 2023 rate of 70 cents to 73 cents on Friday.
Exits that are the exceptions are passenger vehicle tolls at Exit 145 in East Orange, increasing from 2023′s rate of $1.39 to $1.45, Exit 151 Watchung Avenue and Toms River toll plaza, from $1.01 in 2023 to $1.05 for E-ZPass customers.
Passenger vehicle cash tolls to drive the entire length of the New Jersey Turnpike, from Exit 1, Delaware Memorial Bridge to Exit 18 for the George Washington Bridge in Ridgefield Park increases from $20.05 in 2023 to $20.70 on Friday. E-Pass tolls for the same trip increase from the 2023 rate of $20.05 to $20.62 on Friday.
Drivers who use a New Jersey issued E-ZPass issued will see their tolls increase form 2023′s rate of $15.01 to $15.46 to drive from exit 1 to exit 18.
Trucks and buses pay higher rates based on number of axles on both toll roads. New toll rates for those vehicles are available on the authority website.
The authority was later than other agencies to increase tolls this year, but not the only regional toll agencies that increased rates. Only the Delaware River Port Authority delivered a 2024 budget without a toll increase, a 13-year streak of holding Philadelphia-New Jersey bridge cash tolls at $5. That agency will revisit the issue in April when officials will re-examine budgets, costs and revenues.
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry
