The Pennsylvania Turnpike sees somewhere around 500,000 drivers who traverse it every day. As we start the new year, it’s probably uprising for many to hear that the toll rates are rising by 5% in 2022 across the entire system except for the Southern Beltway west of Pittsburgh, writes Joe Zlomenk for The Sanatoga Post.

Despite the toll increase, this is the first time in six years that the increase has been less than 6 percent.

The newly raised rates apply to both E-ZPass device users who pay their tolls with digital accounts, as well as those who receive a monthly Toll By Plate invoice.

According to the Turnpike Commission, E-ZPass is the cheapest, “with some customers saving nearly 60 percent.”

For E-ZPass users, the most common toll for a passenger will increase from $1.60 to $1.70, while Toll By Plate customers it will be from $3.90 to $4.10. For other types of vehicles, the averages are substantially higher.

The purpose of the toll increase is to help pay down commission debt-service costs.

Although certain legislative changes have helped with some of the financial burdens, the commission still expects annual toll increases of 5 percent through 2025.

From there the increase will go to “4 percent in 2026, 3.5 percent in 2027, then 3 percent annually from 2028 to 2050,” reported the commission.

Read more about the Pennsylvania Turnpike toll increase at The Sanatoga Post.