ExpeditersOnline.com The Expedited Freight Information Center

New Jersey officials Friday approved a plan to increase tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, while offering trucks bulk discounts, Bloomberg reported.

The plan calls for a 40% hike in tolls effective Dec. 1, with another 50% hike planned for 2012, Bloomberg said.

Trucking firms that spend more than $10,000 a month on tolls will receive a 10% discount, while carriers spending less than that will get 5% discounts, Gail Toth, executive director of the New Jersey Motor Truck Association, told Transport Topics.

The increases, which the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s board approved unanimously, are subject to Gov. Jon Corzine’s approval, but Corzine (D) told the board he would agree to them, Bloomberg said.