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Toll roundup: Price hikes taking effect in 2012

Toll rates are set to increase on a number of trucking routes in the new year.

The following is a roundup of toll increases taking effect for commercial vehicles in 2012. Unless otherwise indicated, the new fares are set to begin Jan. 1.

Ohio Turnpike – A full-length trip for a five-axle truck will cost 10 percent more in the new year. An E-ZPass toll of $30, for example, will increase to $33 while the $40 cash toll will increase to $44. Passenger vehicle tolls are also on the rise. Pennsylvania Turnpike – Cash tolls are set to increase 10 percent for all vehicles while the E-ZPass toll rate will remain the same. A trucker hopping on the pike in Pittsburgh and heading 300 miles east to the New Jersey line currently pays $137.40 in cash or $128.64 for E-ZPass. According to the agency’s toll calculator, the cash toll will become $151.15 in the new year. New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway – Former Gov. Jon Corzine and the New Jersey Turnpike Authority implemented a toll schedule in 2008 that included a 53 percent increase for most vehicles in 2012. The current $32.50 truck toll for cash customers will increase to $49.75 in the new year, while the $29.70 E-ZPass toll will increase to $45.45. Discounts may apply based on volume and time of day. Port Authority of New York and New Jersey – E-ZPass truck tolls on the George Washington Bridge increased to $50 from $40 in September 2011, and will increase another $2 per axle each year from 2012 through 2015. That same truck toll will cost $90 by the time it’s all said and done. Other facilities will have similar rate increases. Customers who choose to pay cash will be subject to an additional $3 per-axle “penalty” on Port Authority facilities according to the agency. Maryland Transportation Authority – For five-axle trucks, cash tolls will increase to $36 from $30 and video tolls will increase to $51 from $45 on the Hatem Bridge and Kennedy Highway; cash tolls will increase to $18 from $12 and video tolls will increase to $27 from $18 on the Baltimore Harbor Crossing; cash tolls will increase to $24 from $15 and video tolls will increase to $36 from $22.50 on the Bay Bridge and Nice Bridge. Commercial volume discounts are available. Dulles Greenway – Baseline tolls and congestion tolls will increase 30 cents per unit. That means truckers will pay an extra 30 cents per axle in the new year and an additional 30 cents per axle of they use the Greenway during peak congestion periods. E-ZPass discounts apply on some stretches of roadway. Florida’s Turnpike – Cash tolls will increase 11.7 percent on June 30, 2012, to account for the past five years of inflation. Beyond 2013, the toll rate will be adjusted for inflation on five-year intervals. Illinois Tollway – Many truckers have asked about Illinois, but truck tolls there are not set to increase in the Prairie State again until 2015. The state agency will increase tolls on trucks by 60 percent between 2015 and 2017, and tie future increases to inflation starting in 2018. www.LandLineMag.com