Delaware River bridge commission considering toll hikes on bridges between Pennsylvania, New Jersey

(The Center Square) – The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) is considering whether to increase tolls on eight bridges between New Jersey and Pennsylvania.

If the commission’s 10-member Board of Commissioners approves the rate hike, the tolls will increase on April 3, 2021, and again on Jan. 6, 2024. The agency said it would be the first system-wide toll “adjustment” in 10 years.

The agency argues the increase is necessary because of “traffic and revenue declines caused by the COVID-19” pandemic. DRJTBC recorded 11.8 million fewer toll transactions in 2020 than projected, a 23.6 percent decline, and took in nearly 9.4 percent less toll revenue than projected.

“The Commission has faced a steep reduction of traffic and revenue and is still in the throes of those losses,” DRJTBC Executive Director Joe Resta said in a news release. “The 2020 revenue losses leave a hole in our financial model, now and into the future.

“For months, we have worked on a plan that would bring the Commission to operational and fiscal stability, allowing the Commission to continue its mission to the people that use our toll and toll-supported bridges, and to keep our facilities in a good state of repair, now and into the future,” Resta added.

The bridge commission receives its revenue from tolls and does not see any funding from the states or the federal government. DRJTBC’s operating revenues topped $144.9 million for the year ending Dec. 31, 2019, an increase of more than 10.2% from a year earlier.

Last year, bond-rating firms gave DRJTBC a negative outlook.

DRJTBC wants to establish a two-tier toll system. Motorists who pay by cash or “toll-by-plate” would pay more than those using an E-ZPass, which accounted for 75 percent of DRJTBC toll transactions in 2019.

In December, another agency, the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), announced it would not increase tolls on its bridges. The DRPA board approved a $305.1 million 2021 annual operating budget, a decrease of 0.83% from 2020.

For more information about the proposed toll changes, visit drjtbc.org/newtolls.

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Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission data trends

Annual Average Daily Traffic20162017201820192020Total – Toll-Supported Bridges153,300149,000141,000116,40077,300Total Commission-Wide Annual Average Daily Traffic394,800394,000381,400 380,600305,000Total Commission-Wide Yearly Traffic144.5 million143.8 million139.2 million 138.9 million111.6 million

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