Pennsylvania Turnpike OKs Toll Hike

The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission voted Tuesday to raise tolls for commercial vehicles and passenger cars starting Aug. 1, news services reported.

The toll increases total 5.3 cents a mile for commercial vehicles and 1.8 cents a mile for passenger cars, the Associated Press reported. The increase represents a 42% hike for all travelers.

The Philadelphia Inquirer reported that while the commission received more than 100 phone call and e-mails regarding the proposed toll hike, only James Runk, president of the Pennsylvania Motor Truck Association came to protest the hike in person at the commission's meeting.

The increase was the first in 13 years, AP reported. The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported that the toll hike will generate more than $100 million a year the commission will use to rebuild or replace 600 of the turnpike’s 815 bridges over the next 10 years, as well as reconstruction many sections of the roadway.

Runk told the commission the toll increase "could drive some small-business carriers out of business," the Inquirer reported. Runk also asked the commission to phase the toll increase in over a period of several years, similar to how the Ohio Turnpike managed its last toll increase to "soften the blow," AP said.

Commission Chairman Mitchell Rubin told AP his way of softening the blow was to show turnpike users "that they’re getting something in return for their dollar."