TRENTON, N.J. – Toll increases are coming and Assemblyman Bob Auth wants motorists to know exactly how much Gov. Phil Murphy and the N.J. Turnpike Authority are exacting from them.
Auth introduced a bill (A395) that would require toll amounts collected via EZ-Pass be electronically displayed in every lane of toll plazas on the N.J. Turnpike, Garden State Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway. His bill exempts cash payments and high-speed EZ-Pass only lanes from that requirement.
“The governor and Authority keep increasing the tolls with impunity because drivers aren’t cognizant of what the fees are. They simply get an acknowledgment ‘toll paid,’” Auth (R-Bergen) said. “My bill requires the amount be promptly displayed and subsequently the traveling public may become more reluctant to accepting increases.”
After vetoing it back in October, Murphy signaled he will approve the NJTA’s $2.6 billion budget that calls for a 3% toll increase on the Turnpike and Parkway. (The AC Expressway is operated by the South Jersey Transportation Authority.) It is the third toll increase the governor has approved since 2020, adding an additional $78 to the average commuter’s travel costs this round.
The increase goes into effect March 1.
“It might not seem like much, but how many loaves of bread or gallons of milk can a family buy with $80 that now has to go to traveling costs,” Auth added. “We’re safely past the election now, so that’s not on bureaucrats’ minds, but I can assure you it’s a load on every working Jerseyan’s mind.”