NJ Monitor
By SOPHIE NIETO-MUNOZ
Republished with permission from New Jersey Monitor
Driving throughout New Jersey and into New York is going to cost more as the new year starts, with tolls and fares on the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike rising along with tolls at Hudson River crossings.
The cost hikes come as public transit is becoming pricier, too, with 3 percent NJ Transit fare hikes expected in July — the agency hiked fares as high as 15 percent six months ago — and a PATH fare increase of 25 cents slated to begin Jan. 12.
Transportation advocates and public officials say the cost hikes are needed to pay for critical infrastructure projects and for increases in internal costs. Critics say they are too much for everyday New Jerseyans.
“That’s a lot of loaves of bread or gallons of milk that Ocean County families would rather spend that money on,” Assemblyman Greg McGuckin (R-Ocean) said last month when the New Jersey Turnpike Authority passed its budget that includes revenue from the fare hikes. “This increase targets my constituents, many of whom travel the Parkway every day to support their families. They are fed up with out-of-control government spending and tone-deaf bureaucrats who act like feudal overlords.”
Starting today, parkway and turnpike tolls will increase for the fifth time since 2020, when the Turnpike Authority approved its indexing process that allows the board to bump tolls 3% annually without a dedicated public hearing.
Turnpike officials say the average commuter will pay 16 cents more for turnpike tolls, 8 cents more at parkway toll plazas, and 3 cents more at parkway exit and entrance ramps.
The 2024 increases that went into effect on March 1 amounted to an average 15-cent increase on the turnpike and 5 cents on the parkway.
Drivers using Port Authority bridges and tunnels — the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln and Holland tunnels, Bayonne Bridge, Goethals Bridge, and Outerbridge Crossing — also will pay more.
The average motorist using E-ZPass now pays a $15.38 toll during peak hours. After a 25-cent hike plus a separate inflation-related hike approved in 2019, that toll will be $16.06 starting Jan. 5.
The biggest jolt to some commuters’ wallets will be for those who drive into Manhattan below 60th Street.
The $9 congestion toll is meant to raise funds for the cash-strapped Metropolitan Transportation Authority, the agency in charge of New York City’s subway and bus systems. The plan is also meant to alleviate gridlock in Manhattan’s central business district and reduce traffic-related pollution.
Under the current plan, tolls for motorists using E-ZPass during peak hours will be $9 once daily for cars, $4.50 for motorcycles, $14.40 for small trucks and non-commuter buses, and $21.40 for large trucks and sightseeing buses.
Customers using taxis will get hit with a 75-cent fee, and those using ride-share apps will see an extra $1.50 charge.
The toll will be highest between 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m. to 9 p.m. on weekends. Outside of those peak hours, the toll will be 75 percent cheaper.
Gov. Phil Murphy and New Jersey officials have been staunchly opposed to congestion pricing since its inception. A federal judge is still mulling a Murphy administration lawsuit intended to halt the plan.
PATH train riders will see their first fare increase since 2014, a quarter hike from $2.75 to $3 for each ride, effective Jan. 12.
As a part of NJ Transit’s plan to solve its budget woes, the board approved a plan over the summer that included an immediate fare hike of up to 15 percent and annual 3 percent hikes moving forward. The first of the annual hikes is set to take effect in July.
