PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD OPENS ON PROPOSED 2026 TOLL ADJUSTMENTS
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) today announced that it will conduct a 30-day-long public comment period on the proposed system-wide toll adjustment for 2026 that was announced in late July.
The Commission has posted a comment form on the webpage listing the proposed toll adjustment rates that – if approved – would take effect on a yet-to-be-determined date in early 2026. The webpage’s address is: https://www.drjtbc.org/proposednewtolls
Under Commission policy, additional comment submission methods are
- S. Mail — address the submission to Director of Community Affairs Jodee Inscho, DRJTBC Administration Building, 1199 Woodside Road, Yardley, PA. 19067. (Mailed comments must be postmarked by October 17 to be part of the official record.)
- E-mail – messages can be sent to tollcomments@drjtbc.org.
To be included in the official record, individuals must provide their first and last names, municipality of residence, and state of residence. E-mail addresses and phone numbers are requested for confirmation purposes, but will not be included in the official record. Anonymous submissions will not be included in the official record and will be discarded.
The Commission also plans to take comment via hearings that are expected to be scheduled for some time in October. Information on the public hearings will be announced when finalized.
The official comment period is scheduled to end 4 p.m. (close of business) on October 17.
All eligible comments are compiled into a report with responses from DRJTBC staff and presented to DRJTBC Commissioners prior to taking action (approve, modify-approve, or reject) on the potential toll adjustments at a subsequent Commission meeting.
(Note: Members of the public would have one final opportunity to provide comment at the respective monthly business meeting where DRJTBC Commissioners schedule a vote on the proposed 2026 toll adjustment.)
The Commission announced its intent to consider a system-wide toll adjustment on July 28, explaining that the toll changes would enable the agency to offset rising construction-industry costs, maintain strong credit ratings, and finance new transportation-infrastructure improvements.
Under the proposed schedule of toll-rate changes, the E-ZPass rate for Class 1 passenger vehicles (two axles and below eight-feet high) would rise 50 cents to a $2 toll. The corresponding TOLL BY PLATE rate for the same vehicle without E-ZPass would increase $2 to a $5 toll. Meanwhile, the per-axle E-ZPass rate for vehicles eight-feet or above in height would rise $2 to a $6.50-per-axle toll rate. The corresponding TOLL BY PLATE rate for similar vehicles would rise $3 to an $8-per-axle toll rate.
The Commission charges higher rates to TOLL BY PLATE customers because that payment method involves higher costs for identifying vehicle owners and mailing billings. E-ZPass is the most frequently used toll payment method at Commission tolling points. The Commission stopped collecting cash at its high-traffic-volume toll bridges in January of this year and at its low-traffic-volume bridges in June 2024. Tolls are collected solely in the Pennsylvania-bound direction at Commission tolling points.
The Commission operates eight toll bridges and 12 non-revenue-generating “toll-supported” bridges that connect Pennsylvania and New Jersey along the fresh-water portion of the Delaware River. The agency also has 73 lane miles of road surface, 34 short-distance approach bridges (overpasses or viaducts) and various other maintenance and operational facilities.
The Commission is funded strictly by the tolls it collects at its eight toll bridges. It does not receive state or federal subsidies to run its transportation system and services. The Commission is unique among other toll agencies in the region because it is legally obligated – under identical statutes enacted by both states and ratified by Congress under the Compact Clause of the U.S. Constitution — to use a share of its tolls to operate and maintain 10 older low-capacity non-highway vehicular bridges and two other pedestrian-only crossings along the river. The Commission refers to these 12 spans as “toll-supported bridges.”
The toll changes are being considered in the wake of recent financial-metric-projections that show the Commission risks falling short in two key areas – General Fund Reserve Balance and Debt Service Coverage Ratio – in future years. Bond-rating firms regularly use these indices to determine the stability and credit worthiness of public agencies.
If the proposed toll schedule rate adjustments were to be approved, the Commission’s toll rates for passenger vehicles would still remain lower than – or at least competitive with – the rates of other public toll agencies along the river. Unlike some other toll agencies, the DRJTBC does not automatically increase tolls based on index-based criteria or other economic formulas.
The Commission’s eight toll bridges are (from south to north):
- Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1);
- Scudder Falls (I-295);
- New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202);
- I-78;
- Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22);
- Portland-Columbia (Routes 611, 46, 94);
- Delaware Water Gap (I-80);
- Milford-Montague (Route 206).
