NEW HOPE, PA – The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission is reminding recreational vehicle (RV) owners that, effective June 1, uniform toll rates will be charged if their vehicles have either a trailer or passenger vehicle in tow. The toll rate clarification could result in higher rates for some RV owners.
Under a series of toll hearings held last summer, the toll rate clarification for RVs was to take effect sometime in February 2016. The start date, however, was postponed until the Commission completed the installation and transition to a new system of toll-collection hardware and software.
The modernization project applies to virtually every aspect of the bistate agency’s toll collection system: manual cash collections, conventional toll-lane E-ZPass transactions, highway-speed open-road tolling, and future all-electronic tolling at the Scudder Falls Replacement Bridge.
Overall, the completed replacement of the toll collection system infrastructure is allowing for more accurate, efficient and uniform application of the Commission’s toll schedule, which can be found at www.drjtbc.org/toll-rates.
The Commission’s toll classification system is based on vehicle height and number of axles. This policy was established with the introduction of E-ZPass toll collection in late 2002. Under this policy, vehicles under eight feet with two axles are classified as Class 1 vehicles (lowest rates) and vehicles eight feet and above are classified as Class 2 and above (higher rates) as determined by the number of axles involved in the transaction. There are exceptions, notably vehicles towing trailers using a fifth-wheel or “gooseneck” configuration are classified by the total number of axles involved in a transaction.
A 2016 toll clarification was advanced to address cases in which disparate rates were applied for cash and E-ZPass transactions involving RVs with either a trailer or vehicle in tow. As subsequently approved, the following toll rate table excerpt and notation is to be applied for applicable RVs regardless of whether payment is made electronically through E-ZPass or manually in cash at one of the Commission’s seven exiting toll bridges.
| Example | Classification | Per-Axle Rate | Toll |
| Two-Axle RV with single rolling axle trailer or vehicle in tow with one axle down | Class 3 (3 rolling axles) | $4.00 | $12 |
| Two-Axle RV with dual rolling axle trailer or vehicle in tow with two axles down | Class 4 (4 rolling axles) | $4.00 | $16 |
| Three-Axle RV with single rolling axle trailer or vehicle in tow with one axle down | Class 4 (4 rolling axles) | $4.00 | $16 |
| Three-Axle RV with dual rolling axle trailer or vehicle in tow with two axles down | Class 5 (5 rolling axles) | $4.00 | $20 |
Note: In any subsequent larger configurations of RVs and trailers/vehicles in tow, a toll rate of $4 per axle is to be charged.
This transaction clarification conforms with prevailing tolling industry practices and brings the Commission’s vehicle classifications for tolling purposes in step with the region’s other toll systems – the PA and NJ Turnpikes, DRPA, and SJTA, among others.
