YARDLEY, PA – The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission (DRJTBC) today posted the Zoom meeting links and teleconferencing phone numbers for the three virtual hearings the agency is planning for gathering public comments on a series of recently proposed toll adjustments.
People must pre-register in order to speak at one of the three hearings, which will be conducted through the Zoom public meeting online platform and teleconferencing. The Commission will begin accepting registrations online or through a toll-free answering service starting Wednesday, February 10.
To register online, members of the public can fill out the registration form posted at www.drjtbc.org/tollcomments and hit the submit button when completed. The public also can register by following the prompts on a toll-free phone line — 855-721-0444 – that is operational for this proposed toll adjustment comment period.
Hearing registrants must provide their first and last names and their municipality and state of residence. Individuals who plan to speak online through Zoom also must provide their email address. Individuals planning to speak via teleconferencing also need to provide the last four digits of the phone line they will use to comment at the hearings.
Registration is first-come, first-served until all available slots at each respective hearing are filled. Virtual hearing registrations will be accepted until 4 p.m. February 16.
The three virtual hearings are scheduled as follows:
- February 17, 2021 – 10 a.m. to noon
- February 17, 2021 – 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
- February 18, 2021 – 6 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Individuals will be restricted to speaking up to three minutes at one hearing only. Hearing comments must be declarative; the hearings will not be question and answer sessions. Comments will be restricted to the proposed toll adjustments posted at www.drjtbc.org/newtolls and the public notice published in various Commission-jurisdiction daily newspapers on or after January 31, 2021. Anonymous comments will not be accepted.
The hearings will be recorded and eligible comments will be transcribed for inclusion in the public record to be reviewed by the DRJTBC’s board of commissioners prior to taking action (approve, modify and approve, or reject) on the proposed toll adjustments.
The hearings are one vehicle the Commission is using to gather public comments on the proposed toll adjustments. Under Commission policy, additional comment methods are available for the public:
- Online: Go to the toll-comment form posted at drjtbc.org/tollcomments
- US Mail: address to Director of Community Affairs Jodee Inscho, DRJTBC Administration Building, 1199 Woodside Road, Yardley, PA. 19067 (Must be postmarked by Feb. 26 to be part of the official record.)
- Phone (comment and pre-registration line): 1-855-721-0444
The webpage — www.drjtbc.org/tollcomments – provides additional guidance and links on the proposed toll adjustment. The page has a link for downloading Zoom onto a computer or mobile phone, an explanation of the toll hearing/comment process, key dates, frequently asked questions, and other information related to the proposed toll adjustments.
The major proposed changes to the agency’s toll-rate schedules are summarized as follows:
- Provide a uniform toll schedule for the DRJTBC’s eight toll bridges at: Milford-Montague (Route 206), Delaware Water Gap (I-80), Portland-Columbia (Routes 611, 46 and 94), Easton-Phillipsburg (Route 22), I-78, New Hope-Lambertville (Route 202), Scudder Falls (I-295) and Trenton-Morrisville (Route 1).
- Establish a two-tier toll adjustment for Class 1 passenger vehicles on or after April 3, 2021; to $1.25 for E-ZPass, $3 for cash, and $3 for TOLL BY PLATE (Scudder Falls).
- Set the added toll for Class 1 passenger vehicles with bumper-hitch trailers in tow at $2 on or after April 3, 2021.
- Authorize the Class 1 E-ZPass passenger vehicle toll to be $1.50 on or after January 6, 2024.
- Maintain a frequency-based Class 1 E-ZPass commuter discount for 2021 through 2023 at 20 percent (applied retroactively on 16 or more trips across DRJTBC toll bridges in a calendar month with a Commission-affiliated E-ZPass tag) on or after April 3, 2021.
- Eliminate the Class 1 E-ZPass commuter discount in its entirety on or after January 6, 2024.
- Establish a uniform commercial vehicle rate table (Class 2 and above) and set new two-tier rates for trucks, buses and other commercial vehicles (defined as any vehicle with two or more axles and eight-feet or above in height) at $4.50 per-axle for E-ZPass, $5 per-axle for cash, and $5 per-axle for TOLL BY PLATE (Scudder Falls) on or after April 3, 2021.
- Eliminate the off-peak E-ZPass discount for commercial vehicles on or after April 3, 2021.
The toll changes are the Commission’s first proposed toll adjustment in 10 years. A 26-day comment period on the proposed adjustments is scheduled to end 4 p.m. February 26.
