Next Tuesday, the NJ Turnpike Authority will unveil a proposal to introduce new toll rates, with a price difference between peak and off-peak prices. The plan was described today in the Star-Ledger.

To become policy, the proposal will need to be agreed to by Governor Whitman and be subject to a public hearing. The new toll schedule would take effect in stages, with one hike in 2001 and another in 2003.

The plan includes incentives for motorists to participate in the E-ZPass electronic toll system, set to come on-line at Turnpike toll plazas by May, 2000, and a congestion relief-oriented peak/off-peak price break for E-ZPass users.

Cash tolls will increase 20% in 2001, and another 17% in 2003. The higher cash rates would be in effect round-the-clock. E-ZPass users will see smaller increases: 8% in 2001 and another 10% in 2003. The innovative aspect of the proposal is that these higher rates would apply to E-ZPass tolls collected only during rush hours and weekends. Off-peak weekday E-ZPass users will not see any hike in 2001 and only a 5% increase in 2003.

Because the planned price difference between rush hour and off-peak E-Z Pass use is modest, it will remain to be seen whether the policy will effectively reduce peak congestion along the Turnpike.

Still, the Star-Ledger accurately noted that the plan "would be the most far-reaching use of variable pricing on a major American toll road."

Truck tolls will rise 13% in both 2001 and 2003, but only 8% in each year for trucks using E-ZPass.

At present, the increase is proposed to fund a variety of capital projects, including the contested Route 92 project in Middlesex County (see story above, left), a highway link to development in Secaucus and preparations for widening a southern stretch of the Turnpike.

The news was not a complete surprise. Turnpike director Edward Gross had announced at a conference in June, 1999 that a policy resembling that described in today's Star-Ledger would be proposed at some point this year (see MTR #226).

In recent weeks, both the NY-NJ Port Authority and New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority have discussed or implied the need for bridge and tunnel toll increases to fund future capital needs. Port Authority officials have said a toll increase would be an opportune moment to implement variable tolls. The MTA has talked about studying innovative tolling but has yet to launched a serious look at the issue.