Understanding The PA Turnpike’s Open Road Tolling Changes
Understanding The PA Turnpike’s Open Road Tolling Changes
Starting Jan. 5, 2025, the Pennsylvania Turnpike will introduce Open Road Tolling (ORT) east of Reading and along the Northeast Extension. This system enhances our cashless tolling, allowing drivers to be charged seamlessly as they travel at highway speeds under equipment mounted to overhead gantries.
The tolling points for customers traveling West of Reading will continue to be at traditional tollbooths until 2027.
Beyond moving tolling points to the roadway with Open Road Tolling, we are also standardizing rates and adopting an axle-and-height vehicle classification system across the entire PA Turnpike, which is in line with nationwide practices.
As a result of moving toll collection to gantries in the roadway, PA Turnpike E-ZPass statements and Toll By Plate invoices may look different.
ORT Will Standardize Rates on the PA Turnpike
Starting January 5, the PA Turnpike’s toll calculation will consist of a base per-mile rate and a per-segment (or gantry) fee.
For E-ZPass passenger vehicles, the rate is $0.07 per mile plus $1.09 per segment. Toll By Plate rates are double the E-ZPass rate and additional vehicle classes will simply pay a multiple of the E-ZPass or Toll By Plate base rates. Full information can be found here.
The PA Turnpike is an 85-year-old roadway that has been built over time, so toll rates were set for needs of the time and region when each section was built. This led to a system not consistent mile to mile. We are correcting that.
This does not result in additional revenue for the PA Turnpike – ORT and standardized tolls improve rate consistency and predictability.
E-ZPass Statements and Toll By Plate Invoices Will Change
E-ZPass statements or Toll By Plate invoices with travel in ORT areas will be longer to show individual charges for each gantry passed. This toll-point formatting will be familiar to those regularly traveling through the Clarks Summit, Keyser Avenue, the Southern Beltway and the Delaware River Bridge exits, where ORT is already live.
West of the Reading Interchange, a single trip charge will be displayed based on your entry and exit.
If your trip includes both ORT and traditional tolling points, your bill will list individual gantry charges for travel east of Reading Interchange and display a single trip for your western travel either with an entry point of T291, if you are traveling west or an exit point of T291 if traveling east.
When the entire system moves to Open Road Tolling in 2027, all charges will be assessed at gantries and single trip charges will cease.
Here’s how that works: If you regularly travel between the Lansdale and Downingtown Interchanges, that trip was previously reflected as a single charge on Toll By Plate invoices or E-ZPass statements. Once ORT is operational in the eastern region, that same trip will be displayed on invoices or statements as four smaller charges, representing the four segments you traveled through from Lansdale to Downingtown.
In the western region, where ORT is not yet live, tolls will still be assessed as a single, trip-based charge with entry and exit locations. Customers who cross into both regions during a trip will be assessed their tolls as described above depending on what part of the system they are traveling.
How to Read Your 2025 PA Turnpike Invoices
Click here for a color-coded example of how to read the new E-ZPass customer statement.
Click here for a color-coded example of how to read the new Toll By Plate customer invoice.
A 5% Toll Increase Will Go Into Effect in 2025
The planned increase, which is due to the Act 44 debt repayment plan, is integrated into the new tolling structure. Because of rate standardization and classification changes, this increase will not uniformly impact all trips. Approximately 84% of E-ZPass passenger trips will see a toll decrease or an increase of less than $1 compared to 2024 rates.
Important Steps To Ensure a Seamless Transition to Open Road Tolling
The PA Turnpike is encouraging customers to properly mount their E-ZPass transponder. The transponders are 99.5% effective when installed correctly. Here’s how to mount a transponder:
Clean the area on the windshield before mounting.
Remove the transponder from its packaging.
Mount the transponder horizontally behind the rear-view mirror, below shaded or black-dot areas by pressing the suction cups against the windshield or removing the adhesive strip on the Velcro mounting strips and press to windshield.
Call the E-ZPass Customer Service Center if you have any questions or suspect your transponder may need replaced.
E-ZPass customers should routinely check account balances, driver and vehicle information and transponder mounting, so tolls post accurately.
If you’re not an E-ZPass account holder, open one today. It is the easiest, most cost-effective way to pay and saves customers 50% on tolls.