Driving on Turnpike, Parkway to get more expensive in new year

New Jersey motorists will have to dish out more cash starting in the new year, with toll increases planned on the New Jersey Turnpike and Garden State Parkway, plus for all the Hudson River crossings.

On Jan. 1, 2023, tolls will climb 3% on the Parkway and Turnpike — the increases amount to cents — while the Hudson River crossings will soon top out at $17 during peak hours for drivers not using E-ZPass.

Sen. Joe Pennacchio (R-Morris) said that while he understands tolls need to increase to fund worthwhile projects on New Jersey roadways, he also said they’ve gotten to an “insane price.”

“I think it’s done to discourage people from driving their cars everywhere, which is fine. But the alternative sometimes just doesn’t work for people that have to feed their families,” he said.

Here are all the new costs for drivers going through toll plazas:

• Parkway tolls will increase from $1.96 to $2.02 for E-ZPass customers, and from $2 to $2.10 for cash tolls.
• The Toms River plaza toll will go up from 97 cents to $1.01 for E-ZPass users and from $1 to $1.05 for drivers paying cash.
• Turnpike tolls, on average, will increase from $4.95 to $5.10 for passenger cars. Costs for E-ZPass users during peak periods will go up an average of 16 cents, and off-peak rates will increase 13 cents.
• Hudson River crossings tolls will increase $1 during park and off-peak hours starting Jan. 8.

Keeping toll increases below the level of inflation is helpful for drivers, said Felicia Park-Rogers, director of regional infrastructure projects for the Tri-State Transportation Campaign, a nonprofit promoting sustainable transportation policies in the New York City metro area.

The news is less expensive for NJ Transit riders, who will see no fare increases for at least the first half of 2023, the fifth year ticket prices will remain flat.

Meanwhile, the feud over congestion pricing in New York City continues. The controversial plan would charge drivers up to $23 a day to drive south of 60th Street in Manhattan.

State lawmakers are urging New York officials to reconsider the pricing plan, which currently has no timeline for implementation. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority has to respond to 66,000 written comments and continue studying traffic modeling, the agency has said during public hearings.

U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer,  a congestion pricing opponent, announced a proposal earlier this year that would offer tax incentives to New York businesses that open regional offices in New Jersey. The New Jersey Assembly in October unanimously passed a resolution formally opposing the congestion pricing plan.

An identical resolution hasn’t been introduced in the Senate, though such measures are only symbolic. Pennacchio said there is little the Legislature can do to fight the congestion pricing plan, other than lobby New York officials.

“I would hope the administration is looking into ways to do that,” he said. “Perhaps we can make the pain equal or greater to our New York friends so they won’t do that.”

A spokesman for the Turnpike Authority did not respond to a request for comment.