Drivers, get ready to dish out more money - again.
Tolls are going up by 3% on the Garden State Parkway and the New Jersey Turnpike starting Jan. 1, 2024. This will be the fourth toll increase since 2020.
The New Jersey Turnpike Authority's 2024 annual budget was approved Tuesday - $2.6 billion in budgeted total revenue.
The reason for the toll increase? Inflation. The news did not make many New Jersey motorists happy.
"It's just another way of nickel and diming everybody in New Jersey. It's not what we need right now,” says Steve Raab, of Brielle. “More importantly, what are they doing with the money that they're getting? The actual revenue - where is it going?”
Leaders who opposed the increase say many New Jersey residents are struggling to keep up with inflation prices.
“I understand if we need the tolls to maintain the roads, we are utilizing those monies for lots and lots of other things and then the legislators need to have some input on it. We weren’t told at all that this was coming. It's our firm belief the governor should hold them to task on it. Make them come in and explain why this is a good thing, right now,” says state Senate President Nicholas Scutari.
Road maintenance is budgeted to increase by $2.4 million primarily for inspections and emergency repairs. There are also plans to create new services for an E-ZPass Customer Service Center. Forty-four new jobs will be added, mainly in maintenance and engineering for the Turnpike and Parkway.
Example of the upcoming toll increases:
Most toll plazas: $2.10 to $2.16
Bergen NB: $2.10 to $2.16
Essex SB: $2.10 to $2.16
Union NB: $2.10 to $2.16
Raritan SB: $2.10 to $2.16
Asbury Park NB: $2.10 to $2.16
Toms River: $1.05 to $1.08
Most toll ramps: $0.75 to $0.77
Clifton: $0.75 to $0.77
Bloomfield: $0.75 to $0.77
East Orange: $1.45 to $1.49
Red Bank: $0.75 to $0.77
Belmar/Wall: $0.75 to $0.77
Lakewood: $0.75 to $0.77
The Turnpike is more detailed and more expensive: