The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission reminds drivers that a toll increase approved last year will take effect across the highway system at 12:01 a.m. Sunday.

The commission had approved a 5% increase for E-ZPass and Toll by Plate customers July 18, with the most common toll for a passenger vehicle will increase from $1.80 to $1.90 for EZPass customers and from $4.40 to $4.70 for Toll by Plate customers.

The most common toll for a Class-5 tractor-trailer will increase from $14.40 to $15.20 for EZPass and from $29.40 to $30.90 for Toll by Plate.

After the increase is applied, E-ZPass and Toll by Plate rates for passenger and commercial vehicles will round up to the nearest dime.

With the state’s passage of Act 44 of 2007, the Turnpike was obligated to pay PennDOT $450 million per year to fund non-turnpike transportation needs around Pennsylvania, totaling $8 billion since 2008. The Turnpike must continue to raise tolls in order pay the resulting escalating Act 44 debt service due through 2051.

In addition to yearly toll rate increases the PTC has taken internal steps to control costs and meet these financial obligations:

• Refinanced debt at lower interest rates and have generated over $1 billion in interest rate savings.

• Controlled operating expenses and have had essentially flat operating costs since 2016 to ensure the commission is running leaner to support the costs of Act 44.

• A leaner workforce, nearly 50% lower than its peak in 2002.

• Cut 10-year Capital program by $1 billion in 2017 focusing on protection projects rather than reinvesting in reconstruction and expansion efforts.

• Identified about $500 million of non-toll funding sources to pursue, like electric vehicle chargers at service plazas and commercializing the fiber-optic network being installed across the system.

The turnpike also reminds drivers that Act 112 - signed into law in 2018 and enhanced by the legislature in 2022 - enables the Turnpike to work with PennDOT to suspend motor vehicle registrations of owners with four or more overdue Toll by Plate invoices or $250 or more in unpaid tolls or outstanding toll invoices.

The Toll by Plate invoice now includes a QR code that customers scan to pay directly from their devices.

The Turnpike partnered with a cash-payment network enabling customers to use cash to pay invoices and replenish E-ZPass accounts at 70,000 stores nationwide.

At the current time, commercial traffic volumes are up 14.5 percent versus pre-pandemic levels and passenger traffic is approximately 95 percent of the pre-pandemic peak.