The first Monday of 2020 brings more than just the dreary start of another work week for commuters using Port Authority Bridges and Tunnels.

For the first time in five years, commuters at the authority’s Hudson River and Staten Island crossings will have to dig deeper to pay higher tolls to use the bridges and tunnels. A toll, fare and fee increase package, approved by the authority’s board on Sept. 26, is effective Sunday, Jan. 5.

Drivers who use cash will pay the most, a $1 increase that boosts the tolls to $16. E-ZPass customers will also pay more as the discount for paying electronically gets reduced.

Drivers using E-ZPass will see the peak-period discount dropping from $2.50 to $2.25 and off-peak going from $4.50 to $4.25. That means those drivers would pay a $11.75 toll during off-peak and $13.75 during peak commuting hour.

Tolls also are being hiked on Sunday to cross the Delaware River on the bridge that connects the Pennsylvania Turnpike to New Jersey when tolls increase 6 %.

AAA Northeast officials declined to say whether they planned to file a lawsuit to challenge the latest increases as the group did unsuccessfully in 2011 to overturn those toll hikes.

“We don’t comment on litigation plans,” said John Corlett, a spokesman, who added AAA still has transparency concerns about what toll money is used for. “When you pay that $16 for a cash toll, it’s difficult to trace where the money goes.”

AAA officials also object to the authority’s decision to end E-ZPass discounts for out-of-state drivers who have toll tag accounts outside New Jersey and New York. Authority officials said that decision mirrors similar action taken by the New Jersey Turnpike and Metropolitan Transportation Authorities.

“It’s a backward argument,” he said.

While carpooling commuters were temporarily spared losing a discount for transporting three or more people per vehicle, they also will pay more starting Monday. That toll increases form $6.50 to $7.75.

The carpool discount is scheduled to disappear when the Authority starts “cashless” toll collection at its three Hudson River crossings. Officials contend technology doesn’t exist to determine if a vehicle has enough passengers to get the discount.

Backers said the technology exists and is being used elsewhere. Port Authority officials scrapped a decision to end the carpool discount on Jan. 5 after pubic officials and a petition signed by 12,000 commuters convinced them to continue it.

PATH commuters already experienced a similar reduction in October of the discount they receive for using a SmartLink card. Those costs went up from $21 for 10 rides to $25 this November and will increase to $26, in November 2020. Riders pay $5 to purchase the tap-and-go fare card.

The toll proposal was opposed by the National Motorists Association and AAA Northeast clubs.

Drivers should get used to it. After 2020, all tolls will be indexed for inflation, meaning they would automatically increase by $1 for cash tolls, when the Consumer Price Index reaches that mark.

Besides keeping up with inflation, authority officials said the increase would help fund $4.8 billion worth of projects and work added to the authority’s 10-year capital plan.

The last toll hike was taken in December 2015 as part of a phased-in toll hike approved in 2011 that was widely criticized for how it was done. The Port Authority held a whirlwind of eight public hearings crammed into a day in obscure locations seemingly designed to discourage regular commuters from attending.

The process was more open in 2019 with hearings held over the course of the summer in Port Authority facilities that were accessible to commuters. However, most of the written or emailed public comments, 619 pages worth, opposed the increases.

Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @commutinglarry. Find NJ.com on Facebook.

AAA Northeast officials declined to say whether they planned to file a lawsuit to challenge the toll increases as the group did unsuccessfully in 2011 to overtunr those . which opposed this increase and sued unsuccessfully to overturn the authority’s 2011 toll increases.