New Jersey pays about 20% of all tolls in U.S.

With a treasure trove of podcasts and skyline views, there are times during Matt Wells’s morning commute to New York where he enjoys it.

But then he hits the tollbooth. He uses an EZ-Pass transponder attached to his windshield and as the gate rises near the Lincoln Tunnel, he sighs.

“There’s $12 bucks down the drain,” he said last week, shortly after filling up his Chevy at a turnpike rest stop. “It’s another $5 or $6 for the turnpike, too. I can deal with the traffic and everything else. But I feel like we’re stuck with the tolls, no matter what.”

Of the $13 billion collected by U.S. toll agencies in the United States, two major New Jersey authorities — the New Jersey Turnpike Authority and Port Authority of New York & New Jersey — collected $2.7 billion, about one-fifth of that amount. In other words, for every $1 toll collected, drivers in New Jersey paid about 20 cents.

Including the Metropolitan Transit Authority, which collects $1.2 billion in tolls on all borough-to-borough bridges in New York, area drivers pay about $4 billion in tolls, nearly one-third of the total taken in.

For most bridge and tunnel authorities, tolls represent the main source of revenue used to pay for staff, equipment and maintenance of infrastructure.

But for commuters, tolls are another burden on a New Jersey population that already faces the highest property taxes in the nation. And anyone with a car must also absorb the cost of a gasoline tax collected at the pump.

“It’s a significant household burden, in terms of cost of living, especially on the lower-middle class,” said Jonathan Peters, a finance professor at the College of Staten Island.

Peters drives from his Fair Haven, N.J., home to Staten Island, N.Y., every day, paying about $35 in travel costs daily. More than one-third comes from the Outerbridge Crossing or Goethals Bridge tolls, he said.

“You spend a big chunk of your household income on automobile ownership and transportation. And on top of that, they hit you with a toll,” Peters said.

At the top of the list is the New Jersey Turnpike Authority, which collected about $1.4 billion in tolls along the Garden State Parkway and New Jersey Turnpike in 2013.

The tolls came from nearly 600 million vehicles, including more than $1 billion — about 76% — from passenger vehicles.

The Garden State Parkway was built in 1947, nine years before the National Highway Act became law. If the highway had been constructed under that law, it would likely have been a true freeway, Peters said.

“They just missed it,” Peters said. “Historically, it would have been funded with 80% federal dollars and 20% local dollars. But toll facilities generally don’t get federal money, so you’re running your own resources.”

Toll rates on the New Jersey Turnpike are calculated by the origin and destination of a trip. The most expensive trip would cost about $13.85 each way. A trip along the full length of the 174-mile Garden State Parkway costs $8.25 each way in barrier tolls. Some exit and entrance ramps also have toll booths.

Peters said the New Jersey Turnpike Authority’s toll hikes are fueled by a funding flaw. Under an agreement reached in the 1980s, the authority reimburses the state $22 million each year, used to subsidize the Transportation Trust Fund and improvements on other non-toll roads.

Port Authority blues

Musician Kate Meyer used to pack into her sedan with two other band mates to afford to get to New York three or four times per week for rehearsals and shows.

Back then, it cost $8 to cross a bridge or tunnel into New York – easily split among the three of them.

“It made it just barely affordable,” Meyer said. “And then they hiked the prices. We looked at each other and said, ‘We just can’t do it anymore.’”

Port Authority tolls to cross between New Jersey and New York have nearly doubled since 2011. A single-passenger vehicle is now stuck with a $14 toll – or $11.75 with EZ-Pass – to cross the Holland or Lincoln tunnels, the George Washington, Goethals or Bayonne bridges and the Outerbridge Crossing.

Bridge and tunnel tolls represent the Port Authority’s main stream of income, which Peters said are used to subsidize its less-profitable operations, such as the PATH Trains. The authority collected $1.3 billion in bridge and tunnel tolls in 2013.

The Port Authority collected $1.3 billion in tolls in 2013, resulting in an average $11.50 paid by the nearly 116 million drivers crossing bridges and tunnels each year.

Port Authority tolls are set to increase by $1 at the end of the year. Tolls are only collected on eastbound bridges and tunnels. No tolls are collected entering New Jersey.

A Port Authority spokesman declined to comment on rising tolls.

“Toll and fare revenues cover a majority of the costs of operating, maintaining and improving the Interstate Transportation Network facilities,” spokesman Neal Buccino said. “The remainder is covered by the net revenues of other Port Authority operations.”