Pa. Turnpike Rates Rise 10 Percent For Cash Customers

PITTSBURGH (KDKA) - If you travel the Pennsylvania Turnpike and pay with cash you will have to dish out a little more.

Turnpike rates for cash customers increased by 10 percent on Jan. 1, but if you have an EZ Pass, you won't see a change.

"I guess it's like everything else going up nowadays, but 10 percent is a pretty good jump," Max Barnes said.

"It's a lot of money. I mean, we drove out right before New Year's and we are driving back right after New Year's and we feel it. It was already very expensive. We're doing almost the entire Turnpike," Allison Boyle said.

However, you can avoid the price hike altogether by using an EZ Pass. The Turnpike Commission said about two-thirds of travelers already do.

"We're paying cash now and we regret it. Every time we take a trip, I mean if I had any sense I would really renew the EZ Pass," Boyle said.

Others say paying the one-time $25 dollar deposit for the EZ Pass transponder just isn't worth it.

"I don't think it's that convenient for a person like me that uses it three or four times a year," Barnes said.

If you are on the fence about buying an EZ Pass, here's a look at the numbers:

On a trip from Cranberry to Willow Grove, you'll save just under $9 roundtrip.

If you travel shorter distances, say from the Allegheny Valley exit to Irwin for example, cash customers would pay $2.05 one way. With an EZ Pass, it's $1.66.

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