Trenton, NJ — Toll hikes along the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway are scheduled to begin early next month.

According to the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA), tolls will be increasing by 3% on both passenger and commercial vehicles starting January 1, 2022.

Just last year, amid the pandemic, NJTA commissioners approved a controversial plan to raise tolls for all motorists by 36% on the Turnpike and 27% on the Garden State Parkway.

Those hikes were implemented in September 2020.

However, the plan also changed the way future hikes would be adopted by instituting an indexing process — based on certain economic indicators — allowing annual toll increases of up to 3%.

“The purpose of the 3% indexing is to provide a stable funding source for capital needs,” said Tom Feeney, an NJTA spokesman. “That’s where the additional revenue will be going. It will support the unprecedented amount of work being done under the Authority’s long-term capital program.”

Despite implementing the hikes, officials have yet to fully outline what those economic indicators are.

At the time the changes to the process were approved, trucking groups and some lawmakers voiced concern and opposition.

Nevertheless, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy (D) largely brushed aside the criticism.

“We’ve lurched too long,” he said shortly following the announcement of the increases. “I said from the get-go we weren’t going to kick the can down the road anymore on infrastructure.”

RECENTLY RELATED

Truckers Will Face More Tax Audits if Biden’s ‘Build Back Better Act’ Passes

FMCSA Ordered to Study Best Way to Pay Truckers to Boost Industry’s Awful Retention Rates

Scientist Tells Lawmakers Solving ‘Driver Shortage’ is Simple: Stop Wasting Truckers’ Time

Feds Launch Probe Into Possible ‘Anti-Competitive’ Practices of Amazon, Walmart, Tyson Foods and More