Looking forward to launch of open road tolling

            As 2024 comes to a close, the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission (PA Turnpike) celebrates a year of major progress on "America's First Superhighway" while also looking ahead to one of the biggest changes since the PA Turnpike opened in 1940. 

            The PA Turnpike is motivated by its mission to drive the standard for safety, customer service, and mobility and it has shaped our success in 2024.

            Customers who choose to ride the PA Turnpike receive a premium service that supports national mobility and commerce.  From Jan. 1 through Nov. 30, the PA Turnpike has seen more than 193 million customers use more than 565-miles of roadway, a 0.6% increase in volume compared to the same period in 2023. Passenger vehicle traffic is at 95% of its peak 2019 levels while commercial vehicle traffic is 15% above 2019 levels.

            Customers prefer easy-access mobile payment options through the PA Turnpike's on-the-go account management app, PA Toll Pay, which hit 2.4 million downloads this year. Furthering its commitment to customer expectations and convenience, the PA Turnpike added Google Pay and Apple Pay options to deliver what the majority of our customers want: seamless and convenient mobility. Through expanded payment options, AutoPay for Toll By Plate users, the Kubra cash payment network, QR codes on invoices and a smartphone app, the PA Turnpike has been committed to making it as easy as possible for customers to settle toll charges.

            That's part of why 80% of users indicate the PA Turnpike is a convenient way to travel within Pennsylvania, and 61% of customers report an excellent or very good experience that consists of convenience, optimal highway speed, safety, and a well-maintained road, according to research conducted by the PA Turnpike.

            In 2024, the PA Turnpike spent more than $286 million in roadway maintenance and improvements to modernize the turnpike and improve customer experience including resurfacing more than 28 miles of roadway and undertaking total reconstruction of 27 miles (including the MP 102-109 project which opened to six-lanes in August). All work at the PA Turnpike is a direct investment of toll dollars.

            Additionally, the PA Turnpike continues to work diligently to collect every dollar owed and actively focusing on toll collection performance, investing in advanced technologies and working with the legislature to support bills that crack down on customers who are choosing not to pay their invoices. The PA Turnpike has collected more than $32 million in unpaid tolls and fees for drivers who were in violation of paying their tolls.

            The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission welcomed a new commissioner this year, as the legislature unanimously approved the nomination of Douglas Farnham to assume the seat held previously by William K. Lieberman on the five-member commission.

            As it prepares for its 85th birthday in 2025, the PA Turnpike is beginning the year with the launch of one of the most transformative projects in the highway's history.

            Open Road Tolling (ORT) is the culmination of the PA Turnpike's decade-long journey to modernize operations. In the ORT system, tolls are charged electronically as customers drive at highway speeds beneath overhead structures, called gantries, without slowing down or stopping at toll booths. Equipment on the gantry and in the roadway classifies and identifies the vehicle and electronically processes tolls, allowing for free-flowing traffic, which reduces accidents, improves the environment and allows new access points.

            ORT will launch on the mainline PA Turnpike east of Reading along with the Northeast Extension beginning Jan. 5 and statewide in Jan. 2027. Due to the additional standardization and vehicle classification changes, nearly 50% of passenger car trips will see a lower toll rate in 2025 compared to what they pay today.  About 84% of E-ZPass and 74% of Toll by Plate trips will see a toll cut or an increase of under $1 in 2025 and about 70% of commercial vehicles will see an increase of $5 or less.

            To prepare for ORT, customers should take advantage of the most cost-effective way to travel on the PA Turnpike by opening an E-ZPass account and saving 50% on all PA Turnpike trips. Customers should also properly mount their transponders to ensure that billing is seamless and accurate.

            The PA Turnpike is also scheduled to open two total reconstruction projects in 2025 that will provide six lanes of travel with widened median and outside shoulders between mileposts 126-131 on the mainline turnpike in Somerset and Bedford Counties and mileposts A38-44 on the Northeast Extension in Montgomery and Bucks Counties. Additionally, reconstruction at the Sideling Hill Service Plaza will be completed including a new trailhead providing connection to more than 600 miles of trails within a 25-mile radius of the Plaza.

            From Jan. 1 through Nov. 30, the PA Turnpike's Maintenance Utility Workers and the GEICO Safety Patrol team assisted in 35,612 incidents, in addition to their routine patrols. The roadway is also maintained by a dedicated maintenance force and Pennsylvania State Police (PSP) Troop T.

            In partnership with PSP and the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), the statewide Work Zone Speed Safety Camera program went into effect in March, after the initial five-year pilot program was made permanent last year. During the pilot program's operation, there was a 64% reduction in speeding in work zones (1 mph or more over the speed limit), a 74% reduction in excessive speeding in work zones (11 mph or more over the speed limit), and work zone crashes declined by 30% when a speed enforcement vehicle was present.

            The PA Turnpike and PennDOT launched Pennsylvania's New Driver Work Zone Safety Program in both English and Spanish to improve new driver safety and roadway worker protection.  The training project uses engaging videos, infographics, knowledge checks, and powerful testimonials to teach new drivers work zone laws, signage and key facts, in addition to offering real-life scenarios to enhance understanding.

            Maintenance vehicles have recently been installed with flashing or revolving green lights after Act 78 of 2024 was signed into law in July. The lights have been used in other states and are proven to improve vehicles' visibility.

            The Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission is committed to being effective financial stewards of customer toll dollars. The PA Turnpike has managed its debt service resulting from Act 44 of 2007 while maintaining per-mile rates ranked in the mid-tier compared to other toll roads, bridges and tunnels. The PA Turnpike has also worked to control operating costs, staying below budgeted actual expenses for seven consecutive years and keeping operating costs 2.9% below 2017 levels. During calendar year 2024, the PTC refinanced nearly $866 million of existing PTC debt, resulting in savings of an estimated $166 million over the next 20 years.

            The PA Turnpike is the only agency in the Commonwealth to achieve a perfect score from the PA GreenGov Council and we have done so for three consecutive years. The score is based on a set of approximately 100 standards, grouped into 20 key areas covering achievements such as reducing energy consumption by 3%, improved fleet vehicle efficiency, active employee culture and engagement initiatives. The PA Turnpike is also working to develop, install and support a planned stationary Inductive Charging Showcase at its Central Administration Building as part of its goal to become America's First Sustainable Superhighway by 2040.  

            To raise awareness and fight human trafficking, the PA Turnpike partners with PSP and YWCA Greater Harrisburg to educate its employees and customers about the signs of human trafficking and what drivers can do to help bring victims home safely. Turnpike employees receive quarterly training and a series of 85 road signs in emergency pull-off areas and service plaza entrances urge motorists to "call *11 to report human trafficking." 

            The Pennsylvania Turnpike's Giving Garden, grown on a small plot near the Central Administration Building's walking trail and maintained by PA Turnpike staff that volunteer their time and efforts, has grown more than 1,160 pounds of vegetables this year, all of which were donated to local food banks.

            The PA Turnpike, in partnership with the Pennsylvania Council on the Arts (PCA), unveiled three more local, student-produced art pieces in 17 service plazas as part of the Art Sparks program. The 17th and final service plaza project will be completed in January 2025.

            The PA Turnpike has been committed to meeting its customers where they are and proactively providing public information about its initiatives and issues that may be impacting them. More than 300 individuals support customers who ride our system daily through customer service support. In 2024, customer service call volumes grew 17%, driven by multiple smishing scams launched by PA Turnpike impersonators. The PA Turnpike has also met publicly with residents and stakeholders this year about several upcoming projects, including the Scranton Beltway, SR 130 Interchange Project, Mon-Fayette Expressway and the Allegheny Mountain Realignment.

            In addition to weather events that impacted travel, the PA Turnpike also coordinated with several state agencies to communicate about traffic impacts surrounding the total solar eclipse in April that crossed over northwestern Pennsylvania.

            The PA Turnpike is also working to improve transparency with all stakeholders through proactive media relations and open communications and publicized stories such as a Homewood Equipment Operator and a Plymouth Meeting Safety Patrol Driver who gave assistance to the birth of babies born on the Turnpike, a Pittsburgh Interchange fare collector who assisted a driver involved in a fiery accident, and a New Cumberland Safety Patrol Driver who helped rescue a young pig that was found injured on the side of the road.