New Jersey commuters face higher tolls, gas tax and public transit fares in 2025

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Commuting in the Garden State will become more expensive starting in 2025.

On Jan. 1, tolls on the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway and the Atlantic City Expressway will rise 3%. That translates to a 16-cent increase for an average trip within the state. But, drivers traveling significant distances will pay a lot more because longer trips cost more in tolls. In addition to the toll hike, a  2.6 cent per gallon gas tax increase also takes effect on New Year’s Day.

The money from the gas tax hike will go toward the Transportation Trust Fund, which pays for all transportation infrastructure projects in the Garden State.

Dena Mottola Jaborska, executive director of New Jersey Citizen Action, said the increases come when many families are already struggling to balance their household budgets while commuting to work.

“I know about half our families in New Jersey are living paycheck to paycheck,” Jaborska said. “It could be more, so this is just another rising cost that’s going to be very hard to manage for these families.”

On Jan. 5, tolls from Jersey into Manhattan will also increase by 25 cents per trip. During peak hours, EZ-Pass users will be charged $16.06 compared to $14.06 at other times. Drivers without EZ-Pass will pay $18.31.

Also starting Jan. 5, commuters heading into midtown Manhattan, south of 60 Street, will pay a $9 congestion pricing toll.

Rate hikes will also affect train riders. Effective Jan. 12, a ride on the PATH train (Port Authority Trans Hudson) into New York City from New Jersey will cost $3, a 25-cent increase.

Rutgers University economist James Hughes, dean emeritus of the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy, said over the past two years, lower-income residents were saved from rate hikes because federal rescue funds allowed NJ Transit to operate without fare increases during the height of the pandemic.

“But that cushion is now wearing out,” he said.

Last fall, the Delaware River Port Authority increased tolls on the four bridges from Jersey into Philadelphia by $1. NJ Transit also raised bus and train fares 15% on July 1. That boosted the cost of a one-way rail ticket from Princeton Junction to Penn Station, New York, by $2.40, from $16 to $18.40, and fares are scheduled to increase by another 3% in July 2025.

Hughes said these higher transportation costs strain commuters, but they are necessary. NJ Transit has been underfunded for years, and the agency has a lot of old equipment that must be replaced.

“And then the state highway system is also aging,” he said. “It’s far older in many cases than the Parkway and the Turnpike, so there’s a desperate need for more funding just to keep the system going.”