DE River Bridge Tokens Not Accepted

Motorists who stocked up on tokens after hearing about steep toll increases scheduled for seven upper Delaware River bridges will be out of luck. The agency that runs the bridges won't accept the tokens once the fare hikes take effect, at the same time the E-ZPass electronic toll collection system is installed. That should happen sometime later this year, although exactly when hasn't been determined. Meanwhile, the agency has placed restrictions on token sales. The commission collects tolls on bridges that carry Routes 78 and 80 and Routes 1, 202, 22, 46 and 206 over the Delaware River. The amount varies from bridge to bridge. The commission also uses toll revenue to operate 13 free bridges over the river.

At $4 for a roll of 40, the tokens offer significant savings for drivers using them. A bridge charging a 50-cent cash toll now accepts two tokens instead, saving the driver 30 cents.

"People made the assumption that tokens would still be accepted as a form of payment," said Linda Spalinski, a spokeswoman for the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission. "There was a huge run on tokens. People were hoarding them and we were in danger of running out."

Restrictions on token sales began about a month ago, and toll collectors have been handing out notices stating that sales are limited to one roll of 40 tokens per customer. Hours of sale also are limited to 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, and tokens also are no longer sold Saturdays and Sundays.

The situation is similar to the one that developed as the Garden State Parkway prepared to raise tolls in 1989. Then, too, motorists hoarded the tokens, and the New Jersey Highway Authority, which runs the toll road, had to ration sales of the discs.

The Parkway tokens have since been discontinued as well.

The bridge commission says the toll increases, which will raise the commission's annual revenues from $32 million to more than $100 million, are needed to pay for a $526 million capital improvement program, start a 37-officer bridge police force and create a $280 million reserve fund in case of terrorist attacks.

Increases will vary at various bridges and for different types of vehicles. For example, the toll for cars will double to $1 at the Interstate 78 bridge; at the Interstate 80 bridge, it will rise to $1.25 from $1. E-ZPass users will get a discount, but the new tolls will still be higher than what they pay now using cash or tokens.

Rodney Rufe will miss the tokens on his daily commute from Mt. Bethel, Pa., to North Warren Regional High School in Blairstown, where he is the principal.

Once in a while, Rufe said, one of the toll collectors would yell, "Hey, you're pretty late from work today."

"The tokens made it very personal," he told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Thursday's editions. "You may not know (the toll collector's) name but you know he's the guy that's there everyday. It's not going to be personal at all with the E-ZPass."

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Author: 6 ABC-AP