Ask not for whom the toll rises: It rises for thee.
At least if you're driving around New Jersey or leaving it.
Or planning to use the Pennsylvania Turnpike next year.
Today, the New Jersey Turnpike and the Garden State Parkway will join other routes in charging more change.
An average 22-mile turnpike trip will now cost about $1.70, up from $1.25.
Instead of 35 cents at its frequent toll stops, the parkway will require 50 cents.
These are only the latest Garden State hikes.
On Nov. 18, the Atlantic City Expressway ramped up its assorted fees. The Egg Harbor plaza's tolls for cars went up from $2 to $3. At Pleasantville, the hike was from 50 cents to 75. Also, 25-cent ramp tolls became 40 cents, and 50 cent ones went up to 75.
In September, tolls went up by a third for many vehicles leaving Jersey via the Walt Whitman, Ben Franklin, Commodore Barry and Betsy Ross Bridges.
For those without a senior-citizen or multi-trip E-Z Pass discount, that means $4 a trip, instead of $3. (For more on the discounts, go to www.drpa.org.)
The Pennsylvania Turnpike plans an increase, too. On Jan. 4, tolls will rise about 25 percent.
The Tacony-Palmyra and Burlington-Bristol Bridges, however, have no plans to raise their tolls from the current $2, spokeswoman Liz Verna said this morning.
The turnpike and parkway increases are needed to pay for old and new construction projects, including more lanes on the often-clogged stretch from Exit 6 to Exit 8A, officials say.
Last month, the 17 Republican state senators in New Jersey asked the Delaware River Port Authority to roll back its hikes on bridge tolls and train fares, including the PATCO high-speed line. A resolution they're backing is unlikely to pass, however, since Democrats control the Senate.