DRPA panel OK's commuter bridge-toll discounts

Commuters who use the four bridges operated by the Delaware River Port Authority between New Jersey and Pennsylvania are one step closer to paying less in tolls.

The DRPA finance committee approved a measure Wednesday that would lower tolls for frequent users of the Benjamin Franklin, Walt Whitman, Betsy Ross, and Commodore Barry bridges by $18 a month.

The proposal will go before the authority's board of commissioners July 15. If approved, the changes would go into effect in November or December, officials said.

The vote at the meeting in Camden came after a review of traffic studies and financial reports that indicated the measure would not affect DRPA's ability to pay for ongoing projects, officials said.

"We have worked very hard to transform the DRPA into a leaner authority," Jeffrey L. Nash, the Camden County freeholder who is vice chairman of the DRPA board, said Wednesday. "It is now time for our best customers to reap those rewards."

The authority has $222 million in its existing project fund and $468 million in its general fund, according to DRPA leaders. About half of the 2015 budget will go toward the authority's $1.5 billion debt.

Authority leaders, as well as New Jersey Senate President Stephen Sweeney (D., Gloucester), called last year for the DRPA to look into whether it was possible to reinstate toll discounts.

"I applaud the DRPA for advancing this discount, and I thank them for being responsive to my request and, more importantly, the needs of commuters," Sweeney said Wednesday.

The Pennsylvania Turnpike, which contributes about $850,000 to DRPA's budget, also would have to sign off on the discount program.

The round-trip toll, which has been $5 per car since 2011, provides 88 percent of the DRPA's $330 million annual revenue. The proposal would reduce the toll to $4 for commuters who cross the bridges at least 18 times in a month, with the discount appearing as a credit for E-ZPass users.

The discount would reduce revenues by more than $6 million and affect an estimated 29,000 drivers, officials said. Daily commuters could save up to $216 a year.

"We're not talking about someone who drives over from Cherry Hill for a ball game," Nash said. "We're talking about hardworking men and women who commute both ways."

The DRPA, which operates the bridges and the PATCO commuter rail line between Philadelphia and South Jersey, once gave discounts to commuters, E-ZPass users, and drivers of fuel-efficient vehicles. Now, its only discount is for senior citizens who use E-ZPass.

The authority ended commuter discounts in July 2011.

After reaching an all-time high of 55.1 million vehicles in 2007, bridge traffic has fallen every year. In 2013, 47.9 million vehicles crossed the four bridges.

Bridge traffic had been rising each year since 2000 until 2008, when tolls were increased from $3 to $4.