Scudder Falls Toll Bridge

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission announced its decision to toll the new Scudder Falls Bridge on December 21, 2009. The decision was based on the absence of state and federal funding sources to finance the Scudder Falls Bridge Replacement Project’s size and scope. The decision to toll has been reaffirmed on multiple occasions since that date, including the issuance of an Environmental Assessment Addendum on November 30, 2011 and the Federal Highway Administration’s issuance of a Finding of No Significant Impact (FONSI) on June 18, 2012.

Toll collection began on the upstream span of the new Scudder Falls Toll Bridge on July 14, 2019.  (Note: The bridge’s toll processor is the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center. a.k.a. the NJ E-ZPass Group.)

No. Tolls will be collected only in the Pennsylvania-bound direction – from motorists approaching the bridge on I-295 NB (old I-95 SB) or entering the highway and proceeding onto the bridge from the on-ramp at the Route 29 interchange in New Jersey.

The new bridge will use all-electronic toll (AET) technology to collect tolls from motorists who cross the bridge in the Pennsylvania-bound direction. Throughout the United States – and around the world – turnpikes, bridges, and tunnels are increasingly using all-electronic/cashless systems to assess and collect tolls from vehicles moving at highway speeds. There is no queuing or stopping, as there are no toll booths or attendants.

The all-electronic tolling (AET) system at the new Scudder Falls Toll Bridge will consist of an overhead gantry outfitted with toll-tag (transponder) readers, high-resolution cameras, and LED lights.

Motor vehicles with valid E-ZPass transponders (tags) will have their tolls collected in the same manner as at other E-ZPass facilities. A motorist’s E-ZPass transponder will be read and the toll will be charged to that individual’s private or corporate account.  E-ZPass-equipped motorists will pay lower toll rates.  LEARN MORE  (Note:  The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission offers a frequency-based E-ZPass commuter discount to passenger vehicle operators who have an E-ZPass transponder issued and administered by the regional New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center, aka NJ E-ZPass Group, the entity that processes toll transactions at the agency’s toll bridges.  This discount program will be extended to eligible motorists at the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge when it opens.) LEARN MORE 

The license plates of vehicles without valid E-ZPass transponders will be recorded by the toll gantry’s overhead cameras and the vehicles’ registered owners will be sent TOLL BY PLATE invoices in the mail.  TOLL BY PLATE motorists will pay higher tolls to cover the additional costs of identifying motor vehicle owners, mailing invoices, and processing. LEARN MORE

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission unanimously approved the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge’s toll rates on September 26, 2016. The vote followed a prescribed open-hearing process involving advertisements, six toll hearings and the compilation of a report on public comments received on the bridge’s proposed toll schedule and other toll rate changes/clarifications elsewhere in the Commission’s bridge system.

The Class 1 rate for a passenger vehicle with an operating E-ZPass transponder will be $1.25. The Class 1 rate for a passenger vehicle without an E-ZPass transponder (TOLL BY PLATE rate) will be $2.60.

Vehicles without an operating E-ZPass transponder will be charged higher toll rates to cover the additional costs of identifying motor vehicle owners and mailing bills to them. This is consistent with the pricing policies of other tolling agencies around the country that have all-electronic tolling and bill-by-mail toll collection.

It’s anticipated that TOLL BY PLATE invoices will be issued when a non-E-ZPass motorist reaches $50 in accumulated tolls or 30 days from the first transaction, whichever comes first in a respective billing period.

The full toll rates schedule for the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge is available for viewing here.

Yes. Mirroring the long-established policy at the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s seven other toll bridges, two types of E-ZPass discounts are available for eligible E-ZPass customers at the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge.

There will be a 40-percent frequency-based commuter discount for Class 1 passenger vehicles outfitted with an operational toll transponder issued and administered by the entity that processes toll transactions at the Commission’s toll bridges.  That entity is the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center – a.k.a. NJ E-ZPass Group — a regional toll processor serving seven transportation agencies operating in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.  The service center is operated by Conduent Incorporated.

There also will be an off-peak discount for trucks and other vehicles eight-feet-tall or higher (Class 2 through Class 7) equipped with a valid E-ZPass tag issued by any E-ZPass-issuing agency.  The off-peak discount is 10 percent and is applied to applicable E-ZPass transactions recorded between 9:01 p.m. and 5:59 a.m. seven days a week.

The commuter discount can only be applied to motorists with a valid, operational E-ZPass transponder issued and administered by the Commission’s toll processor — the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center, a.k.a. NJ E-ZPass Group.  The motorist must record 16 toll-direction trips (cumulative) across the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge and/or any of the Commission’s seven other toll bridges in a respective calendar month.  The discount is transponder-specific not account-specific, meaning each tolled trip must be recorded on the same transponder (a.k.a. toll tag) to qualify for the discount.  Once the 16-trip threshold is met, the discount is automatically applied to a customer’s monthly billing statement for the eligible tolled trips recorded on the applicable NJ E-ZPass Group-issued transponder.

The commuter discount is 40 percent.  At the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge, the discount would reduce the Class 1 passenger vehicle E-ZPass toll to 75 cents instead of $1.25 cents.  At the Commission’s seven other toll bridges, the discount would reduce the $1 Class 1 passenger vehicle E-ZPass toll to 60 cents.  The savings on E-ZPass car transactions can add up to $8 or more in a single month at the new Scudder Falls Toll Bridge. Over the course of a full year, the total savings could approach or exceed $100.

The New Jersey E-ZPass Group/New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center is the toll transaction processor for the toll bridges owned and  operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.  The NJ E-ZPass Customer Center is a regional operation.  It services seven toll/transportation agencies operating in New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.  Other affiliated toll/transportation agencies in this E-ZPass service network include the New Jersey Turnpike Authority (NJTA), the Delaware River Port Authority (DRPA), the Delaware River & Bay Authority (DRBA), the Burlington County Bridge Commission (BCBC), the South Jersey Transportation Authority (SJTA) and the Cape May County Bridge Commission.  This regional E-ZPass customer service/toll processing/violation enforcement back-office operation is run by Conduent Incorporated under a contract with the affiliated toll agencies comprising the NJ E-ZPass Group.

No. The transponder must be issued/administered by the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center (a.k.a. the NJ E-ZPass Group), the back-office entity that provides E-ZPass customer service/toll processing/violation processing for the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge and the other toll bridges owned and operated by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission.  Since the commuter discount is frequency based, the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center (a.k.a. NJ E-ZPass Group) can only track, tabulate and apply the discount to the E-ZPass transponders that are in its account system.  The discount cannot be applied to E-ZPass transponders administered by toll agencies that are unaffiliated with and independent of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s toll processor.

The reason the Commission’s commuter discount can be applied only to an E-ZPass transponder issued and administered by the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center (a.k.a. NJ E-ZPass Group) is because that is the entity that processes the Commission’s toll transactions.  The discount can thereby be tracked, tabulated and automatically applied to the respective eligible motorist’s DRJTBC-affiliated E-ZPass account.  E-ZPass accounts/transponders administered or issued by the Pennsylvania Turnpike, the New York Thruway, the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, or any other E-ZPass-issuing agency are not eligible for the discount because their respective toll-processing systems are independent of the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s toll processor.

First of all, there is no such thing as a Pennsylvania E-ZPass.  Neither the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania nor the State of New Jersey issue E-ZPass transponders.  In Pennsylvania, the primary issuer of E-ZPass transponders is the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, which contracts with TransCore Inc. to process the turnpike’s toll transactions and administer its customer E-ZPass accounts.  In New Jersey,  the only entity that processes toll transactions and administers E-ZPass accounts/transponders is the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center (a.k.a. the NJ E-ZPass Group), a regional toll processor that services toll agencies operating/domiciled in Pennsylvania, New Jersey, and Delaware.  This regional toll processing operation is run by Conduent Incorporated under a contract signed by the NJ E-ZPass Group’s seven member toll agencies.

Pennsylvania Turnpike E-ZPass transponder holders are eligible for the $1.25 Class 1 passenger vehicle toll at the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge, but they can’t receive the commuter discount.  The Pennsylvania Turnpike E-ZPass service provider (TransCore) does not process the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s toll transactions or the toll transactions at the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge.  That is the reason the Commission’s frequency-based commuter discount cannot be applied to Pennsylvania Turnpike E-ZPass accounts/transponders.

No. In fact, the E-ZPass Interagency Group – the policy-setting organization of the various toll-collecting agencies in 17 states with E-ZPass service – has long urged a motorist to acquire an E-ZPass account affiliated with the toll agency whose facilities he or she will most frequently use.  If a Pennsylvania resident — or for that matter, a New Jersey resident — were to most frequently use the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge or any other toll bridge in the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s system, it probably would be in his/her best interest to have an E-ZPass account and transponder administered/issued by the Bridge Commission’s toll processor – the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center (a.k.a. NJ E-ZPass Group).

No. The Pennsylvania Turnpike does not currently offer any discounts to E-ZPass users.  The PA Turnpike has E-ZPass rates, which are lower, and cash and/or TOLL BY PLATE rates, which are significantly higher. The PA Turnpike E-ZPass rates apply to any valid E-ZPass transponder, regardless of its issuing agency.

No. Discounts are extended only to eligible E-ZPass customers and, in the case of the frequency-based commuter discount – only vehicles equipped with a transponder issued/administered by the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s toll processor – the New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center, a.k.a. the NJ E-ZPass Group.

The regional toll processor/E-ZPass customer service center affiliated with the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission and its new Scudder Falls Toll Bridge may be accessed online at www.ezpassnj.com or by phone at 1-888-AUTO-TOLL (1-888-288-6865).

No.  The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission does not engage in age-discriminate toll setting.  Toll rates at the agency’s toll bridges are determined by vehicle profile (height) and the number of axles.  The applicable portion of the Commission’s trust indenture states that tolls shall be applied “regardless of the status or character of any Person participating the traffic.”

No. The toll rates for the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge are based on the long-established Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission policy of classifying vehicles by profile (height) and number of axles. The applicable portion of the Commission’s trust indenture states that tolls shall be applied “regardless of the status or character of any Person participating the traffic.”

No. A motorist only needs one E-ZPass transponder to use the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge.  Motorists actually run the risk of being double billed if they cross beneath the new bridge’s All-Electronic Tolling gantry with active transponders issued by two different toll agencies. HOWEVER, only E-ZPass transponders issued by the DRJTBC’s toll processor — the regional New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center — can be used for purposes of tracking and determining toll trips for applying the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission’s 40-percent frequent-commuter discount at the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge. (Discount gets applied as a credit on a future E-ZPass statement after 16 or more tolled trips are recorded on any combination of Commission bridges in a respective calendar month.) If a motorist is going to regularly commute across the Scudder Falls Toll Bridge, its probably in their best interest to establish a new account with the Commission’s affiliated toll processor — the regional New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center — and cancel their E-ZPass account with their previous issuer once the Commission-affiliated transponder is delivered.

STEP 1 – Establish an individual account with the regional New Jersey E-ZPass Customer Service Center.  An individual account can have up to 6 transponders (tags).  These transponders would be operable for two-axle vehicles (cars, vans, pickup trucks, motorcycles and RVs) registered or leased to private individuals.  You’ll also need to provide vehicle information (license plate, make, model, year, etc.).  The easiest and most frequently used form of payment for an E-ZPass account is a credit card because use of a valid credit card results in a waiver of any per-tag deposits ($10 per tag).

To apply online, go to www.ezpassnj.com.  Scroll to the “Sign Up for E-ZPass” text block and click on the “Click Here to Sign Up” button and fill out the respective fields on each page.

OR

Other enrollment methods:

• Phone Call toll-free 1-888-AUTO-TOLL (888-288-6865) and speak with an attendant (Note: there can be delays reaching a customer service representative.)
• Download and print an application from the ezpassnj.com website for applying with cash, check, or debit from bank checking accounts. (Note:  DO NOT MAIL CASH.  Cash is only accepted at limited walk-in centers operated by the NJ E-ZPass Customer Service Center.)

STEP 2 – Upon receipt of your NJ E-ZPass Customer Service Center transponder, install it in your vehicle according to the instructions and immediately remove your Pennsylvania Turnpike E-ZPass Customer Service Center transponder from the vehicle.  (Note: Do not drive with two active transponders as you risk being double charged at the tolling points.)

STEP 3 – To close your account with the Pennsylvania Turnpike E-ZPass Customer Service Center, return your old transponder along with a letter indicating you would like to close your account to:

PTC E-ZPass Customer Service Center

300 East Park Drive

Harrisburg, PA 17111

It is highly recommended that when returning your E-ZPass transponder you use a method that can provide proof of delivery. To prevent your transponder from being read during delivery, the PA Turnpike recommends that you enclose the transponder in the original silver packaging that was provided with your transponder, or wrap the transponder in aluminum foil.  To avoid any collection activity, please include payment if you have a negative account balance. If you have an available account balance, remaining funds will be returned to the original method of payment within 30 days.