Tolls in New Jersey

New Jersey truck tolls depend on the road or crossing, the vehicle's axle and tire configuration, the direction of travel, the payment account, and sometimes the time of day. For a container move, calculate the entire operation: loaded delivery, empty return, and any separate equipment trips. A passenger-car rate or a single outbound calculation can leave a large part of the expense out of the freight price.

A five-axle truck entering New York over a Port Authority crossing, for example, pays a published $113.35 peak E-ZPass toll with an eligible NY/NJ account, compared with $128.35 under the Tolls by Mail category. That crossing may be only one part of the itinerary. Port Authority truck rates show why a short harbor move can carry substantial toll costs.

This guide covers the principal toll roads and border crossings relevant to New Jersey trucking and container drayage. Rates and payment rules were checked on October 25, 2026. Use the operator's schedule for the actual travel date, particularly when a quote spans a rate change. The examples explain pricing; dispatch still needs a route suitable for the actual truck and cargo.

Start with the complete truck movement

Before choosing a toll rate, establish what is moving and where it must go. The container size alone does not tell you the truck's toll class.

Confirm the vehicle combination. Count the tractor and chassis axles and check the operator's tire, height, and vehicle-category rules. A three-axle tractor with a two-axle chassis is a five-axle combination. A three-axle chassis changes that combination to six axles. Our container chassis guide explains the equipment behind those distinctions.

Write down every stop. An import can involve chassis collection, a marine terminal, the receiver, an empty-container depot, and a separate chassis return. A drop may require another collection trip. An export reverses some of those tasks but still needs the whole sequence priced.

Identify the real terminal. Newark, Elizabeth, and Port Jersey have separate container operations. Use the New Jersey marine-terminal guide or rail-ramp guide to distinguish the origin. A general port name is insufficient for choosing the Turnpike entrance or harbor crossing.

Price the returning configuration. Unloading the cargo does not remove the chassis axles. An empty container on the same combination can incur the same vehicle-class toll where the return direction is charged. A bobtail, a bare chassis, and a mounted empty container should each be classified according to the actual equipment being driven.

New Jersey toll roads and their truck pricing

The New Jersey Turnpike, Garden State Parkway, and Atlantic City Expressway have different charging structures. Do not treat a rate from one road as a statewide per-mile price.

New Jersey Turnpike

Use the NJTA toll calculator with the actual entrance, exit, and vehicle class, then confirm the result against the current Turnpike schedules. NJTA says the published schedules govern if the calculator differs.

The vehicle definitions distinguish two-axle dual-tire trucks from passenger vehicles and provide separate three-, four-, five-, and six-or-more-axle truck classes. Use the complete combination, including the chassis or trailer. Class numbers are specific to the operator.

The 2026 truck schedules have separate cash, E-ZPass, and NJ E-ZPass off-peak rows. Match the payment and eligibility conditions to the row you use. NJTA defines peak entry periods as 7–9 a.m. and 4:30–6:30 p.m. on weekdays, plus all day Saturday and Sunday. A receiver's appointment time is not necessarily the time the truck enters the Turnpike.

For payment, NJTA's roadway information says the Turnpike accepts cash in selected lanes except at Interchange 19W, which is E-ZPass only. Do not assume every toll location offers a cash lane or that driving through an E-ZPass-only lane without a working account is an ordinary pay-by-plate transaction.

Calculate each separate entry and exit. Leaving the road for a warehouse or depot and re-entering creates another journey to price.

Garden State Parkway

The Parkway uses mainline and ramp toll locations. The Parkway schedules provide the plaza, direction, vehicle class, and payment rates; the total depends on the toll locations actually encountered.

Truck access is the first decision. NJTA warns that heavy trucks registered at 10,000 pounds or more, with six tires or three or more axles, are prohibited north of Interchange 105. The restriction appears in its route calculator. A container tractor-trailer should not be assigned that northern Parkway segment because a car-navigation app suggests it.

For a permitted movement on the southern section, use the applicable truck schedule and count the charged locations in each direction. Check the current cash and E-ZPass arrangements rather than applying the Atlantic City Expressway's cashless policy to the Parkway.

Atlantic City Expressway

The Atlantic City Expressway began all-electronic tolling on January 4, 2026. There is no cash collection on the roadway. Payment uses E-ZPass or a Toll By Plate bill to the registered owner.

The current system prices a trip using the first and last collection zones encountered. SJTA's billing FAQ explains that the Exit 41 westbound entrance and eastbound exit remain separate ramp transactions. Collection-zone numbers are not a substitute for identifying the driver's actual road entrances and exits.

Use SJTA's route calculator or its linked 2026 E-ZPass chart and Toll By Plate chart. For example, Class 5, five or more axles, from collection zone 4 to zone 40 is $24.31 with E-ZPass or $48.62 by plate. These are that zone pair's tolls, before any additional billing or administrative charges; they are not universal prices for every Expressway trip.

Do not obtain a truck rate by multiplying a passenger-car figure. Even SJTA's two-axle categories distinguish an ordinary vehicle from a dual-tire or over-nine-foot vehicle.

Bridge and tunnel tolls at the New Jersey border

Identify the operator as well as the crossing. Several agencies serve the Delaware River, while New York-bound harbor crossings can connect to additional MTA toll facilities.

Port Authority crossings into New York

The Port Authority operates the George Washington, Bayonne, and Goethals bridges, Outerbridge Crossing, and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels. Its toll table applies to all six facilities: collection is toward New York, and all are cashless. The reverse crossing into New Jersey has no Port Authority crossing toll.

For a five-axle truck, the published rates are:

The 2026 truckers' guide defines peak periods as weekdays 6–10 a.m. and 4–8 p.m., and weekends 11 a.m.–9 p.m. Truck overnight pricing applies Sunday through Thursday nights, 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. the following morning. These periods differ from NJTA's.

Discount eligibility requires a New York or New Jersey E-ZPass customer-service account. Acceptance of another state's tag does not establish entitlement to these discounted rates. A NY/NJ tag that is not read correctly can produce the higher Mid-Tier charge; maintain the vehicle's plate details and install the transponder correctly.

Toll prices also do not establish truck access. The same guide requires trucks to use the George Washington Bridge's upper level and prohibits tractor-trailers in the Holland Tunnel. Verify dimensions, cargo restrictions, and the complete approach before dispatch.

DRJTBC bridges to Pennsylvania

The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission's 2026 schedule covers eight toll bridges: I-78, Delaware Water Gap on I-80, Scudder Falls on I-295, Trenton–Morrisville on Route 1, Easton–Phillipsburg on Route 22, New Hope–Lambertville on Route 202, Portland–Columbia, and Milford–Montague.

For commercial categories, the schedule uses $6.50 per axle with E-ZPass or $8 per axle by plate. A five-axle truck is therefore $32.50 or $40; a six-axle truck is $39 or $48. Height and trailer configuration affect the category, so a small commercial vehicle should not automatically be priced as a car.

For common freight examples, I-78 collects westbound, and Scudder Falls collects toward Pennsylvania. Record the charged direction for the bridge actually used rather than doubling one crossing's price.

All eight bridges use E-ZPass or Toll By Plate. The Commission's plate-billing page confirms that cash collection at its last cash-accepting bridges ended in January 2025.

DRPA bridges toward Philadelphia

The Delaware River Port Authority operates the Ben Franklin, Walt Whitman, Betsy Ross, and Commodore Barry bridges. Its current posted schedule, effective September 1, 2024, charges westbound from New Jersey to Pennsylvania.

For trucks in the 7,001-pound-and-over GVWR category, the two-axle charge is $18, with $9 for each additional axle. A five-axle combination is therefore $45, and a six-axle combination $54. The $6 passenger-vehicle price is not the container-truck price.

Ordinary toll-lane payment accepts cash or designated E-ZPass lanes. The standard schedule says credit/debit cards and mobile payments are not accepted in toll lanes. Special permit movements have separate procedures; use DRPA's truck-permit guidance when arranging one.

Delaware Memorial Bridge

The Delaware Memorial Bridge is operated by the Delaware River and Bay Authority. Its bridge information identifies the charged direction as southbound, from New Jersey to Delaware.

The posted truck schedule, effective April 1, 2025, lists a five-axle dual-tire combination at $35 with E-ZPass or $40 cash. Six axles are $42 or $48. Passenger-car commuter packages do not apply to these commercial combinations.

Cash remains part of the posted payment schedule. DRBA's cashless-transition announcement describes a later conversion, targeted for late 2029 or early 2030. A future project announcement does not change today's payment instructions.

The Turnpike connection into Pennsylvania and local bridges

The Delaware River–Turnpike Toll Bridge is a different crossing from the Delaware Memorial Bridge. For the Turnpike extension into Pennsylvania, use the PA Turnpike calculator and vehicle-class explanation. The bridge uses an axle-based classification, while travel farther onto the Pennsylvania Turnpike uses axle and height categories. A five-axle truck is not called Class 5 in every part of that system.

The 2026 PA E-ZPass schedule lists the H43 bridge toll as westbound only. Its five-axle E-ZPass bridge component is $30.36. Additional NJ Turnpike or Pennsylvania road charges belong in the itinerary separately.

For other crossings, consult the operator serving the route, including the Burlington County Bridge Commission and Cape May County Bridge Commission. Do not apply a DRPA or DRJTBC tariff to a local bridge simply because it crosses the same river or is nearby. Cape May's cashless-toll information also illustrates how invoice fees can be separate from the crossing toll.

E-ZPass discounts depend on the agency and account

A tag can work at multiple facilities while receiving different pricing treatment at each. Dispatch and accounting should know the actual account issuer, tag assignment, and applicable plans.

NJTA has NJ-account discounts. Its discount rules identify a commercial volume discount of 5% on eligible off-peak Turnpike and Parkway rates for NJ E-ZPass post-paid accounts exceeding $10,000 in monthly tolls. Confirm the program requirements before pricing that saving into a customer's shipment. Passenger senior and recreational-trailer plans are not general commercial-truck discounts.

The Port Authority and MTA have different issuer rules. NY and NJ E-ZPass accounts qualify for the Port Authority's applicable E-ZPass categories. MTA's lower truck rates require a New York Customer Service Center account; an NJ account falls into its non-NYCSC category. That distinction matters when a New Jersey shipment continues across the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

A plate match is not a universal discount rule. SJTA's FAQ describes matching a missed tag read to a valid account using the registered plate. The Port Authority publishes a separate Mid-Tier category for unread NY/NJ tags. Check the facility's policy instead of assuming every operator will process the same event identically.

Maintain correct plate numbers and states, vehicle categories, active funding, and properly mounted tags. When equipment or tractors change, check the account records and the toll classification of the new combination.

Worked examples for dispatch and quoting

These calculations isolate particular toll components. They are illustrative movements, not approved dispatch routes or complete drayage quotes.

New Jersey to Brooklyn and back through Staten Island

Assume a five-axle combination crosses the Goethals Bridge into Staten Island, continues over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge to Brooklyn, and returns through the same two crossings. Assume a peak Goethals crossing and no change in axle count after unloading.

The figures use the Port Authority schedule and MTA truck schedule, with properly read, eligible tags for the discounted columns. The Verrazzano charges in both directions; MTA documents the change to split tolling.

The NJ-account example costs $56.52 more than the NY-account example at the two Verrazzano transactions, even though the same NJ tag qualifies for the Port Authority rate at Goethals. This is why an estimate labeled only “E-ZPass” can be ambiguous.

Add the NJ Turnpike and any other charged facilities using the actual itinerary. This example contains no Manhattan congestion-zone entry. The New York City marine-terminal guide provides more context for distinguishing Brooklyn, Staten Island, and New Jersey container locations.

New Jersey to Pennsylvania over I-78

Assume the same five-axle combination makes a Pennsylvania-bound loaded crossing and returns to New Jersey empty over I-78. The bridge component is $32.50 with E-ZPass or $40 by plate on the westbound leg. The eastbound return does not create a second I-78 bridge toll.

Other roads on either leg can still be tolled. If the returning truck uses another crossing, reprice that leg. Removing cargo does not itself change the axle-based rate.

A southern New Jersey move crossing into Delaware

For a five-axle dual-tire combination going from New Jersey into Delaware over the Delaware Memorial Bridge, allow $35 with E-ZPass or $40 cash for that crossing. A reverse journey over the same bridge has no northbound bridge toll. Any Turnpike travel remains a separate charge.

A toll-saving detour

Suppose a permitted alternative saves $25 in tolls but adds 30 minutes and 12 miles. Using illustrative operating assumptions of $60 per truck-hour and $0.80 per additional mile, the detour adds $30 + $9.60 = $39.60. Its operating cost exceeds the toll saving by $14.60.

Those hourly and mileage inputs are assumptions, not market rates. Substitute the carrier's actual costs and consider appointment feasibility. “Avoid tolls” is not automatically the least expensive shipment plan.

Keep congestion pricing and truck access in the calculation

A New York-bound truck may encounter more than bridge tolls. Establish the destination and route before adding or excluding another charge.

Manhattan congestion pricing is a separate item

The MTA Congestion Relief Zone covers Manhattan local streets and avenues south of and including 60th Street, with named roadway exclusions. A Brooklyn or Staten Island delivery does not automatically enter that zone.

The published 2025–2027 E-ZPass base rate for a multi-unit truck is $21.60 during the peak period or $5.40 overnight. Its peak period is 5 a.m.–9 p.m. on weekdays and 9 a.m.–9 p.m. on weekends. It therefore uses a third set of time bands, separate from NJTA and the Port Authority.

An eligible peak-period tunnel crossing can receive a credit against the zone charge. The full schedule sets the categories, credits, and conditions. Do not apply the passenger-car once-per-day cap to a multi-unit truck, and do not subtract a tunnel credit from the bridge or tunnel's own tariff. Check actual zone entries and any applicable adjustments.

Check the legal route before comparing prices

NJDOT's truck-routing guidance explains the National Network, access routes, and terminal-access requirements for covered large trucks. A route chosen solely to avoid a toll can create a different operating problem.

For Delaware River alternatives, consult the DRJTBC bridge limits. Some smaller non-toll bridges have low clearances and weight limits that make them unsuitable for container combinations. A free crossing is not necessarily an available freight alternative.

For heavy or unusually sized cargo, check NJDOT's permit process and the crossing operator's requirements. Our overweight shipment guide distinguishes cargo weight, complete vehicle weight, axle loading, and equipment support. Paying a truck toll does not authorize an overweight or oversized movement.

Pay tolls and handle delayed bills correctly

E-ZPass transactions, ordinary plate invoices, missed cash tolls, and violation notices are different situations. Start with the operator and the document you actually received.

Cashless travel and a missed toll need different responses

At a facility offering plate billing, the registered owner can receive an ordinary toll invoice after travel. At a staffed road or bridge, missing payment can instead produce a violation notice. DRPA's missed-toll explanation describes that distinction for its E-ZPass lanes.

Use NJ E-ZPass for the agencies and notices handled by its customer-service system. For a Port Authority or Pennsylvania Turnpike bill, follow that operator's official billing instructions. There is no single universal payment page for every toll associated with a New Jersey shipment.

If you enter an E-ZPass-only lane and the tag fails, follow the posted lane instructions and contact customer service when safely stopped elsewhere. The NJ E-ZPass FAQ says never to back out of a toll lane.

A shipment can be delivered before its toll bill arrives

For DRJTBC plate transactions, the first invoice is issued when tolls reach $50 or 30 days after the first transaction, whichever happens first. SJTA's FAQ describes the same billing trigger and says Expressway transactions take about a week to generate in the system.

That timing explains how toll paperwork can arrive after the delivery and equipment return. Keep the original route estimate available, assign toll-account review to someone, and reconcile later transactions to the shipment. A delayed statement is not evidence that the freight quote excluded the expense.

Late fees also differ. DRJTBC publishes a $5 fee on a second unpaid bill and a later $30 violation fee per unpaid transaction. SJTA describes a $5 late fee and a later $50 fee per overdue transaction. Follow the notice's actual deadline; do not apply one agency's penalty schedule to another.

Check an unexpected charge before passing it through

Match the charge to the travel date, crossing or road entry/exit, direction, axle class, tag or plate, and shipment leg. Compare the amount with the rate valid on that date and the quote's agreed treatment of tolls.

Separate the underlying toll from a plate-processing charge, rental-provider fee, administrative charge, or late penalty. Check whether the same expense was already included or paid. The accessorial-tracking guide explains how to review shipment charges and supporting records.

For a misread plate, duplicate transaction, incorrect class, or active-account issue, use the official dispute channel and attach the relevant statement, notice, vehicle record, or receipt. The NJ E-ZPass dispute instructions explain the information requested. Fee cancellation is a decision under the relevant process, not an automatic result of submitting a dispute.

Avoid payment scams

Open the known operator website or app yourself before entering payment information. NJTA's text-message warning says NJ E-ZPass does not send unsolicited payment-collection texts and explains a separate exception for accounts already handled by its collections provider. Verify the account independently rather than trusting a link in an unexpected message.

Check the toll scope before accepting a freight quote

A quote should make the expected toll expense visible before the move begins. For a manual review, retain the selected itinerary, equipment class, payment basis, rate date, and toll components so another person can follow the calculation.

Before booking, confirm:

• The operation: Terminal, receiving entrance, authorized empty return, and separate chassis stops.
• The equipment: Tractor and chassis configuration, including changes between legs.
• The toll basis: Facilities, charged directions, account eligibility, and relevant time bands.
• The commercial treatment: Tolls included in the total, an estimated allowance, or reimbursement of actual outlay.
• Changes: How a revised return depot, extra trip, altered equipment, or later travel date affects the price.

Do not add a toll estimate again when it is already included. The all-in drayage quote guide explains how to compare scope, assumptions, and conditional charges; the wider container-fee guide covers expenses outside the road tolls.

Let Portmate calculate tolls with the quote

Portmate automatically calculates estimated tolls for the selected shipment route and equipment profile, including the loaded and empty legs, and includes the amount in the quote breakdown. You can review the expected expense before booking without manually tracing every charged crossing and working through separate government, bridge, and Turnpike schedules.

That puts tolls into the shipment budget while you are making the pricing decision, instead of first discovering an unbudgeted expense when a bill arrives after delivery. Confirm the itinerary and empty-return assumptions with the quote, and have the price reviewed if the operation changes.

Use the toll-calculation walkthrough to see where the toll line appears, or request a drayage quote with the terminal, destination, container, cargo weight, and known return instructions.