Check your E-Z Pass: Some drivers at Trenton-Morrisville bridge overcharged $9 a trip

Danielle Camilli, Bucks County Courier Times
·3 min read

The Delaware River crossing between Trenton and Morrisville in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, was costly for some drivers in recent months as some were charged $9 at the toll.

The correct toll is $1.25 at the Route 1 bridge, but from February to early July an electronic reader in the right E-ZPass-only lane would "sporadically" charge $9 as it misclassified passenger vehicles, including cars, SUVS, van and pickup trucks, as larger vehicles that pay more, according to the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission that owns and operates the span.

The agency is in the process of getting motorists refunds for overcharges, it said in a statement on its website.

"The problem initially appeared to be confined to SUVs, vans, pickup trucks, and cars with higher profiles, but further investigation reveals that misreads might have occurred intermittently with any type of Class 1 vehicle," the statement read.

File - The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission is asking drivers who used that lane to check their E-Z Pass accounts for overcharges, and are directing those with claims to contact the commission or their state's E-Z Pass administrator.
File - The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission is asking drivers who used that lane to check their E-Z Pass accounts for overcharges, and are directing those with claims to contact the commission or their state's E-Z Pass administrator.

Joseph Donnelly, the commission's deputy executive director of communications, said Saturday while officials don't know how many vehicles were impacted, they know it was not all that passed through on the bridge.

"It's mostly SUVS and pickups and vans and then there are the cars with certain profiles," he said. "It's not every car and not every class going through that particular lane. It didn't have any consistent fashion or pattern to who was being misclassified. It took some time to figure out what was going on out there."

He said the E-ZPass reader was struck by flatbed truck carrying crushed vehicles, and eventually the commission was alerted to the problem when customers started calling about overcharges.

The reader was switched out July 7 and since then there doesn't appear to be any problems, Donnelly said.

More:Tolls to go up on Delaware River Toll Bridge Commission spans

But, the commission still has questions.

"We're doing a forensic investigation into these overcharges to identify who was overcharged .. It is a rather tedious process. We're still drilling down on it and when we have more answers we will be providing more information," Donnelly said."

The commission is asking drivers who used that lane to check their E-ZPass accounts for overcharges, and are directing those with claims to contact the commission or their state's E-ZPass administrator.

"Our intent is to make good with customers," Donnelly said.

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New Jersey E-ZPass customers can contact the commission directly for refunds at 1-800-363-0049. Drivers should "be prepared to provide detailed information about respective overcharges." Customers can also email detailed information to CSC@drjtbc.org. The phone line is staffed during the week, but callers can also leave a message for a call back.

Non-NJ E-ZPass system drivers, including those with passes from Pennsylvania, New York and Delaware, need to contact those states' respective E-Z Pass agencies. Call customer service and have your account information ready

Pennsylvania 877-736-6727

Delaware 888-397-2773

New York 1-800-333-TOLL (8655)

"Commissions staff cannot provide refunds to accounts that are not in the New Jersey E-ZPass Group’s database," the statement read.

This article originally appeared on Bucks County Courier Times: E-ZPass overcharged drivers on Trenton-Morrisville Toll Bridge