CARBON COUNTY -- Bob and Fern Boyce are traveling from Tunkhannock to Allentown to meet their grandbaby
Since tolls on the trip are going up — they're trying something new
"We went to AAA and bought our first EZ pass," Bob Boyce said.
For the ninth year in a row Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls are increasing, something these travelers at the Hickory Run Service Plaza found hard to swallow.
"This is absurd, over $10 just to go through a toll, $2 or $3 is understandable," Jessita Dodd, Rochester, New York, said.
If you are paying cash, a trip from the Poconos to the Wyoming Valley will cost you 20 cents more. It might not look like a lot of money but commuters say it adds up.
"Probably gotta make more money somewhere, make ends meet," Mike Maxwell, Summit Hill, said.
"It's like everything else it keeps going up, hope my pay goes up too," Ray Barth, Lehighton, said.
And if you are driving a big rig the hikes are even bigger.
Truckers we met in Carbon County say they plan to bill customers for the cost.
"We pass it on to the customer, whatever the toll is the customer pays for it, you have to charge them more," Dave D'Alessandro, New York, said.
Officials say the increase is necessary to maintain and improve the aging system, parts of which were built 75 years ago.
"Somebody has to pay for it, fixing the roads when they are not right, so I am for it," Frank Miller, Williamsport, said.
One trucker brought a sunny outlook from California, saying he doesn't mind paying the tolls since he sees the Turnpike improving.