Oklahoma Turnpike Authority raising rates, effective Jan. 1

It’s going to cost more to drive from Lawton to Oklahoma City, beginning Jan. 1.

For Lawton drivers, that means a $3.50 PIKEPASS trip from Lawton to Oklahoma City/Newcastle will increase to $4.04.

Members of the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority unanimously approved a new fee schedule Tuesday that will raise state toll rates enough “to achieve a 15 percent system-wide toll revenue increase,” Director of Finance Wendy Smith told authority members.

Additionally, the resolution sets an automatic fee increase in place, meaning that every other year beginning with Jan. 1, 2027, tolls will increase 6 percent, an increase calculated to reflect inflationary cost changes.

In addition, to simplify the toll process, the Turnpike Authority will change its classification of vehicles and the way they pay tolls. Oklahoma toll roads now charge fees based on vehicle axles. With the new change in January, vehicles will be identified and charged tolls based on three categories: small, medium and large.

The changes will apply to PIKEPASS and non-PIKEPASS users, Smith said.

Smith said the Oklahoma Turnpike Authority has only raised fees 11 times since 1953, an adjustment typically made in conjunction with implementation of a large program. That’s why fees were adjusted in association with ACCESS Oklahoma, “one of the largest reinvestments that the turnpike has ever done,” Smith said. The 15-year program, announced in 2021, is designed to address significant transportation needs by upgrading some turnpikes while adding new ones.

Smith said the new rate structure adjustment will help increase revenues that, in turn, will help the Turnpike Authority cover projected cost increases for its upgrades.

She also said the automatic fee adjustments that will occur every two years “are pretty typical around the country,” most designed to allow turnpike agencies to keep up with inflationary costs. Oklahoma’s adjustment will equate to a 3 percent increase per year, applied every other year at 6 percent.

“We’ll do a review on an annual basis,” Smith said, adding while those adjustments will be automatic, they will be brought to the Turnpike Authority for authorization.

Smith also confirmed that if adjustments are not needed in a specific year, fees won’t be raised.

The new fee schedule will be the second time in less than 12 months that turnpike tolls were raised for some drivers.

Earlier this year, the state began wide-scale implementation of a two-tiered system as it modernized its toll plazas. Rather than collect fees from drivers who stop at toll booths, cameras at new toll plazas take pictures of licenses plates as vehicles pass through, with drivers who don’t have PIKEPASS accounts receiving a bill.

Those non-PIKEPASS fees are more expensive. For example, the one-way cost of driving from Lawton to Oklahoma City on H.E. Bailey is $3.50 for PIKEPASS users and $7.45 for non-PIKEPASS users.