Jay O'Hara's job as a home remodeling salesman regularly takes him on trips from his Ephrata home to Philadelphia, Delaware, the Pocono Mountains and many places in between. He'll often travel 200 miles in a day.

The recent drop in gas prices has been a lifesaver, he said, but the Pennsylvania Turnpike tolls are, well, "a major toll."

And they're about to rise. A lot.

Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission officials Thursday reminded turnpike users that tolls will go up 25 percent, to 7.4 cents per mile, beginning Jan. 4 throughout the 545-mile system.

PA Turnpike CEO Joseph Brimmeier

Rates will likely be raised about 3 percent every year after that, said Joseph Brimmeier, turnpike chief executive.

"That's huge," O'Hara said. "That going to be a killer for the small business guy struggling through a recession."

The decision to impose higher tolls was made a year and a half ago with the passage of Act 44, a landmark transportation bill.

On Thursday, turnpike officials outlined the new toll schedule. It is the sixth toll increase since the original 1940 rate and the first since 2004.

While the 2004 increase was earmarked to rebuild and widen the turnpike, next year's toll hike will help subsidize 74 mass transit systems in Pennsylvania and repair the state's bridges and roads.

"For the first time, toll income isn't only going back into our toll roads, but helping to fund infrastructure improvements in every corner of Pennsylvania," Brimmeier said.

The most common toll paid by passenger vehicles will go from 75 cents to 95 cents, while a typical truck's tolls will be $7.85, up from $6.25, Brimmeier said.

Under Act 44, signed into law by Gov. Ed Rendell in July 2007, the turnpike will provide a total of $2.5 billion in extra transportation funding from August 2007 to May 2010.

Turnpike Commission officials said they expect to generate $1.3 billion in new funding in the next year and a half. The tolls provided $1.2 billion to PennDOT during the previous 16 months.

"No state has provided anywhere near this level of new funding," Brimmeier said.

The 2007 transportation bill also authorized the tolling of Interstate 80 across northern Pennsylvania, but federal regulators have stalled that proposal.

Brimmeier said the turnpike and state Transportation Department will consult with state lawmakers and then decide sometime next year whether to resubmit the application to the U.S. government.

The turnpike has about 2,250 employees and served 190 million vehicles last year. The recent drop-off in traffic has resulted in a small number of layoffs and buyouts.

The turnpike system's vehicle counts have fallen in recent months, a decline attributed to high gas prices and the economic slowdown. But Brimmeier said he was not worried that the greater cost might drive away trucks, just as a 42.5 percent toll jump in 2004 did not cut traffic.

"They'll stay on our road because it's a good road, it's one of the safest interstates in the country and they can get from Point A to Point B much quicker," Brimmeier said.

O'Hara said he was happier when toll funds were directed back to pay only for turnpike projects.

He said the economy has slowed his business lately. His most frequently traveled round trip now is from the Reading interchange to Willow Grove. In January the cost will rise from $8 to $10.

"I use E-Z Pass, so riding the turnpike is painless because you don't pay any cash," he said. "But with the new tolls, I'm already feeling it."

The Associated Press contributed to this story.

E-mail: pburns@lnpnews.com