Come Sunday, the cost of traveling along the Pennsylvania Turnpike will be increasing — again.

Rising for the 12th straight year, the 522-mile trip from the Ohio border to the Delaware River will soon cost $53.50 if you’re paying cash, and $38.40 for those with an EZ Pass — an increase of 6 percent.

The Turnpike Commission’s reasoning for the consistent uptick in fees blames Act 44, a state law enacted in 2007 requiring the commission to provide PennDOT with $450 million annually for highways, bridges and public transit. Additionally, the revenue generated helps maintain and improve the road system, including the stretch that runs through Cranberry Township.

But come 2021, the Turnpike will be completely cashless. As part of that $129 million project, toll plazas and toll booths along the Turnpike will be decommissioned and demolished. Erected in their place will be all-electronic tolling (AET) overhead steel structures that already exist at some points along the highway.

Gone will be the jobs of the 600 remaining toll collectors and toll auditors, although officials say displaced workers will have the opportunity to move into other Turnpike jobs or to take classes to help them enter a different career.

Also gone will be the salaries that go with those jobs.

These positions average about $47,368, according to PennWATCH, a government database that includes “in-depth information about the state budget and revenues, how that money is being spent and the results your tax dollars are achieving.”

Do the math and that’s a savings of more than $28.4 million per year.

Does this mean motorists can expect the annual increases to level off — maybe even stop altogether?

It would stand to reason that if the Turnpike employment is expected to drop from about 1,900 to about 1,300 workers when the system is completely cashless, then those savings would and should be passed on to motorists.

The Turnpike Commission will be saving money by not having 600 additional salaries and benefits to pay after 2021. So why is it that officials are telling travelers to expect tolls to rise every year until 2044?

With the move to a completely cashless system and the elimination of so many jobs, the Turnpike Commission should re-evaluate its plan to continually increase tolls for another 24 years.

Otherwise, the constant increases might push travelers to consider alternative routes due to the higher rates, despite the quicker travel time without the toll booths.