By comparison, the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which operates seven toll and 13 nontoll bridges in a 140-mile stretch - including the Morrisville-Trenton bridge and the I-78 bridge between Pennsylvania and New Jersey - doesn't have its own force.
It contracts with the state police of Pennsylvania and New Jersey, which provide 24 officers and two supervisors to protect the commission's bridges at an annual cost of $4.1 million.
That's similar to how it's done in California. Near San Francisco, the seven toll bridges operated by the Bay Area Toll Authority are policed by the state highway patrol.
The money to police Philadelphia-area bridges comes from motorists' tolls, which currently range from 75 cents for commission bridges to $4 for the four DRPA bridges that link Philadelphia and South Jersey.
Tolls will increase Friday on 12 Delaware River bridges, with hikes ranging from 25 percent to 33 percent. Fares on PATCO between Center City and South Jersey also will go up by about 10 percent.
Bridge authorities say the increases are necessary to maintain and improve the spans.
Policing is one of the DRPA's biggest operating costs, besides paying off debt. Law enforcement costs are about 6.4 percent of the agency's $265 million operating budget. The largest cost, by far, is the $134 million a year for debt service and related expenses.
By comparison, SEPTA spends $16.7 million a year for a 267-person police department that oversees subways, buses, trolleys, and commuter trains in five counties. That's 1.4 percent of a $1.2 billion operating budget. Its patrol officers make between $34,611 and $54,060.
DRPA police earn more than Philadelphia police, whose salaries range from $40,036 to $55,603 a year. (New Jersey state police make between $58,748 and $97,188, and Pennsylvania state police between $58,211 and $88,526.)
