PA Approves $1.50 Increase for E-ZPass Drivers
The Port Authority, its proposed huge toll hikes dialed down by Govs. Cuomo and Christie, approved an increase Friday of $1.50 for E-ZPass drivers beginning next month. The PA board unanimously voted yes on the proposal following a 60-minute meeting largely devoid of drama or disgust. The new prices are effective Sept. 18.
Initially, the PA proposed an immediate boost of $4 – a 50% hike from the current $8 – with another $2 in 2014.
The toll hikes covers the George Washington Bridge, the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, and three Staten Island bridges: The Goethals, Bayonne and the Outerbridge Crossing.
The two governors, in a letter to the Port Authority board, called for a total $4.50 toll hike – but stretched the increases over five years.
They also demanded an immediate and comprehensive audit of the cash-strapped agency.
“This is a responsible alternative that balances the infrastructure needs of the region with toll and fare payers’ economic realities,” Cuomo and Christie said.
Port Authority Chairman David Samson said the board’s OK was needed to fund construction at Ground Zero, repairs on the George Washington Bridge and the raising of the Bayonne Bridge.
The PATH trains will rise a quarter every year – for the next four years.
There was little outrage over the latest dip into the wallets of commuters, although actor Erik-Anders Nilsson blasted the PA for balancing its books “on the backs of the working class and the poor.
”What a shame this is being done on the 10th anniversary of the horrific attacks of 9/11,“ said the PATH train rider from Jersey City. ”What a shame.“
Mayor Bloomberg, while unhappy about the hikes, said he understood the need to raise the tolls at the Hudson River and Staten Island crossings.
”To not do it would be totally irresponsible,“ Bloomberg said on his weekly radio program. ”And Cuomo and Christie understand – they are responsible guys, they have a long-term view.“
Without the hikes, the mayor said, ”the bridges would eventually fall down. We wouldn’t fix anything, we wouldn’t be able to make the commute better. If you want services, you have to pay for them.“
Under the new plan:
*Tolls for cars with E-ZPass will increase $1.50 in September – instead of $4 – and 75 cents each December from 2012 to 2015.
*Drivers without E-ZPass will pay an additional $2 surcharge that will be rounded up to the nearest dollar to reduce the burden on toll-takers fumbling with quarters and encourage E-ZPass use.
*Trucks with E-ZPass will pay an additional $2 per axle in September and another $2 per axle each December from 2012 to 2015.
*Non E-ZPass trucks will have an additional $3 per axle cash penalty.
*PATH fares, currently $1.75, will increase 25 cents a year for four years.
Release of the governors’ plan came just a day before the board was expected to vote on the original toll proposal, which sparked outrage throughout the region.
Cuomo and Christie initially claimed to have been caught off guard by the initial plan – which the agency claimed was needed to support its massive capital plan.
Sources indicated that both governors knew of the plan before it was released – and maneuvered to score political points by whittling down the proposed increase.
”They probably thought they could get away with putting the $4 out there and then they could come and rescue everybody,“ said one city lawmaker.
Commuters were relieved at that Cuomo and Christie scaled back the toll hike.
”Oh man, we thought we were gonna be takin’ a whoopin’ on them tolls. It’s only $1.50 increase? That won’t sting too bad,“ said Terry Jackson, 40, a Fort Lee, N.J., construction worker. ”They’re still gonna get us in the long run though.”
