Governor Cuomo Announces Cashless Tolling Begins on Rockaway Bridges
"Cashless tolling will reduce congestion, improve safety and streamline commutes on these vital arteries, providing much-needed relief to the Rockaway community and ensuring smooth travel during the summer season," Governor Cuomo said. "This is a critical milestone and a major component of our work to upgrade, improve and reimagine New York City’s crossings for the 21st century.”
Approximately 840,000 vehicles cross MTA bridges and tunnels each day. Cashless tolling, which is expected to be completed at each MTA crossing this year, is projected to save individual commuters up to 21 hours of drive time every year. Additionally, it reduces emissions affecting local communities and significantly decreases the amount of fuel burned by drivers, who will no longer have to stop and start waiting to pay tolls. This will conserve approximately one million gallons of fuel and save $2.3 million each year.
Open road tolling will be completed at all MTA bridges and tunnels by the end of this year. The schedule is as follows:
- RFK Bridge — Summer 2017
- Verrazano-Narrows Bridge — Summer 2017
- Throgs Neck Bridge — Fall 2017
- Bronx-Whitestone Bridge — Fall 2017
The Rockaway Bridges join the Henry Hudson Bridge and the Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown Tunnels, where sensors and cameras suspended over the highway on structures known as "gantries" read E-ZPass tags and take license plate images, so vehicles no longer have to stop and pay the toll. Vehicles with E-ZPass tags are automatically charged, and vehicles without E-ZPass have their license plate recorded and a bill is mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle. E-ZPass tags should be mounted inside the vehicle’s front windshield.
Cash and metal tokens are no longer be accepted at either bridge and commuters with leftover bridge tokens are encouraged to transition to E-Z Pass and will be eligible to redeem their tokens for a refund. Leftover tokens may be easily redeemed by visiting one of the E-ZPass New York Customer Service Center walk-in centers and completing a token redemption request, or by calling 212-360-3000, selecting option 6 and requesting a token refund kit. Resident token users will be mailed information from MTA Bridges and Tunnels with instructions on how to transition from tokens to E-ZPass. Non-resident token users can go to mta.info/e-zpass to get more information on opening an E-ZPass account. Electronic tokens or E-Token E-ZPass plans will also be available starting today.
Veronique Hakim, MTA interim executive director, said, “There is no better way to welcome people to the Rockaways at the start of summer tourism season than to make it easier to get there with cashless toiling. Commuters will be able to breeze through gantries and get where they want to go instead of waiting in traffic at toll booths. Governor's Cuomo's directive to accelerate the schedule to get this work done benefits everyone and couldn't come at a more perfect time."
To make it easy for drivers to pay their tolls, MTA Bridges and Tunnels has introduced a number of programs. Customers can sign up for E-ZPass and save 30-50 percent on MTA B&T tolls at MTA.info/E-ZPass even if they do not own a car. Drivers who receive a Tolls by Mail bill can pay it online at the Tolls by Mail website; by mail; over the phone; or in-person, and payment options include check, credit card, checking account, or cash. Customers who call **826 from a mobile phone will receive a text with a link to the Tolls by Mail website and information on how to set up a Pay Toll Now account that can be used by rental car customers.
To ensure that all users of MTA Bridges and Tunnels toll facilities pay their fair share, a series of enforcement measures are in place to tackle toll payment evasion and chronic toll scofflaws. Customers who do not pay their tolls are subject to violation fees, registration suspensions, and other enforcement actions. Late fees accrue if an initial toll bill is unpaid, and if a second notice is also ignored, violation fees of up to $100 per toll violation may be imposed.
The New York State Department of Motor Vehicles has enacted regulation that allows suspension of the vehicle registration of motorists who fail to pay three tolls, violation fees, and other charges resulting from violations on different days, within a period of five years, and ignore toll authorities' repeated notices.
