If you travel in New York, get ready to spend more money. The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is putting forth a new proposal to raise toll rates and rail fares.
The toll and fare increases will help pay for a complete replacement of the PATH system and rebuilding the World Trade Center.
- Tolls on the GWB, the Holland and Lincoln tunnels — should go up at least $2.
- Tolls would also take a jump on the outerbridge crossing, Goethals bridge and Bayonne bridge, which connect New Jersey and Staten Island.
- PATH fares are also expected to go up, by as much as 50 cents a ride.
- And drivers who rely on EZ pass could lose their one dollar discount.
Meanwhile, there are plans to widen the New Jersey Turnpike, which would most likely be paid for higher tolls. From the proposal overview, it sounds like the plan is to stretch the car-and-truck lanes south from exit 8A to exit 6 and widen the existing car-and-truck lanes between exits 8A and 9. The last widening project that ended in the early 1990s increased tolls 70 to 100 percent.
Working from home is starting to sound even better.
Port Authority Wants You to Pay More [WABC 7 News]
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Hey Flexo – Nicole here again. I know this will probably sound insensitive, but I don’t really mind too much about the toll hikes. I live and work in Manhattan, and if there is one thing I could change it would be to get most of the cars off the street and double or even triple the bus service. There is way too much gridlock and congestion and anything that will deter out-of-towners from driving their cars into the city is okay with me. I think that people who live outside of manhattan are part of a car culture and think it is their right to be able to drive anywhere they want. That is fine for NJ, but the principle does not apply in Manhattan. Please leave your cars at home and take the public transportation. I say this as someone who is in a 4-year relationship with someone who lives in NJ and when we visit each other two or three times a week, we both always take public transportation. It’s not that hard :)
Thanks for listening to my rant!
Of course, everything I just said doesn’t apply to the rail fares – but they seem to go up every year as far as I can tell. The MTA will be raising bus/subway fares next year too. I guess it’s just a part of life we have to deal with, even though it sucks.
I too don’t like our “car culture”. I work in SF, live in the East Bay, and use BART (our m.t. light rail) every day. In dense cities like SF and NY, you SHOULD pay a high rate to cross the bridge. Then again, I’m one of the crazy people that would support a $1/gallon gas tax to fund alternative energy research.
I travel to NYC a few times a year. There really is too much traffic in Manhattan. I don’t have to pay for the tolls, so I’m all for it :)
This does not help those who work in NY and Live in NJ and vice versa. Especially if you rely on taking both the Path and the subway. Each way will cost an average of 4 dollars, round trip you will end up paying $8.00. Now that will not be much of a difference from paying a toll which will cost the same amount. Of course there is the gas and traffic, but some people when faced with the option prefer to drive rather than take a crowded train.
As for the tolls going up. I did not hear anyone mention the Verrazano. I believe that the tolls in place are expensive enough. The tolls should not serve as a deterrent for commuters, I believe parking “in the city” is impossible so why will we take our cars there if there is no where to park? Tickets are over $100.00. There is also the risk of getting towed. I live in NJ and used to live in Brooklyn NY. Now visiting family will be more expensive and less likely than before. I take the train to visit NYC, however not to go visit family in Bklyn and Queens. For those that live or work in NYC, please look around and you will see “commercial traffic” rather than commuters on the road. When I worked in NYC, my biggest complain was the rude yellow cabs, cargo vans, and trucks. THen you have the Taxi Limo’s. I really hope that someone out there can voice my concerns and stop all these toll and fare increase. But that will only be wishfull thinking.