Proposed toll hikes at Port Authority’s bridges and tunnels

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has released its latest proposed budget, which includes toll hikes at the agency’s bridges and tunnels – and paves the way for several big improvement projects.

On Thursday, the Port Authority released its proposed 2025 spending plan, which comes to $9.4 billion: up slightly from last year’s budget.

The bi-state agency operates many of the region’s busiest transportation hubs, including the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Port Authority Bus Terminal, the Port of New York and New Jersey, the PATH rail system and the area’s three major airports: LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and JFK.

The spending blue- print comes with some proposed toll and fare hikes. These would help to pay for the “largest Port Authority capital investment in history,” in addition to offsetting massive losses seen during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

The Port Authority’s annual budget includes no tax revenue from either the states of New York or New Jersey or from the City of New York, relying mostly on tolls, fares, user fees, retail stores, consumer services and facility rentals.

Toll and fare hikes

Drivers crossing the Port Authority’s bridges and tunnels could see a 25-cent toll hike, in addition to a separate 43-cent increase that kicks in automatically on Jan. 5, 2025.

Meanwhile, PATH train riders will see an automatic hike of 25-cents for single-ride fares starting on Jan. 12, 2025.

Port Authority also reported:

Cars/Motorcycles/Trucks – The Port Authority is proposing a $0.25 toll increase. It would become effective on Jan. 5, 2025. The $0.25 increase would be in addition to the automatic, inflation- based adjustments that occur annually. The proposal also recommends $0.25 increases above the annual automatic inflation-based toll adjustments for autos and trucks in each of the next three years.

Bridge and Tunnel Tolls – Pursuant to the September 2019 board action on bridge and tunnel tolls, an automatic inflation-based toll adjustment for autos and trucks occurs annually at the beginning of each calendar year. Based on the board-specified inflation adjustment, an automatic increase will occur effective Jan. 5, 2025. The automatic board-mandated increase will raise the auto peak E-ZPass tolls by $0.43 and truck peak E-ZPass tolls by $0.58 per axle, effective Jan. 5, 2025.”

E-ZPass – The proposals posted for public comment also contain two changes to existing toll rates, that will affect only 10-15 percent of transactions. The first would incentivize enrollment in the E-ZPass program by drivers who are not yet enrolled by increasing the Toll-by-Mail (TbM) rate to a level consistent with the two-way TbM rate charged by the MTA at its bridges and tunnels, ($22.38 for autos). The agency has proposed delaying the implementation date to July 2025. The second would incentivize drivers who have enrolled in the E-ZPass program but whose transponders are not being read by the E- ZPass overhead gantry equipment, to ensure proper positioning of their transponders by introducing a new mid-tier toll rate for all classes ($18.72 for autos). The agency has proposed delaying the implementation date to July 2025.

PATH Fares – Pursuant to the September 2019 board action on PATH fares, an automatic inflation-based fare adjustment was triggered because the cumulative increase of CPI was greater than $0.25. This board-mandated increase of the single ride fare from $2.75 to $3 will be effective on Jan. 12, 2025. All existing multi-trip and discounted fares will be maintained with appropriate adjustment. The single ride fare was last adjusted in October 2014, more than a decade ago.