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Tolls for thee, but not for me
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and state lawmakers have tapped a little-known transit fund to dole out free tolls to Queens and Bronx drivers — a giveaway that critics say conflicts with congestion pricing’s goal of discouraging driving.
Starting Saturday, Bronx residents who sign up for a new program will get an instant rebate on the $3.18 E-ZPass toll to cross the Henry Hudson Bridge. Queens residents will get a full discount on the $2.60 Cross Bay Bridge toll. The fund will also maintain an existing discounted rate of $2.75 for Staten Island residents to cross the Verrazzano Bridge.
New Jersey Congressman Josh Gottheimer said the rebates were a slap in the face to other drivers across the region who will have to pay a $15 daytime toll to enter Manhattan below 60th Street once the MTA launches congestion pricing.
“The irony here is rich,” said Gottheimer, one of the Garden State’s most vocal critics of congestion pricing. “They don’t really care about congestion or pollution.”
The state will cover the cost of the free tolls by pulling $20.5 million from New York’s “Outer Borough Transportation Account,” which was established by state lawmakers in 2018 with the goal of boosting transit options in city neighborhoods that are far from subway stations, the MTA confirmed. The account is funded by surcharges on taxi and for-hire vehicle trips that enter the busiest parts of Manhattan.
But last fall, Hochul — along with representatives appointed by Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie and Senate Majority Leader Andrea Stewart-Cousins — ordered nearly all the money be used for toll discounts to drivers, according to a letter from Heastie’s office obtained by Gothamist.
“The outer borough transit fund was supposed to be to help transit improvements in the outer boroughs to allow for more people to take public transportation,” Queens State Senator Leroy Comrie told Gothamist about its inception back in 2019.
Just $1.5 million of the $22 million available from the fund will be used for public transit. The MTA will offer discounted $5 LIRR tickets to Far Rockaway residents for trips that start and end within the five boroughs.
MTA Chair Janno Lieber said Wednesday that Hochul and state lawmakers should rethink how the fund is used.
“The future revenues of the outer borough transportation account should include investments in making transit more attractive or more affordable,” he said.
Gottheimer said the fund revealed the MTA’s true motive for congestion pricing.
“They’re using this money to help encourage more people to drive into New York City,” he said. “They just want money.”
This week in New York City transit news
- The Port Authority is moving ahead with a $10 billion replacement of Midtown’s miserable bus terminal. Read more.
- On Thursday, New Yorkers took their first rides on the MTA’s new “open gangway” subway cars, which lack interior doors, allowing riders to walk the entire length of the train. Read more.
- Almost 70% of fare evasion tickets issued between January and September 2023 were given out at about 100 subway stations. We mapped those summonses to see where enforcement was concentrated. Read more.
- Emergency exit gates at three subway stations will soon take 15 seconds to open as part of an effort to crack down on fare evasion. Read more.
- The New York metro area’s three major airports had their busiest year ever in 2023, according to the Port Authority. Read more.
- A City Council bill would increase the fines for drivers with idling vehicles — and the payout for citizens who report them. But one serial tipster, who’s accused of menacing a city employee over his idling reports, has…
This article was originally published by a gothamist.com . Read the Original article here. .