Drivers Enterting NYC Will Have to Pay Higher Tolls Under New PLans
NEW YORK (AP) -- The millions of drivers who commute into the city from New Jersey every day would have to shell out an extra $2, and E-ZPass users can say goodbye to rush-hour discounts under a proposal to be announced Thursday by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
The increase means that drivers would have to pay $8 during rush hour to enter New York City from New Jersey -- the first such hike in six years.
People who take the PATH train would also see a fare jump, to $2 per trip from $1.50, according to a transportation official who has seen the proposed plan. The official spoke only on condition of anonymity so as not to upstage Port Authority officials who were releasing details Thursday.
The proposed increases -- first reported by The Star-Ledger of Newark, N.J. -- must be approved by the governors of both states and undergo a series of public hearings, which would likely take several months.
"Any proposal for an increase has to be carefully reviewed,'' said Lilo Stainton, a spokeswoman for New Jersey Gov. Jon S. Corzine. "We have significant infrastructure and security needs, but the governor wants to scrub the numbers to ensure any increase is the appropriate step forward.''
Under the plan, tolls would increase to $6 from $4 for off-peak trips and to $8 from $6 during peak hours, with no E-ZPass discount during peak hours on the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, the George Washington, Goethals and Bayonne bridges and the Outerbridge Crossing.
Peak hours during the week are from 6 a.m. to 9 a.m. and from 4 p.m. 7 p.m.; on the weekends they are from 12 p.m. to 8 p.m.
Last year, 127 million cars, buses and trucks drove eastbound on those five crossings.
The increases, if approved, were expected to take effect early next year, the transportation official said.
Also at Thursday's meeting, the board is expected to increase its contribution to the Trans-Hudson Tunnel project by another $1 billion. The Port Authority has already pledged $2 billion, with New Jersey also kicking in $1.5 billion.
The proposed $7.5 billion tunnel linking New Jersey and New York would double commuter rail capacity between the two states.
Called "Access to the Region's Core,'' the two-track tunnel has been discussed for more than a decade. Construction could begin on the project by 2009 and be completed by 2015. It is still awaiting federal approval and funding.
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