Cashless Tolls coming to NYC's bridges and tunnels

[Dougtone]

http://www.mta.info/bandt/html/cashless.html

Well, the MTA is trying out cashless tolling at the Henry Hudson Bridge crossing first as of November 10, 2012.  I believe that the Henry Hudson Bridge is one of the lower volume crossings that the MTA maintains, so this seems to be a good place to try a pilot program.  People are encouraged to use E-ZPass, or to get E-ZPass if they don't have it.  Otherwise, the MTA will send out a bill in the mail at a higher cash rate.

[KEVIN_224]

Will the actual toll change? I think the cash toll on this bridge is/was $4.

[Duke87]

It's not just a question of volume, it's also that the Henry Hudson Bridge has the highest percentage of drivers using EZ Pass among MTA crossings.

It's nice that they're doing this... of course, I was over that bridge just this past weekend and of course there were no signs of the toll plaza getting removed. It would seem they intend (at least for the time being) to have everyone still pass through the existing toll lanes - without stopping, but still having to slow down.

[roadman65]

I think we have it started in Florida already.  The Lee Roy Salmon Expressway in Tampa has gone that way.

LA 1 in Louisiana to Grand Ilse has been that way for a while.  I am suprised it has not started already in NYC.  Then again, you have a city that still uses double guy mast arms with old style signal controllers for its traffic lights.  Like one user here once said, NYC is the largest city in the US, but is so far behind technological.

[jeffandnicole]

It's not just a question of volume, it's also that the Henry Hudson Bridge has the highest percentage of drivers using EZ Pass among MTA crossings.

It's nice that they're doing this... of course, I was over that bridge just this past weekend and of course there were no signs of the toll plaza getting removed. It would seem they intend (at least for the time being) to have everyone still pass through the existing toll lanes - without stopping, but still having to slow down.

If they're 'trying it out' starting November 10th, why would they remove the toll plaza now? And even during the trial period itself, they wouldn't remove it.  If the trial isn't successful, that toll plaza would need to remain in place.  The most you'll see would be signs announcing the switchover, and that would only be for a few weeks prior to the trial start.

[Alps]

It's not just a question of volume, it's also that the Henry Hudson Bridge has the highest percentage of drivers using EZ Pass among MTA crossings.

It's also that there are no trucks, so everyone gets charged the same rate.

I think we have it started in Florida already.  The Lee Roy Salmon Expressway in Tampa has gone that way.

As has the FLA Turnpike Homestead Extension, and the Dolphin Expressway, and others around Miami.

[Dr Frankenstein]

We'll see how it handles my foreign plate.

[NJRoadfan]

We'll see how it handles my foreign plate.

MTA likely will bill you since NY has agreements with Canadian Provinces for other driver related matters. Some state like NC, you get a free ride since they don't want to pay other states to retrieve driver information.

[Dr Frankenstein]

True. On the other hand, Québec most probably has similar agreements with nearby states, yet Dougtone did not get billed by A25.

The only way to know is to try, and I will on my next trip.

[Roadgeek Adam]

.

If they're 'trying it out' starting November 10th, why would they remove the toll plaza now? And even during the trial period itself, they wouldn't remove it.  If the trial isn't successful, that toll plaza would need to remain in place.  The most you'll see would be signs announcing the switchover, and that would only be for a few weeks prior to the trial start.

This is the same agency that let the Verazanno eastbound tolls stand for 23 years before demolition.