Cashless Tolls May Come To MTA Bridges and Tunnels

This has been an idea in the works for some time, but it appears that it is gaining speed.

The MTA notes that 75% of commuters using the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge use EZ Pass, so the question is how to collect tolls from the remaining 25%. However, that's always been the hurdle to overcome in moving towards high speed toll collections - that not everyone using the bridges and tunnels would obtain the transponders and use the system.

While this latest idea would greatly reduce congestion at the bridges and tunnels where toll plazas are a huge congestion and pollution source, note that it is the same technology that would also enable the City to go ahead and place tolls on the East River Bridges that are currently toll-free - the 59th Street (Queensboro), Williamsburg, Manhattan, and Brooklyn Bridges, along with the bridges connection Manhattan to the Bronx.

The City's insatiable appetite for revenues will look at those bridges as an untapped source of revenue. Mark my words.