New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo is pushing for automatic tolling at Metropolitan Transportation Authority-operated bridges and tunnels in hopes of echoing other states that have eased traffic congestion through similar strategies.
The planned $500 million open road tolling system for the New York City region slated to start rolling out in January uses sensors and cameras to charge vehicles. Motorists who don't participate in the E-ZPass program will have a photo taken of their license plate and get a bill in the mail.
"There is no reason why you can't collect tolls at full highway speed," said Jonathan Peters, a finance professor at the College of Staten Island. "It works around the country."
By 2018 Cuomo hopes to extend open road tolling to the Henry Hudson Bridge, Whitestone Bridge, Throgs Neck Bridge, RFK Triborough Bridge, Queens Midtown Tunnel, Hugh L. Carey Brooklyn Battery Tunnel, Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, Marine Parkway-Gil Hodges Memorial Bridge and Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge. Funding for the electronic tolling and other enhancements such as new lighting will total around $500 million from MTA's $27 billion capital budget. The state will also allocate $37 million annually for security at the crossings and $100 million of federal funds for resiliency measures.
"By investing in New York's transportation network today and equipping it to meet the challenges of tomorrow, we are cementing our state's position as a national leader in 21st century infrastructure and cutting-edge innovation," said Cuomo in a statement. "This transformational project will revolutionize transportation in New York and ensure that our state is built to lead for generations to come."
Cuomo said automatic tolling is projected to save commuters up to 21 hours of drive time a year. State officials estimate that roughly 800,000 vehicles cross MTA tunnels and bridges each day, with drivers spending more than 6,400 hours per day waiting to pay tolls. The MTA is one of the nation's largest municipal issuers with $37.5 billion in debt.
"This is a smart undertaking that will not only make our transportation infrastructure more efficient but also safer," State Sen. Andrea Stewart Cousins, D-Yonkers, said in statement. "New York must redesign and rebuild for the 21st century to compete in the global marketplace."
MTA spokesman Christopher McKniff said the automatic tolling won't affect current E-ZPass customers and that the agency has agreements with out-of-state department of motor vehicle (DMV) locations to send toll bills. A new regulation in the state allows the New York State DMV Department of Motor Vehicles to suspend the registration of motorists who fail to pay five tolls, which should help with revenue collection, he said. Financial data reported by the MTA on Feb. 26, 2016 showed that 84% of vehicles utilizing its crossings on weekdays have E-ZPass transponders.
"Customers who do not pay an initial and then an overdue toll bill, will receive a notice of violation," said McKniff. "If the violation notice is unpaid, the violator is referred to our collections agency for recovery of tolls and fees due."
Various forms of electronic tolling have taken shape since the Dallas North Tollway (DNT) became the first toll road in the U.S. to implement electronic toll technology in 1989. The DNT, which is operated by the North Texas Tollway Authority, then converted to all-electronic toll collection in 2010 with prices higher or lower depending how far from downtown Dallas vehicles are traveling. DNT toll revenue increased 9% from 2013 to 2015, to $214.4 million, according to NTTA data.
"As a whole nationally the transition to all electronic tolling has been very successful," said Matt Click, vice president and national director of priced manages lanes for Kansas City, Mo.-based infrastructure consulting firm HNTB. "They have been able in many cases to make more revenue along with offering better customer service."
The MTA action comes after the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey voted to spend $170 million on toll collection upgrades, which sets the bi-state agency to eliminate cash tolls. The Port Authority is first planning to implement automatic tolling with the Bayonne Bridge connecting Staten Island and New Jersey when it reopens next year after a bridge raising project. Port Authority spokesman Neal Buccino said no decisions have been made yet on implementing all-electronic tolling at other crossings like the George Washington Bridge, though its new toll collection system will include this capability.
"The Port Authority will evaluate implementation at other crossings while taking into account the experience at the Bayonne," Buccino said.
Peters said the MTA project is a smart investment to cut down on traffic congestion caused by toll booths and could encourage more motorists to use the bridges and tunnels. Risks of revenue collection lag times from out-of-state motorists or toll-evaders can be addressed with stout enforcement, he said.
"When you have open road tolling there is always a risk of leakage since there can be a high rate of violations," said Peters. "The key is how well it is policed."
Nearby Massachusetts is set to roll out electronic tolling on Oct. 28 for the entire Massachusetts Turnpike along with the Tobin Bridge and the Ted Williams and Summer/Callahan Tunnels. State transportation officials first decided to get rid of toll plazas in 2012 and say the move will save motorists 280,000 hours and 875,000 of gasoline a year. Initial projections said the state may save about $50 million a year in operating costs, though when factoring in initial capital costs it was determined that annual savings will be around $5 million.
Thomas Doe, president of Concord, Mass.-based Municipal Market Analytics, said electronic tolling is a positive step, but he would eventually like to see more states and agencies adopt vehicle miles traveled (VMT) fees, which can generate data to help lawmakers assess future infrastructure needs.
"It's an incremental step toward the VMT," said Doe. "Technology and data collection provide better infrastructure planning because you learn more about the user."
