Port Authority continues push for cashless tolls

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will take two more steps toward cashless tolling on all of the transportation agency’s crossings.

The bi-state entity announced Tuesday that electronic tolls will be rolled out on Staten Island’s Outerbridge Crossing on April 24 and the Goethals Bridge later this year. The authority, which first implemented automatic tolling on the Bayonne Bridge in February 2017, was asked by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo to transition all of its bridges and tunnels to cashless in the near future during last year’s State of the State address.

“Cashless tolling has become the new national standard for toll collection and customer convenience, and we have worked diligently to transition our crossings to this new system,” Port Authority Executive Director Rick Cotton said in a statement. “This activation will speed the trip for the traveling public and also will have environmental benefits by eliminating idling vehicles queued up to pay the toll.”

Cuomo noted in his January 2018 remarks that cashless tolling has had success since debuting on Metropolitan Transportation Authority-operated crossings and along the New York State Thruway with quicker commute times along with enhanced security through license plate readers the technology enables. The Democratic governor called on the Port Authority during his speech to eventually install cashless tolling at the George Washington Bridge, Holland Tunnel and Lincoln Tunnel.

The Port Authority press office did not immediately respond for comment on plans for future open road tolling projects. The agency’s board of commissioners voted in 2016 to spend $170 million on toll collection upgrades in a move that positioned it to eventually eliminate cash tolls. It is projecting that cashless tolling at the Outerbridge Crossing and Goethals Bridge will save drivers roughly 200,000 hours a year in travel time.

“With travel at Port Authority crossings continuing to grow, it is imperative for us to implement this new technology to move more vehicles quickly and efficiently through our facilities,” Port Authority Chairman Kevin O’Toole said in a statement. “This system will help bring our toll facilities up to 21st century standards and supplement our multi-billion dollar investments to build new crossings such as we have done at the Bayonne and Goethals bridges.”

The Port Authority is one of the nation’s largest municipal bond issuers with $22.1 billion of outstanding bonded debt at the end of 2018, according to its year-end financial statement. The transportation agency’s bonds are rated Aa3 by Moody’s Investors Service and AA-minus by S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.