On June 5, Senator Shelley Mayer and Senator Pete Harckham submitted testimony on behalf of their constituents of the 37th and 40th New York State Senate Districts expressing opposition to the proposed toll increase on roadways and bridges owned and operated by the NYS Thruway Authority until the Authority improves toll collection and accounting of costs and losses. Their full testimony can be found here.
Senator Shelley B. Mayer said, “I oppose the proposed toll increases on the NYS Thruway, and urge the Thruway Authority to withdraw this proposal. While I am pleased that the Thruway Authority’s proposal maintains the commuter discount off the NY E-ZPass rate for those who opt into the commuter program, the recent report of Comptroller Tom DiNapoli strongly suggests that the Thruway Authority needs to do more to improve efforts at toll collection, improve its accounting, and increase transparency with more comprehensive reporting of costs and losses. All of these efforts should be undertaken before imposing a toll increase.”
Senator Pete Harckham said, “Proposed toll increases from the NYS Thruway Authority deserve necessary scrutiny because of the impact they will have on Westchester and Rockland County commuters and small business owners. While road maintenance and construction certainly are expected to ensure driver safety, it is important that the Thruway Authority not simply rely on bridge and roadway tolls to cover costs. I’m grateful the NY E-Z Pass discount is being maintained for commuters on the Cuomo Bridge but unrealized revenue because of scofflaws needs to be addressed before tolls are raised.”
In a report released last month, NYS Comptroller Tom DiNapoli’s office found that the NYS Thruway Authority was owed $276.3 million in unpaid tolls and fees. Nearly half (43%) of the unpaid tolls and related fees, $119.3 million, is owed by out-of-state drivers. A substantial portion of that money is from vehicles registered in New Jersey ($34.2 million) and Connecticut ($16.7 million).
DiNapoli also found that the Thruway Authority can ask the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) to suspend the registration of any in-state passenger vehicles that do not pay tolls, fees, or other charges, if they have three or more violations in five years, and for commercial vehicles, if they owe $200 or more, but has made little use of it, with auditors finding 257,917 past due accounts, owing $288.4 million, that were eligible for suspension, including 49,740 customers who were persistent violators that had outstanding balances every year going back to 2017.
