What to Know
- Five years into what’s known as cashless tolling -- where you don’t see toll booths anymore but instead an electronic gantry scans your EZ pass or reads your license plate and then sends you a bill -- the MTA is battling a staggering number of what it calls persistent toll evaders.
- Thursday wrapped a 24-hour span where MTA police stopped a staggering number of motorists for apparent toll evading.
- Authorities say they have made progress cracking down on fake license plates — and temporary paper plates which tricked the toll scanners.
The rules of the road are supposed to be simple: you pay to access a certain road. The problem is that thousands of drivers are not paying.
Five years into what’s known as cashless tolling -- where you don’t see toll booths anymore but instead an electronic gantry scans your EZ pass or reads your license plate and then sends you a bill -- the MTA is battling a staggering number of what it calls persistent toll evaders.
Upwards of five percent of drivers and commuters skip out on paying the tolls each day, according to the MTA.
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"It’s hurting all the motorists because they’re not paying their fair share," MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Daniel DeCrescenzo said.
Thursday wrapped a 24-hour span where MTA police stopped a staggering number of motorists for apparent toll evading: more than 32 cars in one day, with at least 28 at the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. One of the alleged violators owed nearly $60,000 in tolls and the total tolls owed from the cars seized were nearly $900,000.
Richard Hildebrand, of the MTA Bridges and Tunnels, said one of the cars they nabbed had unpaid bills stored in the glove compartment!
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"To become a persistent toll violator — you really have to try," said Hildebrand.
Authorities say they have made progress cracking down on fake license plates — and on temporary paper plates which tricked the toll scanners. This enforcement is part of the coordinated effort by the MTA, in conjunction with city and state law enforcement, to deal with obstructed and counterfeit license plates last year.
The MTA said impounding vehicles sends a powerful message to the owner to get their account in order. DeCrescenzo said that while the owners can get their cars back, they have to pay their toll in order for it be allowed back on the road.
In 2022, Bridges and Tunnels remanded nearly 1,800 vehicles for unpaid tolls. Since the start of Open Road Tolling Bridge and Tunnel officers have interdicted more than 7,600 vehicles for persistent toll evasion. Other strategies implemented to recover tolls owed include:
- DMV registration suspensions
- Robust roadside interdictions
- Data-driven intelligence to continuously identify persistent toll violators
The MTA says they are moving the needle on collecting from persistent toll violators, collecting more than $10 million in the past year over what they had forecast.
