June 6, 2017 By Christian Murray
The MTA is introducing cashless tolls to the RFK-Triborough Bridge beginning June 15.
Sensors will be suspended over the bridge which will read E-ZPass tags and will take license plate images so vehicles no longer have to stop to pay tolls.
Vehicles will E-ZPass tags will be automatically charged and vehicles without E-ZPass will have their license plate recorded and a bill will be mailed to the registered owner of the vehicle within 30 days.
Cashless tolling his already gone into effect at the Queens Midtown Tunnel, the Henry Hudson Bridge, Hugh L Carey Tunnel and the Rockaway Bridges.
The MTA is encouraging commuters to sign up to E-Z Pass in order to save 30-50 percent on tolls at the bridge and other city crossings.
“I am excited to see cashless tolling come to the RFK Bridge,” said Veronique Hakim, MTA Interim Executive Director in a statement. “The benefit of this technology will provide customers with a smoother ride at all our facilities, making it easier for New Yorkers to get to where they need to go.”
Cashless tolling is scheduled to be introduced at the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge in July, the Throgs Neck Bridge in September and the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge in October.
The MTA plans to clamp down on those drivers who fail to pay their tolls. Customers who fail to pay will be subject to violation fees, registration suspensions and other enforcement actions. Late fees accrue if an initial toll is unpaid and if a second notice is also ignored, violations fees of up to $100 per toll violation may be imposed.
The MTA estimates that cashless tolls will save commuters up to 21 hours of driving time each year, and says it will be decrease emissions because drivers will no longer have to stop and start waiting to pay tolls.
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31 Comments
You can buy an EZ Pass from a token booth (at least for now). I can’t understand why someone would NOT want a discount and the convenience of not stopping at a toll boot and fumbling for cash.
Suma you done graduated the 6th grade. Like jefro bodine in the beverly hillbillies hahahahahaha maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan. Learn how to spell maaaaaaaaaaaaan
Well at the moment there are still many delays on the Triboro (RFK) bridge. What is the cause of them? Traffic lane conditions and fixing the roads or something else?
One of them being stupid drivers slowing down as they see the tolls. Those things will record you whether you’re doing 10 miles or 100!
As for the complaints of big brother watching – he does already via our phones. NYC get into the 21st century already… electonic tolling has been happening in other countries for years without objections to pay in cash. you think there were no camera’s on the toll booths when you did pay in cash?
The loss of jobs, well okay but now they create others in tech and billing/debt collectors.
It would be way too smart of the MTA to remove unpaid bills from tax refunds.
This is a grate IDEA ? At the same time it is worse because as the article mention that the late fees and the violation fees which bring more profit for MTA. Moreover since the MTA give a 30 days time period. Some people might be forget it because of they cross the toll once an while!! And if anyone cross the toll and failed to pay they have to pay fine. However it’s doesSAVE TIME which I like.
I’ll put somebody else’s plates on my car with magnets and never have to pay. Hahahahaha maaaaaan. Subaru maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan
This is coooooooool maaaaaaan!
Technology, get with it maaaaaaan
Cashless tolls coming to 59th Street, Manhattan, Williamsburg and Brooklyn bridges. We’re being set up. Wake up folks!!!
Setup for what? Less waiting? Who uses cash anymore to pay tolls?
Do you pay tolls on the bridges that I mentioned?
Can you read? Thanks for playing.
How is this related to the RFK cashless tolls?
You’re an idiot. Those crossings aren’t even run by the Port Authority or TBTA. They’re run by the city. Tolling would be a completely different undertaking decided by completely different people.
In any case, I’m all for tolls on the Ed Koch Queensboro Bridge. I want trucks and cars to stop crossing through Astoria in order to get to the free bridge.
Anyone who can afford to drive into Manhattan every day but can’t manage the tolls can just ride the subway like the rest of us, which is a much more cost effective and environmentally friendly method of commuting.
Can you imagine how nice it would be to just walk up the subway without using a metro card and paying by using your phone. This would reduce long waits and jammed cards. I want Amazon to open up a market in Astoria where you can purchase items just by walking out the door and scanning your device. How nice would this be when we dine out also. No cash in business or no need to carry it would reduce armed robberies. This is the future.
You just get a bill at the end of the month . This is great, traffic will run smoothly (hopefully.)
And when people don’t pay, the balance gets deducted from your state tax refund (assuming you owe money).
Make the tool collectors clean the bridge maaaaaaan
I assume a lot of toll collectors will be let go we with this change. Technology moves kills more jobs once again
Since there won’t be salaries and benefits to pay, will our tolls go down? No way in hell!
It also creates many jobs in the tech sector . It took a lot of people to design and implement a system that can scan license plates and send out payments .
It is a great idea, however there should still be a cash lane
That cash lane would backup and slow everyone down . Maybe there could be a parking lot a few miles away where you could by a transponder with cash then drive over the bridge .
There should NOT be.
If you are too stupid to take advantage of the convenience and discount of EZ pass then you don’t deserve to drive.
Movement away from cash to credit, they will get rid of $100 bills one day soon and now ez pass everywhere. Major privacy concerns and people are not paying attention. To say nothing of the many other egregious examples.
New World Order is alive and well ……………….
I know someone here will complain about this , but not having to staff the tolls with people and not having to stop to pay is great!
Agreed
This is just a way to monitor the movements of a sovereign citizen. If this bridge was run by a private company who bought the bridge and made it nice so you have to pay the toll that would be one thing. But this is run by a gov’t. Just look at its name metropolitan transportation AUTHORITY. Look at ALL their names. People will mention the benefit of time but you’re totally missing the point of Privacy, the 4th Amendment.
Um, you’d like to go back to the 1980’s with traffic backing up for miles so everyone can stop and hand someone cash then wait for their change before the gate opens? No thank you.
Your license plate is being scanned and recorded whether or not you pay with cash. Your licence plate gets scanned and run through a database whenever a police car drives past you on the street or in a parking lot or anywhere else your car is.
Makes no difference BIG BROTHER is watching
Pssst… You aren’t important enough for the government to monitor
Cutting jobs and replacing them with machines. Not cool. Plus cutting down more trees to send paper statements. Double not cool.
You can choose to get paperless statements on the website.
I have never received a paper statement from EZ Pass and used them for years.