TRIBORO NYC:Dedicated e-toll travel lanes

The Triborough Authority in New York City (aka MTA B&T) is steadily supplementing its dedicated E-ZPass (electronic) toll lanes at the plazas with reserved travel lanes for e-toll carriers over the length of its crossings. On the Throgs Neck bridge for example the left lane northbound for the full 3km of the bridge from Queens right to the plaza on the Bronx side is designated E-ZPass-Only. On the Henry Hudson there are left-hand e-toll only lanes on both levels (directions) and on the Manhattan part of the Triboro bridge. The longest is a 5km joint MTA/NYSDOT HOV/E-ZPass lane from the Gowanus Exwy north leading into and through the toll plaza of the Brooklyn Battery Tunnel.

The Authority is also studying the workability of dedicated e-tag travel lanes on the Verrazano Bridge, both levels and directions, and one of the two lanes in each tube of the Midtown tunnel between Queens and Manhattan for e-tag holders.

Overall the MTA B&T system transactions are now about 63% e-toll weekdays and 52% weekends while in rush hours it is 73%.

Harris Schechtman, VP for Operations, says that the first phase of E-ZPass implementation was to improve flow through the plazas, while the second is to extend the benefits of free flow movement to e-tag patrons on the approaches and across the length of the authority’s facilities.

The E-ZPass-Only lanes are marked off with a solid line, painted with a diamond symbol to denote a special or reserved lane, and indicated with a variety of side-mounted and overhead signage.

Schechtman says there have been no major enforcement problems: “Violations have been minimal. Our patrons see the logic of it, I think, in that it helps get people in the right lanes and helps reduce weaving. And they accept that E-ZPass is supposed to give an advantage.”

E-ZPass patrons are of course not confined to the E-ZPass-only approach lanes. They can use the other roadway lanes if they wish, but most elect to take the reserved lane. Cash payers simply have to keep out of the dedicated E-ZPass travel lanes.

“We have raised customer expectations. People now take it for granted they can get through the toll plazas smoothly and we now want to do what we can to enable them to keep moving freely through the rest of our facilities. The dedicated E-ZPass travel lanes are working well. Our customers love it, and we are pleased with the improved traffic flow, so we want to give them more of it,” says Schechtman.

“The results of the most recent semi-annual traffic survey on MTA B&T facilities showed that delays were at the lowest level ever recorded in the 16 years since these surveys were done, with E-ZPass customers generally experiencing no delays. We believe that continued innovation in traffic management was responsible for these gratifying results, and have helped to continue to attract more customers to E-ZPass.”(Contact Frank Pascual 212 360 3065)

Reminiscence

When I was paying a toll on the MTA B&T’s Henry Hudson bridge back in about 1980, when I lived in New York, I once suggested to a toll collector that they must have been “dummies” to have built that bridge with more lanes inbound (4-lanes lower deck) than outbound (3-lanes upper deck). He must have had to put up with a smart ass knocking his bridge before.

The toll collector replied: “Naaah mister, ya don’t understand. It is poyfectly logical, poyfectly. Dis is New York City and dere is more people that wants to come into New York City, dan dere is people which wants to leave it. See?”