new york

A commission appointed by New York State Governor David Paterson says there's major potential in  a state program to develop availability payment concessions for bridges.

New York City tunnel and bridge tolls, along with transit fares will rise 10% July 12 2009, the New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority board decided this week. But out of state E-ZPass customers will lose their transponder discount and face a steeper increase in their costs. Fares and tolls last rose March 16 2008.

Late last Sunday four of the six lanes of the Staten Island Expressway were closed for several hours because of what was described in local reports as "debris raining down on cars" from an overpass, almost as if this was some adverse weather event.

New York legislators seem to have ruled out implementation of tolls on East River and Harlem River bridges to Manhattan as recommended by the Governor's "Commission on MTA Financing" headed by Richard Ravitch, veteran transportation chief. The senate majority leader Malcolm Smith (Dem) is quoted as saying that everything is still on the table "except tolls."

The most common toll on Triborough Bridge & Tunnel Authority facilities in New York City, the E-ZPass transponder toll for cars will rise by 23.7% from $4.15 to $5.26 in July after a 12/1 vote of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (NYMTA) board today. The toll hikes were part of a crisis package of higher charges and service cuts designed to close a looming $1.2b deficit in a $11b New York area public transportation budget.

New York City's Metro Transport Authority (we abbreviate) is playing a bargaining game of political poker with the state legislature - gimme subsidies or we'll hike tolls and transit. The poker game has been played in Boston for months now, public transit and toll officials proposing toll and fare increases, then playing off the negative public reaction to pressure the pols to cough up subsidies. Pols beating up on the authority, demanding reforms... on and on.

As widely leaked the Governor's commission to find new revenues for the New York area transit system is recommending tolls on all the presently untolled crossings to Manhattan. These are four big bridges over the East River to Brooklyn and Queens, and nine smaller bridges along the Harlem River providing connections with Bronx borough and Westchester county (see map nearby).

The New York Times reports that the Ravitch Commission will propose tolls on the currently free East River and Harlem River bridges to raise a net $600m/year to help cover the growing losses of the New York area rail and bus system of the NYMTA (New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority). The Ravitch Commission was appointed by the state governor David Paterson to advise on how to fund a burgeoning deficit in city transit.

New tolls in New York City are in play again, this time to raise money to support the MTA's subways and buses. Governor Paterson is due to get the report of a Commission on MTA Financing headed by transit veteran Richard Ravitch December 5, and it considered likely to recommend heavy reliance on new tolls raise extra revenue. (Artwork by Bascove)

New York's Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority (TBTA) has dropped TransCore in favor of Telvent Caseta for a longstanding electronic toll (ET) system hardware maintenance contract. The board of directors of the MTA, the Triborough's parent state authority which also runs major rail and bus services in New York approved the contract award to Telvent Caseta at their meeting Thursday July 24.

The New York Times is reporting a revolt by directors of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA), the transit and toll conglomerate that lives off toll revenues from the city's nine bridges and tunnels. May 28 the MTA board decided to go to court to preserve the perk long granted to present and former MTA directors that allows them unlimited use of free E-ZPass transponders for car travel and free MetroCard passes for subway, bus and commuter rail travel.

New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) - of which the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel toll authority is a division - is reversing its stance defending free toll transponders (and transit passes) for current and former board members. They announced May 29 that they would, after all, comply with state Attorney-General Andrew Cuomo's May 25 demand that the program be discontinued immediately.

The New York State attorney-general has said that free E-ZPass accounts for members and past members of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) board are illegal and should immediately be revoked. But the MTA arguing "we've done it for years" will take the matter to court, seeking a judgment on the legality of the perk.

A toll tunnel is being proposed under Long Island Sound to provide a new link between Long Island and mainland New York state in Rye. Called the Long Island Cross Sound Link (LICSL) the twin 3 lane tunnel would run between the Seaford-Oyster Bay Expressway (NY135) in Syosset near the Long Island Expressway (I-495) and I-95 and the Cross Westchester Expressway (I-287) in Rye.