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The New York State Thruway Authority's (NYSTA) board of directors will meet Monday, Dec. 5, to consider a proposed toll hike that would begin in 2024, WIVB in Buffalo reports.
Tolls would increase by 5 percent for E-ZPass customers in 2024 and 5 percent again in 2027, according to the outlet.
Those with out-of-state E-ZPasses or who are paying by mail would pay 75 percent more than the tolls for New York E-ZPass holders.
That’s up considerably compared to the current 15 percent differential for out-of-state E-ZPass users and 30 percent differential for those who pay by mail.
If the proposal is approved, drivers on the Tappan Zee Bridge would see tolls go up 35 percent over four years, from $5.75 to $7.75, according to Rockland County Executive Ed Day.
NYSTA says the higher tolls are needed to help update aging infrastructure, but several local leaders have criticized the plan, including Day, who sent a letter to the Thruway Authority's board of directors chiding the plan, claiming it will hurt families.
“Families this year are already struggling with record-breaking inflation reaching a 40-year high and skyrocketing gas prices and any move by the New York State Thruway Authority to pinch the wallets of hardworking families even further is infuriating,” Day writes in the letter, which was made public Thursday, Dec. 1.
“I respectfully urge the members of the Thruway Authority Board to show compassion for families who are coping with increasing prices across the board and refrain from implementing any toll increases in the current economic climate.”
State Assemblyman Angelo Santabarbera, a Democrat who represents the 111th Assembly District in the Capital Region, echoed Day's sentiment in a post on Twitter Wednesday, Nov. 30, calling the proposal "outrageous."
“I’m shocked to see the New York State Thruway Authority has come out with yet another toll hike proposal today while families are still struggling with the effects of inflation and rising costs,” he said.
“Working families shouldn’t be further burdened during these difficult times.”
Santabarbera said he planned to introduce legislation that would enact a “much-needed” two-year toll-hike freeze, calling NYSTA “out of touch with the times we are living in.”
The new Tappan Zee Bridge's official name is the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge. The old bridge's official name was the Governor Malcolm Wilson Tappan Zee Bridge.
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