By Philip Newman
Tolls will go up at 3 a.m. Sunday for nine bridges and tunnels operated by the MTA.
For the Bronx-Whitestone, Throgs Neck and Robert F. Kennedy bridges and Brooklyn-Battery and Queens-Midtown tunnels, the current cash rate of $5 will rise to $5.50 and the E-ZPass rate of $4.15 will go to up $4.57.
For the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge, the cash rate of $10 will rise to $11. The E-ZPass rate will go from $8.30 to $9.14.
Henry Hudson Bridge cash tolls will rise from $2.75 to $3 and the E-ZPass rate will rise from $1.55 to $1.71.
Tolls on trucks will also go up. For example, two-axle trucks at the Bronx-Whitestone, Throgs Neck and Robert F. Kennedy bridges and Brooklyn-Battery and Queens-Midtown tunnels will pay $11, up from $10 in cash, and E-ZPass rate will be $8.15, up from $7.50.
Two-axel trucks at the Cross Bay and Marine Parkway bridges will go up to $5.50, up from $5 at cash rate and $4.13, up from $3.75 at the E-ZPass rate.
The Verrazano-Narrows Bridge cash rate goes from $20 to $22 and E-ZPass from $15 to $16.50.
The MTA Bridges and Tunnels Department is informing motorists of the toll change on the electronic message signs at toll plazas and toll rate cards available to customers in the cash lanes of each facility.
Joyce Mulvaney, a spokeswoman for Bridges and Tunnels, said anyone, regardless of residency, can apply for a New York Customer Service Center-issued E-ZPass when visiting ezpassny.com.
“Our goal, as always, is to keep the traffic moving safely and smoothly for our customers, although there is always a transition period when to rates change, especially in cash lanes,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Susan Kupferman. “Nearly 75 percent of Bridges and Tunnels customers pay tolls with E-ZPass and now more than ever we encourage our cash customers to get E-ZPass to save time, money and gas.”
Reach contributing writer Philip Newman by e-mail at timesledgernews@cnglocal.com or phone at 718-229-0300, Ext. 136.
