I don’t like the idea of paying a $15 toll to enter Manhattan below 60th Street.
I don’t like any tolls, frankly. And I don’t like New York City’s ever-expanding speed camera program either, for that matter.
But I won’t try to circumvent them by defacing, covering up or otherwise modifying my license plate. I’ll leave that to others. I’m just not built like that.
I follow the rules, even when the rules are frustrating, occasionally non-sensical and cost me money.
Am I the idiot? Don’t answer that.
The Port Authority recovered $25 million in lost revenue last year from toll scofflaws, the Advance reported.
Of the nearly 5,900 summonses issued for toll evasion on Port Authority bridges and tunnels, nearly 4,500 of them were issued for obstructed, missing or fictitious license plates.
So we know where the problem lays.
And we’re likely to see even more defaced, missing or obstructed plates as drivers look to dodge the congestion pricing tax that’s set to begin this spring.
MTA CEO Janno Lieber has said that his agency already loses roughly $50 million a year in toll revenue because of obscured license plates.
With numbers like that in mind, lawmakers recently grilled the MTA about its ability to adequately collect all the money that’s set to roll in thanks to the congestion pricing tolls, according to Spectrum News.
It’s a valid question. If the MTA isn’t capturing all its due revenue now, including bus and subway fares as well, how is the agency going to make sure that it scoops up all the congestion pricing loot that’s coming to it?
After all, that’s the money that’s going to save the subway system, right?
While lawmakers focused on how toll evasion fines and fees disproportionately impact the poor and those without an E-ZPass tag, Lieber said that “people need to pay their tolls.”
He called for stiffer penalties for toll scofflaws, including allowing for the confiscation of obscured or defaced license plates.
That might make the scofflaws think twice. But it will still be a question of enforcement.
There’s a lot I don’t like about the cost of driving in New York state. I don’t like inspection fees. I don’t like registration fees. I don’t like paying insurance. I don’t like high gasoline taxes. But I pony up the money.
But I’m not surprised that drivers want to avoid tolls and speed cameras. Tolls are always going up and now we’re going to have to pay a steep congestion pricing toll to just drive into certain parts of Manhattan.
And speed cameras? They are little more than a money grab, with the city having done a good job figuring out how to ensnare drivers, even those not driving at dangerous speeds.
People are always going to try and find a way around the system. They’re going to jump turnstiles. They’re going to get on the bus without paying. They’re going to dodge tolls.
And, of course, that impacts those of us who do the right thing. Some people are paying for a service while others are cheating the system.
Congestion pricing is only going to make it worse.
Expect more license plate scofflaws once NYC congestion pricing tax kicks in (opinion)
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26.01.2024
I don’t like the idea of paying a $15 toll to enter Manhattan below 60th Street.
I don’t like any tolls, frankly. And I don’t like New York City’s ever-expanding speed camera program either, for that matter.
But I won’t try to circumvent them by defacing, covering up or otherwise modifying my license plate. I’ll leave that to others. I’m just not built like that.
I follow the rules, even when the rules are frustrating, occasionally non-sensical and cost me money.
Am I the idiot? Don’t answer that.
The Port Authority recovered $25 million in lost revenue last year from toll scofflaws, the Advance reported.
Of the nearly 5,900 summonses issued for toll evasion on Port Authority bridges and tunnels, nearly 4,500 of them........
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