BUFFALO, N.Y. — Tolls on the New York State Thruway could go up 5% for E-Z Pass holders in a little more than a year.
The New York State Thruway Authority is talking about a potential across-the-board rate hike at a meeting on Monday. It would be the first across-the-board toll rate hike since 2010.
If approved, it would raise tolls for E-Z Pass holders by 5% in 2024 and 5% again in 2027.
For people who don't have an E-Z Pass, the differential would go from 30% to 75%.
Several New York State Senators spoke with 2 On Your Side on Wednesday about their concerns:
"A lot was made of that partial suspension of the gas tax as relief for consumers, relief for motorists, and now here we are doing a backdoor tax increase money grab on motorists across the State of New York. Eighteen states have no tolls at all, and we're going to hike ours even further," said State Senator Robert Ortt.
"Looking at inflation, at a forty-year high, you're looking at costs going up for everything including fuel, and this is just one more burden on the people of New York. A basic burden for getting from Point A to Point B using the Thruway, so I was, I guess, not surprised, but certainly concerned that they're looking to hike the tolls especially after they told us how cashless tolling was going to save all this money for the Thruway organization and now we're seeing that that dried up pretty quickly and that they're looking to raise the tolls," said State Senator George Borrello.
2 On Your Side asked State Senator George Borrello about the increase for drivers who don't have an E-Z pass.
"They are going to pay that toll and they may choose either other routes, which is going to burden other areas, particularly local governments if they start seeing heavier traffic off the Thruway onto local roads," said State Senator George Borrello.
"We see what inflation has done over the past year or two and we know that families are hurting, so the timing is not good at all. We also know that they have to make a case for this to happen and that there will be a series of public hearings over the course of the next year, and I think that we have to make sure that the Thruway Authority hears from people about how families are hurting. The problems that this potentially can cause, and hopefully we can get them to reconsider," said State Senator Patrick Gallivan.
State Senator Sean Ryan's office said on Wednesday afternoon that he "looks forward to reviewing the details of the plan and discussing it with the leadership of the Thruway Authority."
And State Senator Tim Kennedy said, "Our roads deserve our investment; I’ve been saying that for years, and as the Chair of the Senate’s Transportation Committee, we’ve delivered billions in additional funding for infrastructure across New York State. With that being said, we cannot fix our roads at the expense of hardworking New Yorkers at a time when they're struggling to make ends meet. The Thruway Authority has started a process that will require extensive public input, and I strongly encourage residents to make their voices heard throughout the process."
The Thruway Authority will hold at least three public hearings before making a final decision. It meets next Monday.
And State Senator Tim Kennedy said in part,.."We cannot fix our roads at the expense of hardworking New Yorkers at a time when they're struggling to make ends meet. The Thruway Authority has started a process that will require extensive public input, and I strongly encourage residents to make their voices heard throughout the process."
The Thruway Authority will hold at least three public hearings before making a final decision.