How Will GWB Toll Hikes Affect You? [POLL]

Tolls went up a dollar Sunday for commuters who pay cash and 75 cents for E-ZPass users.

Monday marked the first weekday commute for drivers taking the George Washington Bridge and other Hudson River crossings from New Jersey to New York after the Port Authority’s latest round of toll hikes went into effect. At 12:01 a.m. Sunday, cash tolls at the GWB, in addition to the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, Goethels and Bayonne Bridges and Outerbridge Crossing, went up from $12 to $13, and E-ZPass customers started paying $10.25—up from $9.50—during peak hours and $8.25 instead of $7.50 off-peak. The last time the Port Authority raised tolls was September 2011, when cash tolls jumped from $8 to $12 and E-ZPass tolls went from $8 to $9.50 during peak hours. And the incremental increases are expected to continue through 2015, when cash-…

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PA Turns Over Documents, Lawmakers Want Staten Island-Type Discounts

The State Assembly Transportation Committee could have used subpoena power if the Port Authority didn't comply; the committee chair also criticized the agency for approving toll “rollbacks” for Staten Island commuters while ignoring those in NJ.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey earlier this week avoided a subpoena by starting to make good on its promise to turn over documents to the State Assembly Transportation Committee, APP.com reported, albeit two days after a 30-day deadline had passed. “With their receipt, [the Office of Legislative Services] will now begin a review process to determine the completeness of the Port Authority’s response,” Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski (D-19), who chairs the committee, told the Asbury Park Press, which also reported that the committee could have used the subpoena power it was granted in March to force the agency to turn over the documents Wisniewski contends he’s been requesting since October 2010. In April, New Jersey lawmakers …

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Luca D.

1:40 pm on Thursday, July 5, 2012

So Cuomo who appoints 50% of the Commissioners of the Port gets a pass from the Democratic Chairman of the Committee?   more ›

Democratic Lawmakers Call on Port Authority to Suspend Toll Hikes

In Fort Lee Wednesday, U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg, U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman and legislators from New Jersey’s 37th and 38th districts said the agency should delay further toll increases until it gets its finances in order and reforms its management.

U.S. Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) and U.S. Rep. Steve Rothman (D-NJ) joined New Jersey Democratic lawmakers Wednesday at Fort Lee Historic Park just south of the George Washington Bridge to call on the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to suspend its scheduled toll hikes until an audit can be completed and reforms implemented.  The event, which was held under a park pavilion instead of against the backdrop of the GWB because of rain, took place just days after Lautenberg, Rothman, U.S. Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-NJ) and U.S. Rep. Albio Sires (D-NJ) sent a letter to Port Authority Chairman David Samson requesting a delay in the next round of toll hikes scheduled to go into effect in December. In Fort Lee Wednesday, Lautenberg …

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Weinberg to Christie: Give Commuters, Middle Class, Women a Break

Op-Ed piece published in The Record.

Lautenberg, Baroni Scrap Over Port Authority Toll Hikes Wednesday

Things turn nasty before a Senate transportation subcommittee.

U.S. District Court Judge Denies AAA's Request to Reverse Toll Hikes

A federal Judge says the advocacy group's attorneys did not demonstrate that a lawsuit against the Port Authority could be successful.

GWB Traffic Dropped 4 Percent Since Toll Hikes, Report Says

In September, cash tolls went from $8 to $12; ridership on PATH and ferries have gone up since, according to multiple reports

Huttle, AAA, Others Critical of Port Authority’s About-Face on Toll Hike Spending

Assemblywoman Valerie Vainieri Huttle (D-37) calls on agency to explain

Toll Hike Money Won’t Be Used to Rebuild WTC, Port Authority Says

Lawsuit alleges federal law prevents agency from using toll money to pay for non-transportation projects, according to report

AAA North Jersey, New York File Lawsuit Over Port Authority Toll Hikes

Clubs say increased tolls go beyond “just and reasonable” levels

AAA North Jersey joined AAA New York in filing a Federal lawsuit in Manhattan Tuesday seeking to stop the Port Authority from collecting higher tolls on the George Washington Bridge and other Hudson River crossings, AAA North Jersey announced. AAA contends in the complaint that the Port Authority’s increased rates “contravene Federal law which requires interstate tolls to be set at ‘just and reasonable’ levels,” according to officials with the club. “In a 1989 court decision involving that statue, the United States Second Circuit Court of Appeals held that the use of toll revenue must be functionally related to transportation,” said AAA New York’s vice president and counsel Marta Genovese in a statement. The lawsuit further alleges that …

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