Anti-Tax Governors Are OK With Commuter Toll Hikes

Starting next month, thousands of commuters who use the EZ Pass system to cross the bridges and tunnels between New Jersey and New York will pay 19 percent more in tolls, or an additional $1.50 for each trip, the governors of the two states have announced.

Further fare increases will be phased in over time, eventually costing EZ Pass users an extra $4.50 for each trip, a 56-percent increase over five years.

Those who pay in cash, meanwhile, will face an immediate 50-percent hike under the plan, as The New York Times reports. For commuters entering Manhattan via the Holland or Lincoln tunnels, that amounts to $12 for each trip instead of the current $8.

The governors' proposal, which is likely to be ratified today (August 19) by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, is less costly for commuters than the one the transit agency originally proposed. But it nevertheless represents significant toll hikes for drivers and rail passengers, and it underscores the nuanced positions that the two states' chief executives, Republican Chris Christie of New Jersey and Democrat Andrew Cuomo of New York, have taken when it comes to revenues.

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