![]() ![]() “We are sending a clear message that New York state will not tolerate toll violators,” Cuomo said in a statement at the time. In January, Gov. Andrew Cuomo gave the state Department of Motor Vehicles the ability to suspend the registration of motorists who fail to pay five tolls, fees and other charges over 18 months.Ĭuomo recognized the problem facing the state to nab toll evaders, saying merely sending them a series of fines that can be ignored wasn’t good enough. The Thruway’s budget also accounts for some drivers getting away without paying tolls in its budget each year. ![]() ![]() Thruway officials defended their efforts, saying they’ve increased penalties in recent months. “There’s a lot of money that’s out there that is either not being collected or it’s being spent in the wrong places,” said Assembly Minority Leader Brian Kolb, R-Canandaigua, Ontario County. While the revenue loss is a small part of the authority’s $2 billion budget, some state lawmakers said the Thruway should do more to recoup the uncollected tolls and reconsider the cashless toll system.Īlso, the Thruway has offered little new information about its toll scofflaws after the USA Today Network’s Albany Bureau waited a year for its Freedom of Information request to be filled.īetween 20, nearly $11 million went uncollected at Thruway toll booths, the records showed, an increase of 11 percent over that span. The fifth largest loss of revenue across the Thruway system was at Exit 17 in Newburgh. The number of violations fell from 7,200 in 2010 to 4,911 in 2014. There were 24,879 toll violations from 2010 to 2014 accounting for $174,315.55 in lost revenue. The number of violations fell from 5,376 in 2010 to 3,408 in 2013, but rose in 2014 to 3,842.Īt Exit 19 in Kingston, violations fell from 2010 to 2014. At Exit 18 in New Paltz, there were 20,253 toll violations from 2010 to 2014 accounting for $112,107.20 in lost revenue. In the mid-Hudson Valley, uncollected tolls spiked in 2014 after four years of declines. In fact, toll violations were by far the most on the Tappan Zee Bridge - which in April switched to a cashless toll system using only E-Z Pass, the first of its kind on the Thruway. That translated to a loss of $2.5 million in revenue for an agency that is strapped for cash as it tries to stave off toll increases and build a $3.9 billion new Tappan Zee Bridge between Westchester and Rockland counties. Uncollected tolls on the 570-mile thoroughfare jumped 23 percent between 20, the most recent records provided by the state Thruway Authority showed. ALBANY – Uncollected tolls on the New York State Thruway spiked at its 58 toll plazas over the past five years - even as the superhighway slowly shifts to a cashless toll system that critics fear will lead to more lost revenue. ![]()
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