Targeted Enforcement Efforts Include 17 Interdictions Made Along the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge
Scofflaws Accounted for Over $400,000 in Unpaid Tolls and Fees
Bridges and Tunnels Officers Remanded 1,784 Vehicles for Unpaid Tolls in 2022
View Photos of Interdicted Vehicles
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) announced that its Bridges and Tunnels officers stopped and towed the vehicles of 21 New York State persistent toll violators in a single day on Wednesday, Jan. 11. Of those violators, 17 were interdicted on the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, marking a record for one day at a single facility.
The scofflaws accounted for over $400,000 in unpaid tolls and fees, including one driver who owed $57,000. Officers also issued 28 summonses during their targeted enforcement detail.
“Our agency is committed to the collection and protection of our toll revenue, which is reinvested in our facilities and helps support MTA mass transit,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Daniel F. DeCrescenzo Jr. “Drivers who do not pay their tolls may be subject to registration suspension and loss of their vehicle.”
Bridge and Tunnel Officers’ vehicles are equipped with specialized license plate readers that can identify motorists who are operating vehicles with a suspended registration due to unpaid tolls.
Bridges and Tunnels, through tolls and fees collected, has recovered nearly 90% of the tolls owed by recidivist toll scofflaws whose NYS vehicle registrations were suspended due to toll evasion since the inception of the DMV Registration Suspension Program in advance of the conversion to open road tolling.
This enforcement aligns with a coordinated strategy by the MTA and city and state law enforcement partners, who announced a joint effort against obstructed and counterfeit license plates last year. In 2022, Bridges and Tunnels remanded 1,784 vehicles for unpaid tolls.
Bridges and Tunnels encompasses interdepartmental strategies for recovering tolls owed which include:
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DMV registration suspensions
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Robust roadside interdictions
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Data-driven intelligence to continuously identify persistent toll violators
Motorists can avoid violation fees and registration suspensions by paying their toll bills on time, using the award-winning Tolls NY free mobile application to pay tolls or manage their E-ZPass accounts. E-ZPass NY Customer Service Center account holders can save up to 40% at MTA tolled crossings by using E-ZPass. To set up an E-ZPass account or for more information, visit: www.ezpassny.com. NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law prohibits any covering or coating that intentionally conceals, obscures, or distorts an image of license plates.