With the exception of the lightly used Hudson River crossings in the Hudson Valley, the only agency that uses barrier arms at their toll plazas is the MTA. Why should this matter? Two reasons: the elimination of the toll barrier arms will make traffic move faster. Without toll barriers it will be possible to install high-speed toll collection without toll plazas, the next logical step to hassle-free toll collection. This will make the case stronger for an E-ZPass based time-of-day pricing system at all bridge and tunnel crossings in the Region.

The MTA argues that the toll barrier arms prevents toll evasion and to do otherwise would cost significant revenues. MTA Chairman Peter Kalikow has stated that this is the case at toll facilities where the arms are not in place, specifically at the Port Authority bridges and tunnels. But discussions with representatives at four toll agencies in the Region suggests that it is possible to operate the toll facilities without the arms and still collect more than enough revenue to overcome any losses. The Port Authority of New York and NY State Thruway Authority operate without arms and do not have a revenue issue, and the NJ Turnpike and the NJ Highway Authority (Garden State Parkway) are both about to introduce toll collection systems with evasion control that does not require the arms. Toll evasion concerns, which can be overcome, should not be used to hold hostage an easier trip for motorists and a smarter way of charging for using the Region’s tunnels and bridges. The MTA is the only major toll collection agency that has not adopted variable time of day pricing and has no plans to install high-speed toll collection systems.

Institutional identity may explain the different approaches to toll technology by the MTA and other agencies. While the NJ highway authorities and the PA’s Tunnels, Bridges and Terminals division pursue missions directly relating to their facilities, MTA Bridges and Tunnels is a relatively small outfit inside a gargantuan mass transit agency. It appears to feel its money-raising role within the MTA very strongly, perhaps to the detriment of service for its motoring customers. However, the high-speed E-ZPass innovations underway at the Port Authority, the Turnpike and the Parkway show that improving customer service and toll revenue collection are not mutually exclusive activities. 

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