A new report says tolls on NYC’s now-free East River bridges could reduce the traffic crossing them by 24-26% and raise about half a billion dollars for the city each year. The tolls would also increase MTA revenue by redirecting some traffic to crossings like the Triborough Bridge and Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel. The report was prepared by Schaller Consulting for NYPIRG Straphangers Campaign and Transportation Alternatives.

Toll foes claiming the bridges need to remain free should note that, as NYPIRG’s Gene Russianoff says, there is no such thing as a free bridge. Already, NYC taxpayers maintain the bridges. In the past decade, the City has spent a whopping $1.62 billion to repair them. East River tolls would free up this expenditure and provide additional revenue to pay for transit service.

Significantly, the report concludes that bridge tolls would significantly reduce traffic in Downtown Brooklyn, Long Island City, and on Canal Street. Currently, about half of morning and midday traffic in Long Island City and Brooklyn is heading towards one of the free bridges. Overall, tolling the bridges could reduce traffic 12-14% in those areas.

The chart below, taken directly from the report, shows that the free bridges are huge traffic attractors. Since 1981, the traffic growth rate on the un-tolled bridges is five times higher than for traffic at MTA East River crossings.

Since 1981, traffic is up 30% on un-tolled East River bridges but only 6% on tolled crossings.

"East River Bridge Tolls: Revenue, Traffic, Mobility, and Equity Impacts"

(full PDF report)

(Straphangers Press Release)

(Transportation Alternatives Press Release)

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