The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is the largest collector of toll revenues in the United States – it brings in some $ 1 billion in tolls a year, yet it stands alone in the NY metropolitan region with both feet in the last century when it comes to speeding toll collections.

Each day over 700,000 vehicles must pay their toll and come to dead stop – that’s zero miles per hour – as they wait for the "arm" barrier to creak upwards to allow them to pass. It doesn’t matter that two-thirds have E-ZPass, intended to speed them up. Meanwhile, the authorities that operate the New Jersey Turnpike, the Garden State Parkway, the New York State Thruway, and the Hudson River crossings have been installing or are working on plans for high-speed toll collection systems, like their counterparts around the world. The new toll installations eliminate toll booths and allow motorists to travel through the toll barrier while they maintain speed. Some interim installations that lie between old-style booths and full highway-speed tolling permit a "roll through" speed of around 20 miles per hour.

The MTA claims it must have the barrier arms to make sure that drivers don’t cheat. To insure this, the agency stations personnel at toll booths at extra cost, despite the intent of E-ZPass to save money on labor. But the other toll agencies do not have this problem – they just go after cheaters with photo enforcement and collect as much or more with "service fees" from toll-beaters and absent-minded drivers. The MTA could save money on toll watchers and still collect its toll revenue if they installed high-speed tolls and did away with the "arms," all while introducing a huge improvement in customer service.

High-speed toll barriers may not work at every location and in both directions at all MTA crossings, but a good start would be at the Verrazano-Narrows, Bronx-Whitestone and Throgs Neck bridges, as well as the eastbound direction at the Queens-Midtown and Brooklyn-Battery tunnels.

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