NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- The MTA board is expected to approve a 7.1% toll increase that would start in April, according to the Wall Street Journal.
While subway and bus riders got a reprieve last month after a fare increase was shelved, drivers may not be so lucky when the MTA board meets to consider the toll proposal next Thursday.
The toll increase would mean at extra 43 cents for E-ZPass users at crossings like the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, with tolls rising from $6.12 to $6.55.
Drivers without an E-ZPass would pay an extra 67 cents as tolls rise from $9.50 to $10.17, according to the report.
The tolls would help subsidize mass transit, which has seen ridership plummet 50% to 70%. Traffic at bridges and tunnels is only down 15% from pre-pandemic levels.
The toll increases would bring in about $62 million in additional revenue in 2021 and another $116 million in 2022, according to the report.
The MTA said it's losing $5 million a month without implementing its fare hike, which it has been doing every two years.
"The MTA has relied on biennial toll increases since 2010 to provide modest and predictable increases and the Covid-19 pandemic's devastating impact on our budget makes it even more important this year," Ken Lovett, senior adviser to MTA Chairman Patrick Foye, told the Wall Street Journal. "These changes will help ensure we continue to run as much service as possible for customers."
A New Jersey commuter named Mike told 1010 WINS that he understands the MTA is hemorrhaging money, but he said he is too.
"I don't think it's good. My E-ZPass is $360 a month to get back and forth to work. That's one paycheck a week," he said.
