MTA moves toward cashless tolls on HH Bridge

Drivers with an E-Z Pass can now pay the toll on the Henry Hudson Bridge without stopping.

MTA Chairman and CEO Jay Walder, Assemblyman Jeffrey Dinowitz and Dan Padernacht, chairman of Community Board 8’s Traffic and Transportation Committee, were among the City officials who removed the gate arms on the E-Z Pass lanes of the bridge on Jan. 20 to kick off a pilot that could spread to the whole City.

“The arms are coming down, we are allowing free flow through the bridge. It allows people to be able to move through more quickly, it reduces environmental pollution, it will save us money in the way we are operating bridges and tunnels,” Mr. Walder said at the event.

The program is said to be the first step toward Citywide cashless toll collection, with the Henry Hudson Bridge leading the way. If all goes well in the gateless phase of the project, by next year the Henry Hudson Bridge will become the first cashless bridge in the country, according to an MTA press release.

The 74-year-old bridge that connects the Inwood section of Manhattan to the Riverdale section of the Bronx, was chosen because 85 percent of weekday drivers use E-Z Pass and because there is no commercial traffic, according to the MTA.

During the pilot, three gateless E-Z Pass and three cash-only lanes will be available in each direction, according to the MTA. New cameras, fixed within the existing tollbooths, will also be tested.

Resident Marie O’Brien hopes gateless lanes will make the toll collecting process faster. “You have to wait until the bar comes up,” she explained, and that takes time. She has not yet tried the new system but said, “I’m excited.”

The MTA will decide whether to expand the gateless and cashless operations to other tunnels and bridges after the pilot ends. Currently Denver, Texas and Florida operate cashless systems in a highway environment.

According to the MTA, several tolling authorities in New York City operate mixed cash and electronic systems but none are totally cashless.

Toll collectors will still take cash during the gateless phase. Drivers who use E-Z Pass lanes without an E-Z Pass will receive a $50 toll violation in the mail.