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Port Authority Mulls Insane 50% Hikes For PATH Fares, Bridge & Tunnel Tolls
By
Garth Johnston
Published Aug 5, 2011
Modified Aug 5, 2011
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By
Garth Johnston
Published Aug 5, 2011
Modified Aug 5, 2011
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Like so many government agencies the Port Authority—currently bickering with the National September 11th Memorial over $150 million dollars—could use more cash. Which is why it is expected later this afternoon to announce that it will raise the tolls on the region's tunnels and bridges from $8 to $12 next month, with another $2 hike planned for 2014. Oh, and they are also mulling a $1 hike in the PATH fare.
If the PA gets its way the tiny PATH subway system will soon see its toll go from $1.75 to $2.75, while the price of a 30-day unlimited PATH pass would go up 65 percent, to $89 a month from $54. The proposal does not call for the PATH fare to go up again in 2014. The PA estimates that revenues from the first hike could bring in $720 million for the agency, while the 2014 hike would add an additional $290 million to its coffers.
In order for such hikes to happen, however, it will first need to get approved by the PA's board, which includes both Governors Andrew Cuomo and Chris Christie. But the Post reports that the pair have both "confidentially signaled their grudging support."
And while many commuters will likely be cursing the news of yet more money they'll have to spend on their way in and out of town Transportation Alternatives, at least, is all for it. Paul Steely White, Executive Director of Transportation Alternatives, put out this statement today:
“Infrastructure forms the bones of a healthy economy. This is a tough but necessary step to get New York City’s crumbling infrastructure back in good repair and invest in a vigorous economy. The Port Authority does not rely on state or local taxes from New York or New Jersey. So these fees—a significant source of the Authority’s revenue—are crucial to the upkeep of the rails, bridges and ports that New Yorkers rely on every day.”
Meanwhile, the Daily News has an interesting story today on the ongoing dispute between the PA and the 9/11 Memorial over who should pay for some the "common" infrastructure costs at the site which the memorial shares with 1 World trade, the PATH transportation hub, the No. 1 train, and three planned office towers. The memorial says it doesn't owe anything since it was all beneath its parcel, but the PA respectfully disagrees. Right now the "only things the two sides can agree on is that the feud will not delay the memorial's debut on the 10th anniversary of the 2001 attacks." Expect this one to drag on for roughly as long as it took to build the 9/11 Memorial.
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9/11 memorial
new jersey
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toll hike
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Garth Johnston
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