New Jersey E-Zpass holders who use bridges and tunnels operated by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority pay more.
Drivers with a New York-issued E-ZPass pay $12.24 to cross the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. Other drivers including NJ tag holders pay the cash rate of $19, the highest of any crossing in the region.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, meanwhile, serves the needs of two states. The toll crossings it operates, including the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, charge drivers the same rate no matter what state issued their E-ZPass.New Jersey's Garden State Parkway charges all E-ZPass holders the same rates.
New Jersey E-ZPass holders don't pay more to cross into Delaware or Pennsylvania.
What can I do about it? Drivers can obtain E-ZPass tags issued by other states like NY. But switching out the tags can be tricky. The tag issuer provides a plastic pouch that's supposed to make the tag undetectable. If drivers don't use the pouch, they run the risk of getting charged twice.
Also, drivers need to mount the tag in the proper spot on the windshield for it to work.
Coming back to New Jersey, a driver would need to switch back to the New Jersey E-ZPass to get the off-peak discount on the Turnpike. That may be too cumbersome, and a potential safety hazard, at highway speeds.
from Northjersey.com
AAA Northeast found that from 2012 to 2016, E-ZPass holders had been charged the cash rate at New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority crossings 92 million times, including 70 million from NJ.
Most MTA crossings cost $6.12 for NY E-Zpass users, but $9.50 for New Jersey pass holders.
The Verrazzano Narrows Bridge cost $19 to cross without a NY E-Zpass, the highest cost in the region
"The difficulty is E-ZPass isn’t one E-ZPass," said PJ Wilkins, executive director of E-ZPass
Tolling practices vary among agencies participating in E-ZPass based on their revenue requirements
E-ZPass holders get to zip through toll plazas up and down the east coast, saving them time. But they're not always saving money.
New Jersey and New York are among several states that charge out-of-state E-ZPass holders the cash toll rate or the toll-by-mail rate.
E-ZPass offers drivers the convenience of not stopping to pay a toll across 40 agencies in 17 states, from Maine to North Carolina and from New Jersey to Illinois.
But it isn't always obvious that tag holders are paying more when they're in another state.
AAA Northeast found that from 2012 to 2016, E-ZPass holders had been charged the cash rate at New York Metropolitan Transportation Authority crossings 92 million times, including 70 million from New Jersey.
There's a difference: Here's how much more E-ZPass holders in NJ and NY pay in other states
Electronic tolling was developed as a way to speed up travel and offer discounts to drivers as a reward for the lower cost of collecting tolls, said Robert Sinclair, a spokesman for AAA Northeast.
"If you’re not getting the discount, that part of the promise is broken," he said.
But PJ Wilkins, executive director of E-ZPass, an umbrella organization for the electronic tolling technology, said states and their tolling authorities have always had the discretion to favor in-state tag holders over out-of-state ones.
"We don’t control that," he said. "That’s up to the individual tolling authorities."
Different states, different rates
New Jersey and New York offer the clearest example of the disparity.
New Jersey E-Zpass holders who use bridges and tunnels operated by New York's Metropolitan Transportation Authority pay more.
Most of the MTA's bridges and tunnels, including the Robert F. Kennedy, Throgs Neck and Bronx-Whitestone bridges, as well as the Hugh Carey and Queens Midtown tunnels, cost $6.12 to use for drivers with a New York-issued E-ZPass tag.
For drivers from New Jersey and elsewhere and those paying by mail, the toll is $9.50.
Over five days, that's a difference of $16.90. Over four weeks, that's $67.60.
The Henry Hudson Bridge, which connects Manhattan to the Bronx, costs $2.80 to cross for a New York E-ZPass holder. Everyone else pays the toll-by-mail rate, which is $7, more than double.
Over five days, that's a difference of $21. Over four weeks, that's $84.
It gets worse.
Drivers with a New York-issued E-ZPass pay $12.24 to cross the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge. Other drivers pay the cash rate of $19, the highest of any crossing in the region.
That's a difference of $33.80 over five days. Over four weeks, that's $135.20.
Wilkins said tolling practices vary among agencies participating in E-ZPass based on their revenue requirements, or on their desire to give discounts that favor residents.
Some agencies give no discounts, while others give the discount to everyone with a tag. Others still tailor discounts that are customer specific.
"The difficulty is E-ZPass isn’t one E-ZPass," Wilkins said.
MTA, for example, operates New York's subway and bus systems and two commuter railroads, Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, meanwhile, serves the needs of two states. The toll crossings it operates, including the George Washington Bridge and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, charge drivers the same rate no matter what state issued their E-ZPass.
The New York Thruway Authority gives an automatic 5% discount to drivers with an E-ZPass issued by the state. The difference for E-ZPass holders from other states isn't substantial.
A driver crossing The Gov. Mario Cuomo Bridge eastbound would pay $4.75 with a New York issued tag. Other drivers would pay $5, a quarter more. Over five days, that's only $1.25 more, or $5 over four weeks.
A New Jersey driver who enters the Thruway from the Garden State Parkway at Spring Valley, New York, would pay $5.25 in tolls to drive to downtown Albany, 26 cents more than the holder of a New York tag.
New Jersey exacts its pound of flesh from out-of-state drivers who use the New Jersey Turnpike. The Turnpike Authority charges drivers from New York and other states the maximum, even during off-peak hours.
All drivers pay $13.85 from one end to the other during the hours of 7 to 9 a.m. and 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. New Jersey E-ZPass holders pay $10.40 at all other times, and on weekends, saving them $3.45.
New Jersey's Garden State Parkway charges all E-ZPass holders the same rates.
A regional phenomenon
New Jersey E-ZPass holders don't pay more to cross into Delaware or Pennsylvania.
It costs $4 to cross the Delaware Memorial Bridge, and another $4 on the short Delaware Turnpike.
The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission, which operates seven toll bridges across the river between New Jersey and Pennsylvania, charges the same $1 base rate at all.
Drivers crossing from New Jersey to the Philadelphia area on four bridges operated by the Delaware River Port Authority pay $5 at each crossing, with E-ZPass or cash.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike costs the same from one end to the other, $37.03, for any E-ZPass holder, versus the cash rate of $51.85.
While Connecticut does not currently charge tolls, that could soon change. The state transportation commission has proposed tolling major portions of interstates, and charging out-of-state tagholders more.
That would bring it in line with its neighbors.
A resident tag holder would pay $7.45 from end to end on the Massachusetts Turnpike, versus $9.35 for an out-of-state tagholder, a difference of $1.90.
New Hampshire and Maine both charge out-of-state E-ZPass accounts more on their tolled sections of Interstate 95.
Maryland E-ZPass holders get an automatic 25% discount at toll crossings.
For those traveling north from Baltimore on Interstate 95, it costs $6 for Maryland tagholders versus $8 for everyone else.
At the Fort McHenry and Harbor tunnels in Baltimore, the difference is $3 versus $4.
Those crossing the Chesapeake Bay Bridge between Annapolis and the Eastern Shore pay $4 with a Maryland E-ZPass, versus $6 for those without one.
The states that charge different rates to out-of-state drivers don't go out of their way to make difference clear, and drivers may just assume they're getting an E-ZPass discount. The information about toll rates is available on the different tolling authorities' websites.
What can I do about it?
Drivers can obtain E-ZPass tags issued by other states.
That would enable them not only to receive those states' regular E-ZPass discounts, but it would also enable them to qualify for monthly commuter discounts.
For example, a New York E-ZPass holder can buy 20 trips a month across the Mario Cuomo Bridge for $60. That knocks the price down to $3 per trip from the $5 rate paid by out-of-state drivers and those who pay by mail.
But switching out the tags can be tricky. The tag issuer provides a plastic pouch that's supposed to make the tag undetectable. If drivers don't use the pouch, they run the risk of getting charged twice.
Also, drivers need to mount the tag in the proper spot on the windshield for it to work.
Coming back to New Jersey, a driver would need to switch back to the New Jersey E-ZPass to get the off-peak discount on the Turnpike.
That may be too cumbersome, and a potential safety hazard, at highway speeds.
"Talk about distracted driving," said Sinclair, of AAA.
Tolling agencies that participate in E-ZPass haven't yet come up with a way to extend their discounts across state lines, Wilkins said. Individual agencies and states know who their E-ZPass customers are, but they don't share that information with others.
"It’s a very complex problem," Sinclair said. "There’s a lot of pressure to maximize revenues."
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