MTA Sets Out to Tackle Staggering Number of Persistent Toll Evaders

The rules of the road are supposed to be simple: you pay to access a certain road. The problem is that thousands of drivers are not.

Five years into what’s known as cashless tolling — where you don’t see toll booths anymore but instead an electronic gantry scans your EZ pass or reads your license plate and then sends you a bill — the MTA is battling a staggering number of what it calls persistent toll evaders.

“It’s hurting all the motorists because they’re not paying their fair share,” MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Daniel DeCrescenzo said.

Thursday wrapped a 24 hour span where MTA police stopped a staggering number of motorists for apparent toll evading: more than 32 cars in one day, with at least 28 at the Bronx-Whitestone Bridge. One of the alleged violators owed nearly $60,000 in tolls and the total tolls owed from the cars seized were nearly $900,000.

Richard Hildebrand, of the MTA Bridges and Tunnels, said one of the cars they nabbed had unpaid bills in the glove compartment! 

Authorities say they have made progress cracking down on fake license plates — and temporary paper plates which tricked the toll scanners. This enforcement is part of the coordinated effort by the MTA, in conjunction with city and state law enforcement, to deal with obstructed and counterfeit license plates last year.

In 2022, Bridges and Tunnels remanded nearly 1,800 vehicles for unpaid tolls. Since the start of Open Road Tolling Bridge and Tunnel officers have interdicted more than 7,600 vehicles for persistent toll evasion. Other strategies implemented to recover tolls owed include:

• DMV registration suspensions    
• Robust roadside interdictions    
• Data-driven intelligence to continuously identify persistent toll violators