The MTA may be on its way towards modern toll collection. After announcing at the State of the MTA address in March that it would study high-speed cashless tolling, the MTA has issued a request for proposals from consultants to begin such a study. This is an initiative TSTC has advocated for for many years (see, for example, MTR #s 462 and 417). MTA tolls are the only ones in the region where even EZ-Pass holders must stop for lowered barrier arms.
Also included in the study is an analysis of whether cashless tolling would make two-way tolling on the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge feasible. The current toll setup, where a double toll is charged only in the Staten Island-bound direction, encourages westbound trucks to avoid the Verrazano and travel through free routes in Brooklyn and Manhattan instead.
The study is expected to take 14 months to complete.
[…] safe tolling technology. The MTA and Thruway Authority are already making progress, however. An MTA study of high-speed tolling is scheduled for release in spring 2010 (it was originally supposed to wrap up by fall of this […]
[…] Thruway, have non-stop tolling at highway speeds. Some progress might not be too far ahead as the MTA and Port Authority of NY and NJ have feasibility studies underway for cashless tolling on their […]
[…] safety, efficiency, and the environment (see also MTR #462). The MTA began a non-stop tolling study last year, but had not said it would actually install electronic tolls until […]