A federal appeals court has ruled that a class-action lawsuit that challenges the constitutionality of residency-based toll discounts should be judged on the merits.

The plaintiffs in Selevan et al. v. NY Thruway Authority have challenged a toll discount program offered to residents of Grand Island, near Buffalo. Residents pay 9 cents to travel over the bridges connecting the island to the mainland, compared to $1 for non-residents. Plaintiffs  argue that the unequal toll structure “places burdens on interstate commerce that exceed any local benefit that allegedly may be derived from them,” and that the toll is “excessive” and a burden on the right of travel. A district court dismissed the case for lack of standing in 2007, but the 2nd Circuit Court of Appeals overturned the dismissal last week, ordering the district court to examine the case on the merits.

If the Grand Island program is overturned, similar resident discounts could face challenge as well. The MTA offers toll discounts to residents of the Rockaways and Staten Island, who pay about 60% what non-residents pay to cross nearby bridges. The NJ Turnpike Authority also offers a discount program for residents of Florence and Roebling (New Jersey falls under the jurisdiction of the 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals). A similar case has been filed in federal district court in Massachusetts (under the 1st Circuit’s jurisdiction) challenging a tunnel toll discount for residents of parts of Boston.

The reaction on Staten Island has been fierce. The SI Advance described the price break as the “discount that makes commuting over the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge financially tolerable.” Rep. Michael McMahon went further, issuing a press release where he called the case “ridiculous” and said “it would be ludicrous for any court to find that Staten Island residents are getting an advantage over other travelers because of the discounted toll.”

Any ruling would be unlikely to affect “commuter discount” programs like the Thruway Authority’s discounts for frequent users of the Tappan Zee or specific toll plazas, since they do not include residency restrictions.