Cashless Toll System To Come To George Washington Bridge

FORT LEE, NJ — In an effort to continue modernizing its tolling infrastructure, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is activating a new cashless toll collection system at the George Washington Bridge on July 10, the agency said in a news release.

“Cashless transactions are no longer a thing of the future in this age of touchless financial transactions, and for non-E-ZPass customers that convenience of modern life has now come to our 90-year-old George Washington Bridge,” agency Chair Kevin O’Toole said in the news release. “We are extremely pleased with the activation of this best-in-class, all-electronic technology that will assure quick, accurate, electronic toll billing at the GWB.”

A drawback with the new system, however, is that the carpool discount plan will end, due to the "impracticality," the Port Authority said, of electronically determining the number of passengers in a vehicle. E-ZPass customers still receive toll discounts that are less than the bill-by-mail rate, the agency added.

"Cashless is good, but carpool-less is bad," 5th District Rep. Josh Gottheimer (D) said in a statement, adding that the technology exists in other states that captures how many people are in a vehicle. "It doesn't make any sense to me, and it's ridiculous that the Port Authority is trying to saddle hard-working commuters with new tolls right now, especially at a time when we're trying to make life more affordable."

The Port Authority transitioned to all-electronic tolling at the Holland Tunnel in 2020, and the bridge, which is used by more trucks to cross the Hudson River into New York City than the agency’s other two Hudson River crossings combined, will be the largest and busiest of the three crossings to implement the new toll system, the agency said.

A new cashless toll system at the agency's remaining Hudson River crossing, the Lincoln Tunnel, will be implemented by the end of the year. All three systems were approved in 2019 by the agency's Board of Commissioners, the agency said.

Once the systems are activated, motorists will not need to stop or slow on approach; overhead cameras will capture license plate images to ensure toll payment by mail for non-E-ZPass customers, all as part of an effort to improve traffic congestion. Additionally, a new "Tolls NY" smartphone app will give users access to customer service for tolling transactions, the agency said.