Toll Hikes At GWB, Lincoln Tunnel Proposed In Port Authority Budget

NEW JERSEY — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has released its latest proposed budget, which includes toll hikes at the agency’s bridges and tunnels – and paves the way for several big improvement projects.

On Thursday, the Port Authority released its proposed 2025 spending plan, which comes to $9.4 billion: up slightly from last year’s budget.

The bi-state agency operates many of the region’s busiest transportation hubs, including the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Port Authority Bus Terminal, the Port of New York and New Jersey, the PATH rail system and the area’s three major airports: LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and JFK.

The spending blueprint comes with some proposed toll and fare hikes (see below). These would help to pay for the "largest Port Authority capital investment in history," in addition to offsetting massive losses seen during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.

The Port Authority’s annual budget includes no tax revenue from either the states of New York or New Jersey or from the City of New York, relying mostly on tolls, fares, user fees, retail stores, consumer services and facility rentals.

TOLL AND FARE HIKES

Drivers crossing the Port Authority’s bridges and tunnels could see a 25-cent toll hike, in addition to a separate 43-cent increase that kicks in automatically on Jan. 5, 2025.

Meanwhile, PATH train riders will see an automatic hike of 25-cents for single-ride fares starting on Jan. 12, 2025.

Here are some details about the toll and fare hikes that are planned for next year, the Port Authority reported:

Cars/Motorcycles/Trucks – The Port Authority is proposing a $0.25 toll increase for cars, motorcycles and trucks. It would become effective on Jan. 5, 2025. The $0.25 increase would be in addition to the automatic, inflation-based adjustments that occur annually. The proposal also recommends $0.25 increases above the annual automatic inflation-based toll adjustments for autos and trucks in each of the next three years.

Bridge and Tunnel Tolls – Pursuant to the September 2019 board action on bridge and tunnel tolls, an automatic inflation-based toll adjustment for autos and trucks occurs annually at the beginning of each calendar year. Based on the board-specified inflation adjustment, an automatic increase will occur effective Jan. 5, 2025. The automatic board-mandated increase will raise the auto peak E-ZPass tolls by $0.43 and truck peak E-ZPass tolls by $0.58 per axle, effective Jan. 5, 2025.”

E-ZPass – The proposals posted for public comment also contain two changes to existing toll rates, that will affect only 10-15 percent of transactions. The first would incentivize enrollment in the E-ZPass program by drivers who are not yet enrolled by increasing the Toll-by-Mail (TbM) rate to a level consistent with the two-way TbM rate charged by the MTA at its bridges and tunnels, ($22.38 for autos). The agency has proposed delaying the implementation date to July 2025. The second would incentivize drivers who have enrolled in the E-ZPass program but whose transponders are not being read by the E-ZPass overhead gantry equipment, to ensure proper positioning of their transponders by introducing a new mid-tier toll rate for all classes ($18.72 for autos). The agency has proposed delaying the implementation date to July 2025.

Eliminating Truck Volume Discount – Another proposal would eliminate an existing 10 percent truck volume discount program that is used by companies whose trucks make more than 100 off-peak trips in a month. To give drivers time to plan, this change will not be effective until July 6, 2025. The proposed change would affect less than 0.5 percent of truck accounts.

PATH Fares – Pursuant to the September 2019 board action on PATH fares, an automatic inflation-based fare adjustment was triggered because the cumulative increase of CPI was greater than $0.25. This board-mandated increase of the single ride fare from $2.75 to $3 will be effective on Jan. 12, 2025. All existing multi-trip and discounted fares will be maintained with appropriate adjustment. The single ride fare was last adjusted in October 2014, more than a decade ago.

UPCOMING PROJECTS

The proposed budget includes $3.6 billion of capital infrastructure investment, according to the Port Authority.

Here’s a list of some projects that would get funding:

• At John F. Kennedy International Airport, major construction progress on the supporting infrastructure for new terminals 1 and 6, as well as the rebuilding of the entire airport roadway network as part of the airport’s transformation into a world-class gateway. 

• The planning and design work needed to move forward on the EWR Vision Plan to transform Newark Liberty into a 21st century international gateway with a new on-airport mass transit system serving all terminals that will replace the existing AirTrain Newark that opened in the 1990s.

• The project to add pedestrian access from underserved Newark and Elizabeth communities to the Newark Airport Rail Link station, expanding mass transit and airport access for people in those communities seeking faster options to employment at the airport or in New York City via NJ TRANSIT rail services or Amtrak.

• The remaining projects in the multi-year $2 billion Restoring the George program to replace or rehabilitate every major component of the 93-year-old George Washington Bridge, the world’s busiest bridge, including all 592 of its suspension wires. Of the program’s 11 projects, four are complete and six are underway, with a final project undergoing preliminary planning.

• The start of early works construction for a new world-class Midtown Bus Terminal, such as the platforms over the Lincoln Tunnel’s Dyer Avenue ramps and the start of work of a new bus staging and storage facility that will serve as the interim main terminal while existing bus terminal is demolished. The bus terminal replacement project will be constructed in phases to allow for the continued operation of the main terminal building and minimal disruptions to service for bus customers.

• Track infrastructure replacement, station rehabilitations, signal and equipment upgrades, and new rail cars through the 2-year $430 million PATH Forward program to improve speeds, service and reliability of the PATH commuter rail.

• The full implementation of PATH’s new tap-and-go fare payment system by the end of 2025, including replacements of existing SmartLink/MetroCard readers with new TAPP readers at all PATH stations and the introduction of a new TAPP card that will enable carryovers of existing SmartLink PATH fare discounts.

• Planning on a new express bus service for LaGuardia Airport, as well as the Port Authority’s share of service and reliability improvements to MTA New York City Transit’s free-to-ride Q70 LaGuardia Link Select Bus Service. 

• Support of campus-wide state-of-good-repair needs at the World Trade Center, and upgrades of existing river water pump station.

• Rebuilding the entire Port Street complex of access roads to Port Newark and the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal, which are among the busiest marine facilities within the East Coast’s busiest seaport complex. The current roadway and ramps were built more than 60 years and are being replaced with new roadways designed to modern highway standards and built to accommodate the longer and wider trucks that currently serve the port.

• Rehabilitation of two berths at the seaport for the maintenance of critical port infrastructure needed to ensure the continued operation and competitiveness of the East Coast’s busiest seaport and the nation’s second-busiest port for loaded containers. 

OTHER SPENDING

The proposed budget has more than $1 billion allocated for security – the agency’s largest earmark – which includes new technology and “initiatives to address evolving cybersecurity threats.”

The Port Authority is also proposing a new minimum wage policy for employees at Newark, JFK and LaGuardia airports. It would give annual increases to the wages of thousands of workers starting in January 2025, with automatic raises tied to the regional cost of living in both states. Read More: Deal On Table To Hike Minimum Wage At NJ, NY Airports, Governors Say

Port Authority officials noted that the agency is also proposing a half-price discount for people with disabilities who ride the PATH train. If it’s approved, riders could begin applying for the program in Spring 2025. Read More: Half-Price Fares For PATH Riders With Disabilities Proposed In NJ, NY

“As this agency has done for more than 100 years, we are moving forward by planning – and delivering – infrastructure that can withstand the test of time and other changes from constantly evolving political and physical landscapes,” Port Authority chair Kevin O’Toole said.

“The lessons we have learned from recent challenges, from the economic and lifestyle changes wrought by the pandemic to the ever-increasing and devastating threats from climate change, have shaped our planning both for this agency and for this region,” O’Toole said.

“This budget reflects our response to those challenges and how we, as an agency, will move up and on to keep this region moving,” he added.

PUBLIC HEARINGS

Four hearings public hearings have been scheduled to discuss the proposed 2025 budget:

• Dec. 3 (7 p.m.) – Hilton Hasbrouck Heights, 650 Terrace Ave, Hasbrouck Heights, NJ
• Dec. 4 (9 a.m.) - 4 World Trade Center, 150 Greenwich Street, 23rd floor, New York, NY
• Dec. 5 (9 a.m.) – 2 Montgomery, 2 Montgomery Street, 3rd floor, Jersey City, NJ
• Dec. 5 (7 p.m.) – 4 World Trade Center, 50 Greenwich Street, 23rd floor, New York, NY

A public review and comment period is underway through Dec. 11 ahead of an expected vote at the commissioner board’s meeting in December.

The proposed budget was discussed at the commissioner board’s public meeting on Thursday. Watch the video below.

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