Targeted Enforcement Effort on Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Interdicted 18 Vehicles
More than 1,300 Vehicles Interdicted in 2023 Totaling More Than $29.1 Million in Unpaid Tolls and Fees
View Photos of Interdicted Vehicles
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that its Bridge and Tunnel officers interdicted 18 vehicles registered to persistent toll violators at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Friday, June 9. The scofflaws accounted for $370,196 in unpaid tolls and fees. During May 2023, officers interdicted 364 vehicles, bringing the total to 1,335 vehicles between Jan. 1 and May 31. This represents a year-to-date increase of 74% and $29,142,969 in unpaid tolls and fees.
There were seven targeted enforcement operations conducted in May, resulting in the interdiction of 102 vehicles belonging to persistent toll violators. The tolls and fees owed for those 102 vehicles interdicted during targeted enforcement operations totaled $3.1 million. The top three interdicted persistent toll violators owed $150,000 in tolls and fees altogether.
Bridge and Tunnel officers issued 2,051 summonses in May 2023, 281 of which were for covered or obstructed license plates.
“This is another warning to motorists that if they try to evade paying the toll, they will get caught,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels Interim President Catherine Sheridan. “I want to thank our Bridge and Tunnel officers and law enforcement partners, reinforcing the message that toll evasion will not be tolerated.”
“Our Bridge and Tunnel officers have tools to find persistent toll violators no matter what tricks they play to avoid paying tolls,” said MTA Bridges and Tunnels Vice President & Chief of Operations Richard L. Hildebrand II. “This is just the latest example of the success our team has had in ensuring that every motorist pays their fair share.”
Bridge and Tunnel patrol vehicles are equipped with specialized license plate readers that can identify motorists who are operating vehicles with a suspended registration due to unpaid tolls.
MTA Bridges and Tunnels, through tolls and fees collected, recovered more than 90% of the tolls owed by recidivist toll scofflaws since the inception of its DMV Registration Suspension Program.
This enforcement aligns with a coordinated strategy by the MTA and city and state law enforcement partners, who announced a joint effort against obstructed and counterfeit license plates last year. In 2022, MTA Bridges and Tunnels interdicted 1,800 vehicles for unpaid tolls. Since the start of Open Road Tolling, Bridge and Tunnel officers have interdicted more than 7,800 vehicles for persistent non-payment of tolls.
MTA Bridges and Tunnels uses a variety of tools to identify violators and interdict vehicles:
- DMV registration suspensions
- Robust roadside interdictions
- Data-driven intelligence to continuously identify persistent toll violators
Motorists can avoid violation fees and registration suspensions by paying their toll bills on time, using the award-winning Tolls NY free mobile application to pay tolls or manage their E-ZPass accounts. E-ZPass NY Customer Service Center account holders can save up to 60% at MTA tolled crossings by using E-ZPass. To set up an E-ZPass account or for more information, visit www.ezpassny.com. NYS Vehicle and Traffic Law prohibits any covering or coating that intentionally conceals, obscures, or distorts an image of license plates.