When the Port Authority raised its fares this month, it levied a disproportionate increase on tolls for drivers who still insist on paying cash while giving those who use E-ZPass something of a break. The thinking behind this move is simple: The Port Authority does not need to spend as much money collecting tolls if they can eliminate cash lanes. This is, not coincidentally, why the MTA wants to eliminate MetroCards as well. It’s possible to spend money up front on improvements that will realize multi-million-dollar savings down the line.
Lo and behold, the move has paid off. With cash fares so high, more drivers are turning to E-ZPass, and SI Live is ON IT.”We have had higher than usual volumes at the Staten Island E-ZPass customer service center today,” a Port Authority spokesman said. Drivers can save $2.50 per fare with an E-ZPass while bus operators can realize savings of $10 per trip. So the transportation agency can save costs on fare collection while passing those benefits onto its customers thanks to the power of a relatively simple technology.
2 comments
When the MTA eventually rolls out some sort of contactless fare collection system, I shouldn’t be at all surprised if they don’t discount it heavily compared to paper Metrocards. It’s what London did when they rolled out Oystercards.
Isn’t this an intended consequence? :-p
I wish they’d just go with completely gateless tolling already. It’s really time to put a sunset on the cash lanes.