New York – The rise in tolls on Port Authority of New York and New Jersey bridges and tunnels in September may have caused many commuters to leave their cars at home and switch to public transportation, early reports from the agency show.
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About 890,000 fewer cars and trucks used the crossings from Sept. 19 through Nov. 22 compared with the number that did in roughly the same period in 2010, a 4 percent drop. During that period, ridership on PATH, the Port Authority subway connecting Manhattan and New Jersey, rose by about 560,000, or 3.7 percent, the agency said.
New Jersey Transit buses also had slight ridership gains, said a spokesman, John Durso Jr., though the agency could not provide actual numbers.
Figures for ridership on New Jersey Transit trains were incomplete, officials said, though early signs pointed to a modest increase.
On Sept. 18, cash tolls rose to $12 from $8 for the George Washington Bridge, the Holland and Lincoln Tunnels, and three crossings between New Jersey and Staten Island. (The toll is collected from cars coming into New York; going to New Jersey is free.)
The subway to manhattan is packed every day with no place to sit by the time it reaches BP. But Bloomberg only has money to spend on bike lanes, not adding a few trains on the D and F lines.
I stopped going over the bridge years ago. Let them keep it.
If they raised the tolls to increase revenue and because of that less people are driving into the city, they won’t necessarily make more money, so they’ll want to raise the tolls again until even less people drive in etc. Maybe the motivation to raise the tolls was to decrease traffic into the city.
dear vos – you do know you are using a subway platform photo not a PATH photo. owned by 2 different agencies.
I have noticed an increased in ridersip on the PATH, but if you had the option before the increase why didnt the people use it then.