Targeted Enforcement Effort on Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge Interdicted 20 Vehicles in Six Hours
View Photos of Interdicted Vehicles
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) today announced that its Bridge and Tunnel officers stopped and seized 20 vehicles belonging to persistent toll violators at the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge on Monday, March 20. The scofflaws accounted for nearly $600,000, in unpaid tolls and fees.
“These efforts go a long way towards securing toll revenue of which surplus is allocated to fund mass transit, and to be able to accomplish so much in a tight period is a testament to the work of Bridge and Tunnel officers,” said Interim MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Catherine Sheridan. “Officers have proven time and time again, if motorists try to evade paying the toll, they will get caught.”
“Bridge and Tunnel officers have all the tools to find persistent toll violators no matter how many tricks they try,” 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 motorists pay their fair share.”
Bridge and Tunnel Officers’ 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 the 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 seized 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 seize 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 40% 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