Jump to content

'Tolled' you so! NJ Drivers shun NYC by instead using mass transit


Shortline Bus

Recommended Posts

'Tolled' you so! Drivers shun NYC

 

By HANNAH RAPPLEYE, REBECCA ROSENBERG and BILL SANDERSON

NY Post Reporters

September 26, 2011

 

'Thousands of cash-strapped motorists are saying no way to the whopping new Port Authority toll hikes enacted last week -- opting to ditch their cars in favor of cheaper mass transit.

 

Thanks to the hikes, buses are now packed to the gills, NJ Transit and PATH trains are standing-room-only, and dust is gathering in Manhattan parking garages that used to be filled with commuters’ cars.

 

“I used to bring my car in twice a week. But I won’t do that anymore, because it’s too expensive,” said Peter Wrona, who commutes from Morris County, NJ, to Manhattan and now takes the bus.

 

Peak-hour tolls jumped on Sept. 15 to $9.50 for E-ZPass users. And people who pay cash -- about 25 percent of bridge and tunnel users -- must now fork over $12.

 

The price hike is taking a toll on parking garages near the Lincoln Tunnel. One has seen traffic drop from 70 cars a day to just 40.

 

“A lot of people are taking the train now,” wailed an attendant at a garage at Seventh Avenue and West 31st Street.

 

“Before, we made about $2,500 a day. Now we make about $1,800. It’s bad for me personally. We worry about our jobs. Maybe the business will have to make cuts, because nobody wants to drive anymore,” he said.

 

Port Authority bosses aren’t sure how much of an impact the gigantic hikes are having on the number of car commuters.

 

“It’s really too soon to tell. It just went into effect. It would be premature to say now if it is causing any decrease in traffic,” said Port Authority Executive Director Chris Ward.

 

But history suggests the dropoff is likely steep -- maybe steeper than the agency planned.

 

When the PA raised tolls in 2008, there was a 2.9 percent drop in the number of vehicles that used their bridges within a month of the hikes.

 

Though it will be awhile before the agency can accurately measure the toll’s impact, subway, bus and train commuters have already noticed a big difference.

 

“The trains are way more packed than usual,” said Nancy Perez, 35, of Hoboken.

 

Even occasional rider Geraldine Stewart, 32, was surprised by the crowd.

 

“I couldn’t get a seat, at 11 in the morning!” Stewart said.

 

“It’s the first time that has ever happened. I was shocked. The train was packed full.”

 

PATH commuter Alex Rodriguez, 34, said the new tolls are hitting his family on both ends.

 

Not only is he paying extra for a more crowded train ride from Jersey City, but his wife was forced to change her routine.

 

“My wife usually drives over the George Washington Bridge,” Rodriguez said. “She carpools now. It’s too expensive to drive by herself. ”

 

The pain for motorists is only going to get worse. As part of the plan, the Port Authority OK’d another toll hike in 2015, when cash tolls will jump to $15 and E-ZPass tolls will jump to $12.50.

 

“I used to drive in once or twice a week,” said Betsy Ceccio, 41, an art conservator from Montclair. “Now, I will never drive in unless I absolutely have to."

 

 

Read more: http://www.nypost.com/p/news/local/tolled_you_so_drivers_shun_nyc_IxdbL1axd40SiR2qNCD8hJ#ixzz1Z4CrVNeC

Link to comment
Share on other sites


 

$15 for a bridge toll? Are they insane? What exactly are they doing htat they are that cash strapped, and if its the WTC they should sell the building rather than make drivers suffer for a single building, no building is worth such high tolls.
O well less traffic jams and cash payers music to my ears let them NOT drive into NYC all they do is clog streets and drive slowly anyway
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, well now NJ Transit needs to increase their damn service. They're so frugal w/service out there that it's ridiculous. :mad:

 

trust me THEY WILL BE FORCED to enhance service as it's no longer an option!!!!!!!!!!! cause ppl are packing buses from everywhere. NJT can't escape this one. The real reason for not hiking the fare was they knew the ridership increase would offset the increeased cost of the tolls.

 

 

Service that was once infrequent would become frequent just watch as more express trains start popping up on the schedules all over.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Solutions that I know is possible,

-Add half hourly service to NJCL and RVL.

-Try reducing the NJT fare a little. Even 2%.

-Not go to NYC.

-Burn the Port Authority (But that one is illegal.)

-Parasail into NYC, (Just hope it's not a windy, rainy, or cold day.)

 

LMAO at parasail into NYC.

 

 

....btw how did A-Rod end up as one of the tags lol

Link to comment
Share on other sites

$15 for a bridge toll? Are they insane? What exactly are they doing htat they are that cash strapped, and if its the WTC they should sell the building rather than make drivers suffer for a single building, no building is worth such high tolls.

 

You know what's funny... The Verrazano has had the highest tolls in the country for sometime and it is only now that other bridges are being slammed that folks are crying about this being an outrage. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know what's funny... The Verrazano has had the highest tolls in the country for sometime and it is only now that other bridges are being slammed that folks are crying about this being an outrage. :)

 

I never knew cause I would never drive it so your telling me tolls everywhere else are dirt cheap??? So that was the real thing driving express bus use so high???

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You know what's funny... The Verrazano has had the highest tolls in the country for sometime and it is only now that other bridges are being slammed that folks are crying about this being an outrage. :P

 

No true. Until the PANYNJ rose their tolls i believe the highest tolls in country was the Cheapaske Bay Bridge in Va. connecting Va. Beach-Maryland's eastern shore at $13. However the 'causeway' is about 20 miles.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Yeah, well now NJ Transit needs to increase their damn service. They're so frugal w/service out there that it's ridiculous. :mad:

 

NJT Could have great service. The problem is they buy buses for contracted companies, ex. Academy, Lakeland and so on. Its a ton of buses that are leased to those companies; they would be better used for us and not those companies. It really limits NJT, and If I was incharge those companies would have to buy there own buses. We took back 6 buses from Academy but that cant do nothing. This is why NJT ends up in a shortage of buses when really there is no shortage. They are not going to increase service unless they order new buses but even then that wont happen because new buses will replace older buses.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

How about Staten Island and New Jersey drivers going back and forth across three PANY&NJ?

I wonder if New Jersey drivers will do same thing, paying their tolls with pennies like Staten Island drivers did it with Verrazaro Narrows Bridge?

 

They should eliminate acceptance of pennies!!!!!!! to speed things up No pennies allowed. Heck if I was port authority everything will be gateless meaning EZPASS ONLY or take a bus

Link to comment
Share on other sites

NJT Could have great service. The problem is they buy buses for contracted companies, ex. Academy, Lakeland and so on. Its a ton of buses that are leased to those companies; they would be better used for us and not those companies. It really limits NJT, and If I was incharge those companies would have to buy there own buses. We took back 6 buses from Academy but that cant do nothing. This is why NJT ends up in a shortage of buses when really there is no shortage. They are not going to increase service unless they order new buses but even then that wont happen because new buses will replace older buses.

 

trust me they will get horribly BUTTRAPED WITH INCREASED RIDERSHIP It will not be pretty!!!!!!!!!! I wonder how bad it would get??

Link to comment
Share on other sites

NJT Could have great service. The problem is they buy buses for contracted companies, ex. Academy, Lakeland and so on. Its a ton of buses that are leased to those companies; they would be better used for us and not those companies. It really limits NJT, and If I was incharge those companies would have to buy there own buses. We took back 6 buses from Academy but that cant do nothing. This is why NJT ends up in a shortage of buses when really there is no shortage. They are not going to increase service unless they order new buses but even then that wont happen because new buses will replace older buses.

 

What I don't get is why do they need to lease buses? Are they in that bad of a shape financially? :eek: I would imagine that the state must supply some monies to them no?

 

No true. Until the PANYNJ rose their tolls i believe the highest tolls in country was the Cheapaske Bay Bridge in Va. connecting Va. Beach-Maryland's eastern shore at $13. However the 'causeway' is about 20 miles.

 

Let me clarify... The Verrazano had the highest bridge toll in the country... Besides either way you look at it is ridiculous to be the only borough that has to pay to leave.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They should eliminate acceptance of pennies!!!!!!! to speed things up No pennies allowed. Heck if I was port authority everything will be gateless meaning EZPASS ONLY or take a bus

 

That i agree. You can charge the non e-z pass drivers(mostly out of towners)by taking pics of their license cross the GWB, Lincoln, etc. and sending the bill to their 'home' address.

 

Not to get off topic but that why i support peak-hour tolls aka price congestion, to enter Manhattan between 59th and South Ferry. That monies could be used for buying more buses and creating bus-only lanes.

 

It's one thing for the PANYNJ to raise tolls with MODEST HIKES as everyone else is doing it. It's another for this way over the top and maybe illegal action IMO with hundred of millions not related to highway/bridge & tunnel or airport improvements to bulid the WTC.

I do hope AAA New York goes further and sues them.:mad::tdown:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They should eliminate acceptance of pennies!!!!!!! to speed things up No pennies allowed. Heck if I was port authority everything will be gateless meaning EZPASS ONLY or take a bus

 

lol... So you want to dictate how folks should pay as well? Some folks want to pay w/cash and that's their prerogative. What they should do is stop adding .99 cents to everything and then it would be no need for pennies. That's why I just use my charge card everywhere, this way I don't have to walk around w/pennies and change in general.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

NJT can't increase bus service due to the tolls.

 

But they should increase rail service. How about more NEC express trains? South Amboy short turns during middays? Clockface BCL service? Weekend Bay Head semi-expresses when the 45's come online?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can add as much rail service as you want and its not going to help very many people. NJT rail network is very limited. Routes like NEC is just as pointless as you can get. Outside of rush hour nec is pointless. And the tunnels in and out of penn puts the icing on the cake. Do you know how many people complain that ride NEC that say it is useless? The lack of express trains, its slow, its long, some stations are so close that it has the feel of a subway. The only thing I like are those super express trains from Newark to Trenton via Princton & Hamilton; nice and fast.

 

The times I been on nec from the cab its just sad. Its a cool route for a railfan but from the inside its just useless thanks to Amtrak.

 

NJT probably will increase service to an extent by having more rookies do more runs.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

lol... So you want to dictate how folks should pay as well? Some folks want to pay w/cash and that's their prerogative. What they should do is stop adding .99 cents to everything and then it would be no need for pennies. That's why I just use my charge card everywhere, this way I don't have to walk around w/pennies and change in general.
CASH SLOWS DOWN TRAFFIC AND CAUSES JAMS CAUSE IT TAKES TOO LONG TO FUMBLE FOR IT THEN DIP IT IN CASH SHOULD BE BANNED FROM ALL TOLLS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Period it's slow and INEFFICIENT I DON'T CARE IF UR AN OUT OF TOWNER PAY UP IN THE MAIL DON'T hold up traffic KEEP IT MOVING PPL!!!!!!!!!!!
NJT can't increase bus service due to the tolls.

 

But they should increase rail service. How about more NEC express trains? South Amboy short turns during middays? Clockface BCL service? Weekend Bay Head semi-expresses when the 45's come online?

 

TRUST ME NJT WILL NOT HAVE A CHOICE IN THE MATTER BUS RIDERSHIP REVENUE WILL BLAST AWAY ANY LOSS THEY TAKE ON THE TOLL HIKE PERIOD!!!!!!!!! They can increase service THEY WILL BE FORCED TO ADD SERVICE CAUSE MANY BUS LINES WILL GET CRUSHLOADED BADLY!!!!!!!!!!! They will be more slaveships as bad as 126 VERY SOON!!!!!!!!!!!! PPL PREPARE FOR HELL AT PORT AUTHORITY THE LINES WILL GET BAAAAAAAAAAAAAAD!!!!!!!!!!!!! They will be passing ppl up on many lines and the complaints will PILE UP VERY FAST FASTER THAN LIGHTSPEED SPEEDY GONZALAS!!!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

×
×
  • Create New...

Important Information

By using this site, you agree to our Terms of Use.