Motorists using the Hudson River and Staten Island crossings will pay $8 in tolls during peak hours beginning in early March, under a package of increases approved today by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
After scant public opposition during the past two months, the Port Authority's board unanimously authorized the bridge and tunnel toll increases from the current $6 peak-hour cash levies. Drivers using E-ZPass will fare even worse: They will lose their $1 peak-hour discounts and have to pay the same full $8 rate as cash customers.
Off-peak E-ZPass discounts, however, will remain $2.
PATH rail fares also will jump a quarter to $1.75 per ride under a revised plan; The agency had originally proposed increasing the base fare to $2.
"We want to keep PATH fares as low as possible because we want to encourage people to use mass transit," said Anthony Coscia, Port Authority chairman.
The Port Authority will begin selling unlimited weekly, 12-day and 30-day PATH passes. The 30-day passes will cost $54.
The bi-state agency also approved plans for future bridge and tunnel hikes that will be tied to a cost-of-living index and be periodically instituted in $1 increments.