Port Authority Announces Possible Fare and Toll Hikes

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is proposing a toll and fare hike for cross-state travel. The proposal is scheduled to go into effect in September, with additional adjustments in September 2014.

PATH rides will go up from $1.75 to $2.75 and the unlimited monthly pass will be increased from $54 to $89.

Tolls for autos using E-ZPass will increase from $6 to $10 roundtrip for off-peak travel and from $8 to $12 during peak hours. An additional $2 increase during peak and off-peak hours will be implemented in 2014. Other increases can be found on the Port Authority's website.

The increase will effect all bridges and tunnels from New York to New Jersey, including the Bayonne Bridge and the Lincoln and Holland tunnels.

A public hearing on Aug. 16 and a board meeting on Aug. 19 will be held before the increase can go into effect.

In the announcement, the Port Authority mentioned increased security costs since 9/11 and the current economic environment as reasons for the increase. The Port Authority does not receive tax money, "making its toll and fare structure the primary way to fund the region’s critical interstate transportation network," according to the announcement.

According to the release, more than $11 billion in funding is still necessary to rebuild the World Trade Center site on Manhattan.

U.S. Senator Frank Lautenberg on Friday afternoon expressed his opposition to the proposed fare and toll hike, calling the proposal "outrageous."

"First the governor cancels the ARC Tunnel, and now commuters stuck on the road are facing unconscionable toll increases to get across the Hudson," Lautenberg said. "These increases are disproportionately punitive to New Jersey residents and fundamentally unfair."