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NY-NJ Bridge Tolls To Increase By 33 Percent

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Jan 4, 2008 7:37 pm US/Eastern

NY-NJ Bridge Tolls To Increase By 33 Percent

Smaller Hike Approved For Trains

NEW YORK (AP) ―

Click to enlarge 1 of 1: The toll to cross the George Washington Bridge is being raised to $8.
CBS

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A transit agency approved 33 percent toll increases Friday for millions of motorists driving between New Jersey and New York City, while commuter rail passengers will see a smaller increase than they feared.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey passed its first toll and fare hikes since 2001 for its six bridges and tunnels and PATH train line. Peak tolls went from $6 to $8 for motorists, while PATH train riders who paid $1.50 for one-way fares will pay $1.75.

The agency also reduced a commuter discount fare for train riders by 20 cents and added one-day, seven-day and unlimited monthly passes for the train line, similar to the New York City subway system. The increases take effect in March.

Officials said the hikes were needed to pay for post-Sept. 11 security expenses, bridge repairs and billions of dollars in construction, including a rail tunnel under the Hudson River and the rebuilding of the World Trade Center site.

Anthony Coscia, the agency's chairman, said the toll increases would fund mass transit -- including the second rail tunnel that would ease traffic for Amtrak and NJ Transit riders and new PATH train cars -- at a level not previously seen at the agency. The Port Authority runs the region's airports and bridges and tunnels for more than 120 million drivers.

"This is a substantial, almost historic level of investment," he said. "The fact that we're doing this is a significant change that I think will benefit this region for decades to come."

An official familiar with the agency's plans told The Associated Press the PATH increase, which had been proposed in November to rise to $2, was changed after transit advocates complained it would unfairly burden the line's 225,000 passengers.

The agency also reduced a proposed toll increase for carpoolers by $1; drivers who register as carpoolers and take at least two people in their cars will have to pay $2 at the crossings.

The one-way tolls affect drivers heading into Manhattan on the George Washington Bridge and through the Lincoln and Holland tunnels, and into Staten Island on the Goethals, Outerbridge Crossing and Bayonne bridges.

About 200 people submitted e-mail comments and just over 40 people attended a series of public meetings held before the hikes, officials said. Just over 50 percent of the people who commented on the plan supported it, financial officer Paul Blanco said.

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