A change.org petition calling for reforms to congestion pricing and New York’s overall toll collection system known as E-ZPass has received thousands of backers after it was posted last week. “DEFUND EZ-Pass AND MTA” was started by Bronx resident Joel Becerra, who told the New York Post that the toll collection system employed by New York State amounts to “legal extortion” due to the “absurd amount of tolls, of violations, of fees” that it charges. His petition calls for three measures: an end to “surprise fees and excessive penalties;” a pause to congestion pricing and an independent study to “ensure the plan doesn’t punish the people who can least afford it;” and the establishment of an oversight committee “to monitor all revenues.” As of this writing, the petition has reached 7,517 verified signatures, growing at a pace of roughly 100 signatures per hour.
While congestion pricing has only started on January 5th, desire to reform the E-ZPass system is longstanding. New Yorkers have been especially frustrated with what many allege is an extortionate system of late fees that can drastically increase what they owe on overdue tolls. One New Yorker who spoke to THE CITY in 2023 detailed how $735 in tolls that first started accumulating in 2020 had ballooned to over $5,800 by 2023. Another owed over $100,000 for fees tacked on to tolls between 2019 and 2022.
The addition of congestion pricing as part of the E-ZPass system is apparently adding to the frustration. The new system, which was implemented on January 5th, amounts to a nine-dollar fee for passenger cars going below 60th street in Manhattan during peak hours (5a.m. to 9p.m. weekdays, 9a.m. to 9p.m. weekends), with the fee dropping down to $2.25 during the overnight period.
Becerra’s petition is clearly resonating with a contingent of New Yorkers frustrated with the current state of affairs, telling the Post that he has been contacted directly by hundreds of people sharing his view since his petition was posted last week. The document, however, does finesse certain facts in order to support its overall argument. Becerra claims that a study from the Community Service Society has found that “low- and moderate-income drivers will be disproportionately affected” by the plan, but a review of CSS’s reports on the matter show that they have consistently favored it over the years, with one official saying that “the impact on poor and low-income people is not as severe as naysayers suggest.” CSS also highlights discount programs available for drivers making less than $50,000 a year, as well as a variety of other available exemptions.
Still, the major sticking point is not just the toll itself, but the tacked-on fees after the fact. Becerra told the Post that he sometimes receives a notice of a missed toll payment over a month after it occurred, incurring penalties “before he even knows it.” Both of New York State’s legislatures have passed a bill called the Toll Payer Protection Act multiple times, which would cap the amount of fees that can be tacked on to past-due tolls to $25 or double the initial amount due before fees, whichever is greater. However, the legislation has died by governor veto on three occasions – twice under Governor Andrew Cuomo, and once under Governor Kathy Hochul. When she vetoed the bill, Hochul stated that it “would threaten the financial stability of the state’s transportation infrastructure, and would protect toll scofflaws rather than responsible toll payers and the roads and bridges New Yorkers rely on.”
