MTA: City Must Pay for E-ZPass

Yesterday the MTA board voted to revoke the free E-ZPasses for city employees, 7 votes to 6. According to NY1, the plan, which the Bloomberg administration opposed, was also "narrowly approved" by the MTA's finance committee. The move will force police, fire and other city agencies to get E-ZPass accounts for the MTA's bridge and tunnel crossings. City budget director Mark Page said, "The bookkeeping management argument and ill will arising from this proposal is probably more expensive, in terms of the likelihood of coming together on the extremely serious issues that face all of us, than it's worth," but MTA executive director Elliot Sander emphasized that the transit agency's dire financial situation--like the $900 million deficit it faces-- required the free ride to end.

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By Jen Chung in News on September 25, 2008 8:48 AM

Comments [rss]

Snoopy

It's similar to the argument that the Department of Sanitation used to try to get free employee parking at the proposed garage on Spring Street because when we have heavy snow storm the drivers need a place to park. Yeah sure, all two days out of the year. And if the trucks are out plowing and salting there should be mpty spots in the garage. The city thinks in strange ways.

Snoopy

I still don't think this applies to emergency vehicles, only private cars.

jibbly

#2 & 3: Uh what? Emergency vehicles would have unfettered access to the bridges and tunnels, the only difference now would be they would get a bill at the end of the month. In addition, this doesn't just cover critical emergency vehicles, it also makes sure when these city employees want to come into Manhattan to go shopping on a Sunday afternoon they'll have to pay up instead of getting a free pass because they have a city issued EZPass in their private cars.

Snoopy

Where does it say that emergency vehicles were required to pay the tolls? It's the cops, firemen and other city workers that were getting the free EZ pass using their own private cars.

It's bad enough they get free parking around their police stations and fire houses. That is the next thing that should be eliminated.

Toby von Meistersinger

Quite simply tell the MTA to go to hell and if they want to stop police, fire and EMS vehicles on bridges arrest the MTA board for interfering with the police, fire or EMS after the first time they stop an emergency vehicle.

Or let a fire in a tunnel or bridge burn itself out.

And there is always eminent domain.