So how are the new Port Authority tolls working out? In short: Great for mass transit, bad for parking lots. The Post today does some anecdotal reporting and finds that the hike, which went into effect earlier this month, has been an immediate bummer for local businesses. "A lot of people are taking the train now," an attendant at a garage at Seventh Avenue and West 31st Street told the tabloid. "Before, we made about $2,500 a day. Now we make about $1,800." more ›

Governors Christie and Cuomo finally ended their "outrage" of the Port Authority's massive proposed toll hikes by pitching much smaller increases—an extra $1.50 for Hudson River crossings and $0.25 a year for the next four years for a PATH ride—and yesterday the increases passed. Hooray for carefully choreographed political theater! But Christie's critics are calling the move a "tax increase," something the governor has avoided like non-propeller based transportation. "It's a user fee," Christie tells the Star-Ledger, "It's not a tax. I know what a tax is and what it looks like." more ›

This morning the Port Authority held its first public meetings to discuss its proposed toll hikes and a few of them apparently got quite heated. Which is not really that surprising when you consider that these were public meetings at 8 a.m. about a very touchy topic. One Staten Islander reportedly moaned that the hike "is going to kill us, making life impossible on Staten Island. It's becoming virtually impossible to pursue happiness on Staten Island." more ›

Another day, another conspiracy theory regarding the Port Authority's planned hikes for Hudson River crossings (and PATH riders). Yesterday the scuttlebutt was that the 50 percent bumps were a backdoor attempt to bring congestion pricing to the city and now at least one reporter is claiming the whole hike is just political theater to make commuters grateful when the actual increase comes in much smaller. Not that either theory is mutually exclusive. more ›

Like so many government agencies the Port Authority—currently bickering with the National September 11th Memorial over $150 million dollars—could use more cash. Which is why it is expected later this afternoon to announce that it will raise the tolls on the region's tunnels and bridges from $8 to $12 next month, with another $2 hike planned for 2014. Oh, and they are also mulling a $1 hike in the PATH fare. more ›

As the MTA continues to struggle to close its $800 million budget gap, drivers will now have to dig deeper into their pockets to pony up the cash to cross the city's bridges and tunnels. In a measure approved 12-1 today by the MTA board, fares will increase in January by about 18% for drivers paying cash, but only about 5% for those using EZ-Pass. According to a statement sent out by the MTA, fares at the Queens-Midtown Tunnel and Throgs Neck bridge will increase by one dollar (to $6.50) for those paying cash and 23 cents (to $4.80) for those using EZ-Pass. Over at the Verrazano, the cash toll will increase by 2 dollars (bringing the cost of crossing the bridge to $13), and those using EZ-Pass will pay $9.60. more ›

Grab some quarters if you're crossing the East River today. The crossings run by the MTA—the RFK, Whitestone, Throgs Neck Bridges plus the Midtown and Battery Tunnels all go up 50 cents to $5.50 today. The toll hike is the last phase of the revenue being raised by the MTA in the face of their budget crisis. Of course at one point the plan involved tolls being introduced to the East River crossings, but that dream proposed by now (sort of) Lieutenant Governor Richard Ravitch was shot down by everyone's favorite state senators. Other tolls going up today include the Henry Hudson, Marine Bay, Cross Bay and Verrazano Bridges—the last of which is now up to a whopping eleven dollars. One Upper West Sider told WCBS 2, "I don't understand how you can get away with it, I mean it is better than the doomsday scenario. It was poorly advertised and a lot of people are going to be caught off guard." more ›

The NJ Turnpike Authority will be raising tolls on the NJ Turnpike and Garden State Parkway. The Star-Ledger reports that the "first hike comes in December, and the second comes in 2012....A drive along the full length of the Turnpike, which now costs $6.45, will more than double to $13.75 by 2012. Driving the Parkway from top to bottom also will more than double in four years." While the state government raised tolls to fund road improvements and fund other projects, the NJ Motor Truck Association criticized the plan, "If you're paying $8 extra per truck and you have a fleet of 100 trucks, that's an extra $800 per day. How many small businesses can absorb that?" more ›