Port Authority Tolls Go Up On Sunday

Tolls on Port Authority bridges and tunnels will go up on Sunday.

Starting Sunday morning at 3AM it will cost $13 using cash to cross the Hudson River and Staten Island crossings. EZ Pass users will pay $10.25 during peak hours (weekdays 6AM-10AM and weekends 11AM-9PM)  and $8.25 off-peak.

Tolls will rise yet again for EZ Pass users on December 1, 2013.

EZ Pass users who make 3 trips in a calendar year will be rebated half of the cost for their first two trips and be charged 50 percent of the regular peak time E-ZPass rate for as many crossings that they make in a calendar month.\

The increases are part of a series of toll increases approved by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey in August, 2011 that the Authority said was necessary to complete the World Trade Center, for post-9/11 security costs and an "unprecedented need for infrastructure overhaul."  The increases were made with the approval of New Jersey Governor Chris Christie and New York Governor Andrew Cuomo.

Still pending is a court challenge by the AAA of New York and North Jersey according to the Asbury Park Press.

The increases also led to an audit of Port Authority spending that concluded the Port Authority  "must raise tolls to maintain its transportation infrastructure and fund capital projects." New Jersey Democrats continue their own probe into the PA's spending as well, an investigation the New Jersey GOP has called a "witch hunt."