Mayor Bloomberg’s MTA Reps Balk At NYFD/NYPD Toll Proposal

Yesterday afternoon I wrote an entry about the MTA wanting NYFD & NYPD employees to pay for tolls like regular commuters while on duty. The plan which needs to be approved by the MTA Board would bring in approximately $10 million a year in added revenue. New York Daily News transit reporter Pete Donohue first broke this story & is now back with word that Mayor Bloomberg’s MTA Board representatives are balking at the proposal. Here is his report:

Mayor Bloomberg’s four representatives on the MTA board are balking at a plan to bill the city for police and firefighter E-ZPasses.

“I’ll vote against it,” Jeff Kay, a mayoral rep on the board, said Wednesday after a Metropolitan Transportation Authority committee meeting. “The mayor has consistently said that the city doesn’t have the money.” The MTA wants the Police and Fire departments, and other city and state agencies, to link their now-free E-ZPasses to prepayment accounts just like private citizens and businesses do.

Cops and firefighters on duty won’t be delayed digging into their pockets for change at tollbooths, MTA officials said.

Bridge and tunnel officers would continue to usher cops and firefighters responding to emergencies through toll plazas, clearing aside traffic and opening gates if needed, MTA spokeswoman Catherine Sweeney said.

Click here for the complete report.

I still have to give this some thought before I can form a complete opinion on it. A big factor would be if the MTA would guarantee that no one would be held up during an emergency due to having to deal with toll payments. If they could, I would side with their idea of bringing in extra revenue by collecting the tolls. Considering the financial times currently in play within the MTA, any extra revenue that can be collected should be seen as a good thing.

xoxo Transit Blogger

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