One day after news got out that the Thruway Authority was exploring a toll hike for motorists in 2024 lawmakers responded.
To be clear, most of the public response to the proposed toll hike was frustration.
How much more would it cost to travel on the Thruway, though if the proposed hike were approved?
News10NBC found that if a person got on the Thruway in Rochester and traveled to I-81 in Syracuse the trip costs $3.04 with an E-ZPass. That same trip would cost about 15 cents more if the rate hike were approved.
Non E-ZPass users would bear the biggest burden. That trip, which costs $3.95 now would skyrocket to nearly $7 each way in 2024.
State Senate Republican Leader Rob Ortt said the increase was misguided and couldn’t have come at a worse time.
“As record inflation and economic difficulties continue, millions of New Yorkers are struggling to provide for their families this holiday season,” Ortt began. “Yet rather than trying to help, this state government seems determined to do the opposite.”
He accused bureaucrats and Governor Hochul of throwing New Yorkers under the bus.
“Governor Hochul is throwing struggling New Yorkers right under the bus not even three weeks after she’s been re-elected. This year-end surprise is cowardly and just plain wrong,” he continued. “I am calling on the Governor to immediately shelve this new tax on driving and reject any more toll hikes on already struggling New York families.”
Meanwhile, the Thruway Authority told News10NBC that the increase is necessary to maintain infrastructure on the system that is now approaching 70 years old.
FingerLakes1.com is the region’s leading all-digital news publication. The company was founded in 1998 and has been keeping residents informed for more than two decades. Have a lead? Send it to [email protected]