New York is finally taking steps to curb a persistent pitfall of its transition to cashless tolls: drivers plagued by huge debts for unpaid toll bills they may never have seen.
State lawmakers have presented policy changes over six years to help toll payers to just two governors – Andrew Cuomo and then Kathy Hochul – veto your bills three times. But their effort led to a compromise in last month’s state budget: new billing rules that at least aim to ensure drivers know about their charges and how to dispute them if they were billed improperly.
The rules only affect drivers who waive E-ZPass. Those who have electronic devices in their vehicles are automatically charged tolls when crossing bridges and tunnels or traveling along the Thruway. But those who don’t are charged in the mail after cameras take photos of their license plates.
That’s where problems have arisen since the state began removing toll booths to speed up traffic flow around 2016. Stories have emerged of drivers facing thousands of dollars in debt for piles of tolls and late fees, with some alleging that they never saw the original bills.
In a case reported by The Journal News/lohud in 2018, a Rockland County mother was shocked to learn she owed $12,000 for travel across the Tappan Zee Bridge (and the Governor Mario M. Cuomo Bridge that replaced it). She only learned of her alleged debt when police stopped and impounded her car in the Bronx as she was returning home from the airport with her two children and her 79-year-old mother.
It took months – and cost thousands – for her to find and recover her car and resolve the charges.
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Under rules enacted last month in the state budget and set to take effect on September 30, the Thruway Authority, Bridge Authority and other public authorities that collect tolls in New York must take the following actions:
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Drivers must have 30 days from the billing date to pay the toll and bill a second time before they receive a violation notice.
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Bills should explain how to dispute a charge and warn about late fees for unpaid bills and the possibility of cars being towed or immobilized after multiple violations.
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Drivers can choose to be notified via email or text about tolls and violation notices.
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Late fees will be waived if notice of violation is sent 90 days or more after the second invoice.
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Authorities must make information about outstanding tolls available to drivers on their websites.
Authorities must also open toll payer defense offices to resolve disputes and resolve systemic problems, and launch public awareness campaigns within 90 days of September 1 to inform drivers about the new rules. Some of these agencies, including the Thruway Authority, already have advocacy offices.
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The version of the bill that Hochul vetoed in 2022 would have gone further, limiting late fees, creating an amnesty program for unpaid bills and voiding any bills sent to drivers more than 30 days after the toll was incurred.
In his veto message, Hochul argued that the proposal would make it more difficult and more expensive for authorities to collect valid tolls and fines. That could reduce their revenues and put at risk the bonds they issued, which are backed by anticipated revenues, she said.
Chris McKenna covers government and politics for The Journal News and USA Today Network. Contact him at cmckenna@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared in the Rockland/Westchester Journal News: NY’s new mail-in toll rules aim to protect drivers from debt. As?
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