Bill de Blasio Comes Out for $2 East River Bridge Tolls

"In just two months, New York City commuters will face drastic farehikes and service cuts unless our state government solves the MTA’sbudget crisis. Time is runningout and Albany needs to act now. In light of these troublingcircumstances, I am supporting Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver’sproposal to combine a payroll tax with a toll on the East and HarlemRiver bridges set at two dollars, the same amount as a subway fare.Final legislation must permanently keep these tolls at the level ofsubway fares and the revenue generated should be used to maintain andimprove outer-borough transportation services. In the past I havesupported several different solutions to this problem, from reinstatingthe commuter tax to increasing driver registration fees. Now, aboveall, I believe Albany needs to fix this problem before straphangersacross our city are left carrying the burden by themselves."