MTA officials threw cold water on Monday on a "particularly egregious and misleading" New York Post story that alleged the transportation authority was losing billions of dollars per year to unpaid tolls — while providing figures that show that the scourge of toll evasion has increased significantly in recent years.
"Yesterday's story regarding toll losses in one of our fantasy tabloids — it is particularly egregious and misleading and grossly overstates our toll losses," MTA Bridges and Tunnels President Cathy Sheridan said at the authority's monthly committee hearings.
It is true that the MTA has sent around $5 billion to debt collectors in recent years, but that number reflects hefty fines and late fees on top of the cost of unpaid tolls, Sheridan said.
The MTA in fact collects "96 percent of what we're owed" from non-paying drivers, she said, "through a variety of methods that includes: collection agency placements; New York State DMV suspensions; out of state suspensions; plate clearances; judgments; roadside interdictions and vehicles towed; payment plans and commercial account assistance."
Portion that remained unpaid in 2023 amounted to $187 million — an increase compared to the five-year average, an MTA spokesman told Streetsblog. Of that, $128 million was recovered, the authority said.
Add that to the $53 million per year the MTA loses to "un-billable" drivers — i.e. those committing license plate fraud — and the full cost of toll evasion was around $112 million in 2023, the MTA said. Officials recover more of the unpaid moneys over time, according to a spokesman — meaning the $84 million in IOUs reported by Streetsblog three years ago for year 2021 has dropped significantly.
MTA officials have made a big show of enforcement stings against "persistent toll violators" on their bridges and tunnels. The issue is of particular concern after the launch of congestion pricing, which the MTA forecasts will add nearly $800 million to the amount it sends to collection agencies.
It's not clear what portion of the amount the MTA sends to debt collectors are late fees as opposed to actual unpaid tolls. Neither is it clear what percentage of drivers never pay their tolls at all. Fare evasion on subways and buses is estimated to cost the MTA $600 million per year.
The Post, which said the MTA did not return its calls about the figures, used the astronomical numbers as ammo in its campaign against congestion pricing — turning to Republican politicians to call on the MTA to target its existing toll "deadbeats" before charging its new congestion fee.
But the paper appeared to have jumped the gun on the astronomical numbers without checking to make sure what they meant. The story also blamed cashless tolls, which has reduced emissions and collisions and saved drivers "3.4 million hours of travel time" since the state implemented it in 2017 and 2017, officials said.
"I'm not going to debate this today," Sheridan said. "Just don't believe everything you read [in the Post]."
Watch her comments here:
Editor's note: An earlier version of this story did not include the amount of money the MTA had recouped out of the total lost to unpaid tolls. Officials have recovered the vast majority of unpaid tolls for the year 2023.
