A total of 44 vehicles were seized by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) in a four-day effort to tackle the issue of persistent toll evasion, the MTA announced in a press briefing Friday.
The operation targeted toll evaders who collectively owe the MTA nearly $1 million in unpaid fees, the MTA stated in a news conference. MTA Chair Janno Lieber expressed the sentiment behind the crackdown during the press briefing.
“This is about fundamental fairness. It’s not right when drivers, some rolling around in Mercedes and Porsches, come onto our bridges and through tunnels and skip out on paying thousands and thousands of dollars in tolls,” Lieber said in a statement.
The enforcement operation was concentrated at the Verrazzano Narrows Bridge, a critical link between Staten Island and Brooklyn, per the press briefing. Vehicles of various kinds were apprehended, ranging from high-end vehicles such as a white BMW SUV and a black Mercedes sedan to commercial vehicles like a privately-owned garbage truck. Lieber noted one particularly striking case of a Range Rover whose owner allegedly owed $50,000 in toll fees. (RELATED: NY MTA Supervisor Rails Against Manhattan DA Bragg After Nearly Fatal Attack)
It was also revealed that many vehicles used tactics to evade tolls, including the use of fake out-of-state plates and the strategic placement of plastic covers over legitimate plates to dodge toll cameras, according to the press briefing. The collective toll evasion amount by these 44 vehicles is estimated at $922,500, according to the New York Post. This figure is a small portion of the MTA’s estimated loss of $46 million in 2022 due to toll evasion.
Some offenders were found to be uninsured or operating vehicles with suspended licenses. The impounded vehicles will remain in custody until the owners address their outstanding toll fees and penalties.