2021: As MCB Tolls Rise, Gift For Rockland, Westchester Drivers

TAPPAN ZEE — A quarter-million residents of Rockland and Westchester counties have had their E-ZPass Tags automatically enrolled in a new discount plan making them an exception to the toll hikes for the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.

The new toll rates, the first in 10 years, take effect Friday on the Hudson River crossing.

Those in the Resident Discount Plan will see their bridge toll remain at its current level – $4.75 per trip – through the end of 2022. Everyone else is getting socked with varying levels of hikes.

Here's who qualifies for the Resident Discount Plan:

• You are a current E-ZPass NY customer with a mailing address in Rockland or Westchester counties
• You have a vehicle registered in a qualifying ZIP code in Rockland or Westchester
• Discount is associated with a specific E-ZPass tag(s) based on eligible license plates on your account (For each E-ZPass tag, a license plate must be registered in Rockland or Westchester)
• Passenger vehicles only and the vehicle is only for personal use.

The discount plan is part of a multi-tiered toll increase for 2021. Earlier in December, the New York State Thruway Authority Board of Directors approved new toll rates both for the MCB and on the Thruway system-wide, saying they were doing so to support the conversion to cashless tolling.

If you qualified for the MCB resident plan, you should have received an email with details regarding the discount plan. Check your EZ-Pass plan online.

If you've been using the commuter plan, which is deeply discounted, you might want to think about pandemic adjustments.

Intended for those who frequently cross the bridge, the commuter plan provides a 40 percent discount on 20 trips taken in 30 days — but a minimum of 20 trips per month is required.

If fewer than 20 trips are taken per month, you will be charged for each trip not taken.

Because commuting patterns have changed due to the coronavirus pandemic, customers are urged to review how often they cross the bridge, NYSTA officials said. If you’re crossing the bridge less frequently these days, it might make sense to suspend your commuter plan and sign up for the resident discount instead.

New customers who want to get E-ZPass in the new year can sign-up on E-ZPassNY.com and add the resident discount plan. The website will inform you if your vehicle qualifies based on the DMV license plate records.

And just FYI, here's how the toll hikes play out across the rest of the New York State Thruway:

• The standard New York E-ZPass toll rate will become the base toll rate and a 30 percent rate differential will be established for Tolls by Mail toll rates.
• A 15 percent rate differential for out-of-state E-ZPass customers
• All transactions processed through a license plate image review will pay the Tolls by Mail rate.
• A $2 administrative surcharge per billing statement for Tolls by Mail statements to support the administrative costs associated with processing transactions through the Tolls by Mail program