News 4’s Myles Miller reports.
The Lincoln Tunnel officially went cashless a day ago, and it appears some commuters may have missed the memo.
Google searches for EZ Pass NY Customer Service were up nearly 4,450% around rush hour Monday compared with the previous hour, and while it's unclear if the toll payment change factored in, the spike is pretty suspicious.
For those looking desperately for that cashless customer service number, EZ Pass is 1-800-333-TOLL. More here.
The 88-year-old tunnel became the sixth and final of the Port Authority crossings to completely switch over to electronic billing as of Sunday.
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The change-over to cashless tolling was completed on the George Washington Bridge in July, the Holland Tunnel in 2020, and all three Staten Island bridges in 2019.
Toll payments are now collected through the E-ZPass system or Toll-By-Mail. Drivers without E-ZPass need not worry. Overhead cameras snap photos of the passing license plates, and a bill for the toll amount is sent through the mail.
The change -- a long time coming -- is expected to reduce commute times, emissions and the number of traffic accidents at the crossing. Traffic accidents at Staten Island bridges caused by stop-and-go and merging traffic has been reduced the 70% since removing cash payments, the Port Authority says.
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The agency estimates the elimination of toll lanes and booths will be big savers. They said drivers will save roughly 1.3 million gallons of fuel a year and help reduce 11,500 metric tons of carbon dioxide annually.
Cash toll booths were deactivated early Sunday morning. Sentimental drivers will see them for a bit longer before crews demolish the relics and remove them over a phased timeline to limit traffic disruption.
“Toll booths have served us well in the past when toll collection required someone to accept coins or tickets in exchange for passage, but at some point, nostalgia must make way for advances in technology that improve our lives – which for many of us in this region revolve around our daily commutes,” said Port Authority Chairman Kevin O'Toole.
The Port Authority is seeing traffic numbers return to pre-pandemic levels. In July, the agency recorded more than 3.4 million vehicles passing through the Lincoln Tunnel, similar to traffic volumes in July 2019.
Toll collectors station at the Lincoln Tunnel will be reassigned to other positions "should they wish to continue working for the agency."
One thing regular commuters should take note of: the carpool discount plan is suspended indefinitely. The Port Authority says its current technology cannot track the number of passengers in the car. They hope to find new tools to track and bring the program back down the road.
