Study: Bi-state toll agencies like Port Authority operate nearly unchecked
$13 tolls No Sh$t
Friday September 13, 2013, 12:26 PM
BY SHAWN BOBURG
STAFF WRITER
The Record
When it comes to raising tolls, the Port Authority has nearly unchecked power and little obligation to listen to the public.
Those were among the findings of a study released Friday by a federal watchdog group that found bi-state tolling agencies occupy a “third tier” of government–not state, not federal–allowing them to avoid transparency and accountability.
The report comes as drivers brace for the third of five toll hikes on Port Authority bridges and tunnels, to take effect the first Sunday in December. The .75 cent increase will push EZPass peak tolls to $11. The approval of the four-year toll hike plan in 2011 was criticized because it was done without much public notice and after one day of hearings held at times and locations that made it difficult for toll payers to attend. The report did not conclude whether the tolls were justifiable; instead, it looked at whether bi-state tolling agencies have enough oversight.
Federal law requires tolls to be “just and reasonable,” the report by the Government Accountability Office noted. But no federal agency has authority to enforce the standard, it found.
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