A New York driver who says he’s fed up with E-ZPass tolls has launched an online petition to change the system, including congestion pricing — and has already garnered thousands of backers.
Some of the people who signed the petition, which has amassed more than 7,000 signatures since last week, claim they’ve fallen into debt over such things as E-ZPass’s late fees — racking up more than $100,000 in penalties alone from the e-tolling system.
““It’s a legal extortion … the absurd amount of tolls, of violations, of fees that E-ZPass charges,” petition starter and longtime Bronx resident Joel Becerra told The Post.
“I’m all for the transportation system, I’m all for having everybody using the subway,” Becerra said, “But a lot of people aren’t for it because it’s not as safe at all right now.”
Becerra told The Post that his petition has resulted in hundreds of people reaching out to him with the same issue of late-fee debt and also to gripe over what he and other critics call the MTA’s latest money-grab: the congestion toll to enter Midtown Manhattan.
“Pause and Reevaluate Congestion Pricing: Conduct an independent study on the real impact of this toll. Ensure the plan doesn’t punish the people who can least afford it,” the petition reads.
The petition also seeks greater “oversight and accountability” on where the money raised by tolls goes.
In addition, it calls for “Transparent and Fair Pricing: Stop the surprise fees and excessive penalties from EZPass. Simplify the system so everyone knows what they’re paying.”
“It makes you feel hopeless,” Becerra said of the late fees.
The New York State Thruway Authority did not return a Post request for comment, nor did the MTA.
A perennially introduced state bill dubbed the Toll Payer Protection Act has sought to dramatically cap the system’s late fees – byt has been struck down by both former Gov. Andrew Cuomo and Gov. Kathy Hochul despite overwhelming support in the legislature.
The measure “would threaten the financial stability of the state’s transportation infrastructure and would protect toll scofflaws rather than responsible toll payers and the roads and bridges New Yorkers rely on,” Hochul said in 2022.
But several New Yorkers told The Post they are struggling with E-ZPass late fees that start at $50 after 30 days — and only astronomically balloon from there.
“Bills can accrue without you actually noticing, and then you have kind of have this backlog of payments that just show up at your door,” said motorist Nico Dancona. “Once my E-ZPass ran out, I wasn’t thinking about it, because you just had it in your dashboard sitting there — and then suddenly now you have $600 that you have to pay.”
“One time I had $1,200 worth of bills just because I had been coming back and forth all the time and I wasn’t checking my mail,” he added.
“I get the bills, over 300-something a month,” said
Freddy Cordova, 46, who works in New Jersey, said, “I get the bills — over $300 something a month.”
Driver Steve McCormick, 58, told The Post that the tolls are “too much.
“And then you got people with a one-person income, and they just make it [by] every week … where they gotta make the extra money to take care of the rest? It’s just not right.”
Becerra – who drives for about an hour to see his girlfriend in Queens — said the subway ride would take him triple the time.
The Bronx resident said every time he misses a toll payment, it can be about a month before he is notified – meaning he can incur penalites before he even knows it.
A $100 fee turned into more than a thousand dollars because of ballooning late charges, he said.
“One of the things they do is they wait,” he said of transit officials. And “the [license-plate] readers, sometimes they have mistakes. They don’t [always] read it correctly.”
As for the MTA’s tolls, “You’re going to spend at least $400 to $1,000 per month if you’re commuting regularly to Queens and back from The Bronx,” he said. “I can’t even imagine what it would be like going to Manhattan [with congestion pricing].”
Increased costs in transportation – be it on the subway, ferry, Citi Bike or driving – are making residents like Becerra reconsider living in the Big Apple altogether, he said.
“We’re planning for our future now,” the Bronx native told The Post, “but New York isn’t even in the picture as much because of all the fees and pricing.”
“I love New York: I want to be part of the city, but you do what you got to do to make sure that the living [situation] is right for your family and for yourself,” the petition organizer lamented.
Becerra said he hasn’t received a response from the mayor’s office or governor’s office regarding his petition but is planning to get lawyers and advocacy groups involved in the coming weeks.
“This is one of the best cities in the world, and it shouldn’t be like this,” Becerra said.
“There are better and more ethical ways to live in New York, to have cleaner transportation systems, to feel like this is a great city to live in – but it’s becoming more difficult every day.”
