A sharp drop in the number of vehicles using the Hudson River and Staten Island crossings last month is likely due to soaring gas prices, but experts say higher tolls also likely played a role.

Transportation data reviewed by The Star-Ledger of Newark found that more than 425,000 fewer vehicles crossed on the Lincoln and Holland tunnels and the George Washington, Goethals, Outerbridge and Bayonne bridges in May. The data came from The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which operates the crossings, and was reported Thursday evening on the Star-Ledger’s Web site.

The review also found that on a typical day last month, use of the crossings totaled about 348,000 vehicles, a 3.8 percent drop from an average day in May 2007.

Meanwhile, PATH ridership jumped 6.5 percent during the first three months of this year to 17.9 million riders, up from 16.8 million riders during the same period a year ago. And NJ Transit reports that systemwide train, bus and light rail ridership grew by 4.6 percent in April and May.

Experts say higher tolls also likely played a role in the shift, noting the drop came shortly after the Port Authority raised peak hour tolls at its bridges and tunnels from $5 to $8 in early March.

Similar traffic trends were reported by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority, which operates the Triborough Bridge and Queens-Midtown Tunnel in New York.

(Source: 1010WINS)