New York – The head of the Port Authority wants you to dig deeper in your pockets for the billions the agency needs to fix up its airports, bus terminals, bridges and tunnels.

“We need to find new creative pricing schemes that pull wealth out of that economy and reinvest in the infrastructure that we know we need today,” Christopher Ward, the PA’s executive director, told the New York Building Congress Thursday.

“The public does embrace the idea of paying for something. They just need to tangibly see it get built.”

The PA charges tolls of up to $8 at bridges and tunnels, as well as a $4.50 “passenger facility charge” on tickets at airports.

That’s not enough to pay for the world-class infrastructure New York deserves, Ward said – like fixing up LaGuardia and Kennedy airports, rebuilding the cramped Port Authority bus terminal or rebuilding aging bridges.

“LaGuardia is not an airport that New York can be proud of,” he said. “LaGuardia must be fundamentally rebuilt.”

He had no concrete proposals for higher car tolls, fees on bus passengers or airplane ticket fees, though he said drivers might pay a premium to use a faster lane on bridges or tunnels.

(Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/)