Commuters will have to keep paying more to drive into town from New Jersey, at least for now.
A federal judge said Monday that steep toll hikes implemented by the Port Authority can stay in place while a lawsuit against the increases works its way through the courts.
Back in September, the Port Authority raised peak hour tolls from $8 to $9.50 for E-ZPass customers and $12 for cash customers on each of the four bridges and two tunnels that connect New York to New Jersey.
Within days, AAA went to court seeking to overturn the hike. The auto club claims it violates the federal highway act because the extra money would help pay for redeveloping the World Trade Center site, something the Port Authority itself admitted.
However, a federal judge ruled there was no evidence to support that.
The judge also ruled that AAA hasn’t provided enough evidence to warrant a return to the old, lower rates, but he didn’t throw the suit out entirely, giving the green light for a trial to move ahead.
For its part, the Port Authority says it has stated all along that it believes the AAA lawsuit is without merit.
The agency says it’s happy with the court’s ruling.
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One Response
Sure the Port Authority is happy…just gives them more time to collect the big bucks and think of ways to waste the taxpayers hard earned money.