A trip on the New York State Thruway could be more costly in the coming years. For passenger vehicles with E-Z Pass, the Thruway Authority is proposing a 5% toll increase next year, and another 5% in 2027. That would mean going from $0.45 per mile, to $0.49. It would be the first system-wide toll hike for E-Z Pass customers in 14 years.

“Prices, as we all know, have gone up astronomically,” Frank Hoare, interim executive director of the Thruway Authority, said. “Our cost of asphalt to maintain the roads, our cost of road salt to maintain it during winter months, and cost of steel has gone up that deals with our ability to build. So now is the time since those prices have gone up.”

But the increase will be steeper for drivers who do not have E-Z Pass. They’ll go from a 30% higher rate to 75%. The Thruway Authority says only about 16% of vehicles on the Thruway do not have E-Z Pass. The difference does not sit well with some, like Paula Martin, of Niagara Falls.

“Why should I be forced, as they say, enticed? It seems like a force my hand to get an E-Z Pass to have a lower price to pay?” Martin said. “I’ve been paying by mail consistently, no problems. I can continue to do that. I don’t know why the increase has to be so extreme.”

Martin says she prefers to keep her banking information private and avoids signing up for an E-Z Pass. While she understands the needs to raise tolls, she feels it should be even across the board.

“I don’t like, but hey at least we’re all the same. Don’t punish me because I don’t want to be part of a particular program that you’re basically trying to enforce,” Martin added.

The Thruway Authority gets almost all of its revenue from tolls with no dedicated tax dollars from federal, state or local governments. Over a four-year period, including the COVID-19 pandemic, traffic was down, and the Authority lost $136 million. It says traffic is now returning to pre-pandemic levels.  As for cashless tolling, the Authority says it has not seen a decrease in tolls collected since the program was established to remove the old toll booths.

“We’re seeing a safer roadway. We’re seeing helps to the environment, and it has overall been effective in helping us operate and maintain the Thruway,” Hoare said.

Under the proposal, rates for commercial vehicles will go from $0.22 per mile to $0.30 in 2027.

New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli issued a report early this year that said raising rates should be a last resort.