No More Toll Booths On The NYS Thruway?

Governor Cuomo's State of the State address,  Realizing the Promise of Progressive Government, revealed a plan to remove toll booths from the NYS Thruway.

Commuters may honk their horn with this news. No more stopping at toll booths on the NYS Thruway anywhere from Buffalo to New York City by 2020. Gov. Cuomo says it will improve driving, the speed, the traffic flow, and reduce congestion-related emissions.

"Cashless tolling has been a great success at our downstate bridges and tunnels. It’s not just faster for the commuter and better for the environment. It’s also more secure. The new electronic toll structures are designed with state-of-the-art homeland security devices. They also have license plate readers. Police are on site and are electronically notified in three seconds of a violation or a suspicious plate from the license plate reader. It’s in place. It works. It works very well..."

Common sense says people will lose their jobs. Syracuse.com reports the superhighway employs about 1,100 toll collectors, mostly part-time. They are represented by a union, Teamsters Local 72.

Don't think for a second that you don't  have to pay tolls. The new technology will automatically charge drivers with E-ZPass and those without will be mailed a bill.

Bonus Video:

[Information from NYS and Syracuse.com]