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Congestion pricing is still on pause due to Governor Kathy Hochul’s executive order, but the camera technology installed by the MTA Manhattan’s automatic toll collection has been operational since the beginning of this year.

Now Manhattan Borough President Mark Levine wants the MTA to release data collected by toll readers, particularly the number of “ghost cars” passing through the borough.

The camera technology — which cost taxpayers $550 million — was designed to automatically track and toll cars traveling under 60th Street by using E-ZPass readers and cameras to photograph the vehicles’ license plates.

Levine says the toll readers could serve another purpose while Hochul considers whether to activate the tolls: shedding light on how many cars in the city have fake, obscured or missing plates. Last week, he sent MTA Bridges and Tunnel President Cathy Sheridan a letter requesting that the data be made public.

“This is a massive problem that costs our city – including the MTA – hundreds of millions of dollars per year in lost revenue, and prevents law enforcement from properly cracking down on individuals who overrun school zones and run red lights,” he wrote. . “It is essential to obtain more data to assess the scale of the problem. »

Information collected by the cameras could provide unprecedented details about vehicles entering the busiest part of Manhattan, including the types of vehicles, their numbers, when they enter Manhattan and whether they have valid plates .

Levine has been pushing for a more aggressive crackdown on ghost cars for months and has put pressure on websites that sell fake license plates. to forbid them. He also published a report on the subject.

“We were surprised at how difficult it was to get recent data on this – we ended up doing our best with estimates and they still tell a pretty compelling story about how serious the problem is, but we “We have become frustrated with how difficult it is to find a solution to the scale of the problem,” he said. “We still have a long way to go and getting accurate data is a big one. part. “

He said the problem is getting worse in his borough and is likely to become even worse if a congestion charge is activated, which would increase incentives for drivers to hide their number plates.

“The situation is about to get worse, the time has come to solve this problem,” he said. “We have this wonderful asset. We have the readers standing. So let’s not wait until they’re activated and then we realize, “oh my God, a huge percentage of plates are unreadable.”

MTA spokesman Aaron Donovan said the agency “received BP Levine’s letter and we are reviewing it.”

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Question from Jerry in Manhattan

It is understood that New York subway and bus fares are subsidized. If fares were not subsidized, approximately how much would fares increase to cover operating costs? What would be an undiscounted rate?

Answer

State control of the subway system dates back to the 1960s, when former Governor Nelson Rockefeller shook up New York politics by wresting power from Robert Moses, who for decades had held an iron fist over the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority and its profitable operations. toll revenue stream. Rockefeller wanted to use this money to subsidize the subways and the Long Island Rail Road, which were in disrepair. At the time, the subway was owned by the city and operated by the New York City Transit Authority. Rockefeller pushed through state legislation consolidating the City Transit Authority, the LIRR, and the Triborough Authority into the new MTA, which was controlled by the state. The law made clear that the city would continue to own the physical infrastructure of the subway, but would lease it to the MTA for operation.