The federal Government Accountability Office is looking into recent toll increases imposed by bi-state agencies on bridges in New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania, according to published reports.
“Recent toll hikes on some bridges have raised questions about whether transportation authorities are remaining accountable to their congressionally approved compact,” said Ned Griffith, a GAO spokesman, according to the New Jersey Record.
The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, the Delaware River Port Authority and the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission have all received requests for information from the GAO.
In April, several New Jersey Congressmen asked the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to delay a second round of toll hikes scheduled for December until the agency can prove it has its finances in order. Last August, the agency approved raising bridge and tunnel tolls that will mean an extra $50 per five-axle truck for E-Z Pass users and even more for cash customers.
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg, a Democrat from New Jersey, called for the investigation. Lautenberg, who chairs the Senate Subcommittee on Surface Transportation, is “a vocal critic of the Port Authority and a bitter foe of Gov. Chris Christie, who shares control of the agency with New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo,” reports the New Jersey Star-Ledger.
Find out exactly what the GAO is looking into at Trucking Info.