Schumer Wants E-Z Pass Text Alert System To Help Avoid $50 High-Speed Toll Fees
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- Drivers across the New York City Metro area may be getting socked with hefty and hidden E-Z Pass charges.
Schumer Tells 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria Fees Are Highway Robbery
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While drivers receive visual warnings about low balances or impending charges when using low-speed tolls, drivers do not receive warnings on high-speed tolls, like those found on the George Washington Bridge, Henry Hudson Bridge, New York State Thruway or the Goethals, Outerbridge, and Bayonne Bridges, due to safety concerns.
As a result, drivers who are accustomed to these warnings can be blindsided when they do not receive similar notifications on these lanes, and are then forced to pay up to $50 in "administrative fees" for each unpaid toll on top of the bridge or road toll.
On Thursday, Sen. Charles Schumer called on the four toll agencies that operate E-ZPass in New York State to implement a text-message warning system to alert drivers when their E-ZPass balances run low and about any impending charges they may face.
"When you have to go pay $50 to go through a bridge because you didn't know your balance was gone, that's highway robbery," Schumer told 1010 WINS' Carol D'Auria. "Our local libraries...when your book is due in a day, they text you. Why can't EZ-Pass do the same thing?"
Schumer said the text-message warning system will help the over 2.1 million New York City area residents that use E-ZPass avoid unnecessary toll fees.
"With gas prices adding to commuting costs, the last thing New Yorkers need are unwarranted and avoidable fees every time they pay a toll," said Schumer. "E-ZPass is supposed to save New Yorkers money, but by failing to notify drivers about impending charges when they drive through high-speed tolls, it's leaving many of them in the red."
Did you know about the low-balance E-Z Pass fees? Think a text alert system is the answer? Sound Off below
