One of the biggest wins I delivered in this year’s final state budget was a 20% toll discount for Orange County residents crossing the Tappan Zee Bridge. Since the new crossing was constructed years ago, this discount has been available to Rockland and Westchester residents, and now,Orange County E-ZPass holders will finally be eligible to receive the discount as well.
This is money kept in people’s pockets when they cross the bridge for work, not to mention medical appointments, visiting family and friends, or any of the hundreds of reasons Orange County residents travel across the Hudson River. We are in the midst of an affordability crisis and parity with Westchester and Rockland counties has been long overdue, especially given our lack of public transit options here in Orange County.
If you haven’t already, you’ll soon receive a letter and an email (if you have an email address associated with your account) with information about the discount. For tagholders in good standing, the communication will advise that no action is needed to register for the discount and it will be applied automatically. Anyone with outstanding tolls requiring payment or multiple addresses associated with the account will receive a communication advising these issues must be resolved to be eligible for the discount. We expect the discount to be activated sometime in November.
The Thruway Authority has prepared for this rollout and their customer service team is fully trained to handle calls on this issue. If you have questions about the rollout or run into issues, please reach out to the Thruway Authority’s customer service line or contact my office.
Cheers to cheaper tolls!
