Now that’s a zip car.
E-ZPass-toting motorists can now blow through the Henry Hudson Bridge’s toll plaza much faster after the agency yesterday removed the annoying foam barriers — the first step toward making the bridge the first cashless toll in the country.
The farewell to arms means E-ZPass drivers no longer have to come to a complete stop at the plaza — instead, they can cruise through at 15 miles per hour.
The idea is to reduce congestion at the plaza. It will also stop pollution from accumulating there and blowing into nearby neighborhoods.
“This is the beginning of the end of the toll booth,” said MTA chief Jay Walder.
Toll arms were “causing traffic tie-ups, wasting time, and leading to unnecessary pollution,” he added, saying removing the arms was necessary because “even with E-ZPass, traffic tie-ups at toll booths still exist.”
The agency today also began testing an elaborate camera system that — hopefully in a year’s time — will eliminate the needs for cash toll collectors at all of the agency’s seven bridges and two tunnels.
Under that plan, drivers who don’t have E-ZPass will drive through the camera lanes, and their license plate will be photographed. The MTA will then send a bill for the toll, which would be the same price as today’s cash lane, to the address on the car’s registration.
Currently the MTA is testing the clarity of the pictures and how possible it is to find accurate addresses for license plates, officials said.
The entire pilot will cost about $10 million — though about $6.3 million will go to other crossings if the program is expanded beyond the Henry Hudson Bridge, said MTA spokeswoman Judie Glave.
The Henry Hudson Bridge, which connects Manhattan to Riverdale, in the Bronx, was picked for the pilot because 85 percent of weekday drivers there use E-ZPass and there’s no commercial traffic allowed. the bridge was opened in 1936 and it carries 23 million vehicles in 2010.
Right now there are three gateless E-ZPass only and three cash only lanes are now available in each direction.
“Our message to E-ZPass customers at the Henry Hudson is .¤.¤. don’t stop, keep moving!” said Jim Ferrara, the president of the MTA’s bridges and tunnels.
Electronic signs in E-ZPass lanes will tell motorists “Toll Processed. Do not stop.” And if a cash driver uses the new barrier-less E-ZPass lane, they’ll be hit with a $50 violation in the mail.