Facing an economic downturn and soaring tolls, thousands of motorists intent on saving a few bucks went “bridge shopping” and switched to Manhattan’s free spans to avoid the pricey MTA crossings, according to a new report.
Data compiled by the city’s Transportation Department showed that traffic volume on all four of the tolled bridges and tunnels across the East and Harlem rivers fell between 2008 and 2009, while it increased on 10 of the city’s free bridges.
The Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel took the biggest hit, losing 4,363 of its customers, or 7.9 percent, during the financially perilous one-year span.
The toll for the tunnel and most other MTA-owned crossings jumped in June 2009 from $5 to $5.50 and from $4.15 to $4.57 for E-ZPass holders. Since then, it’s gone up again, to $6.50 and $4.80, respectively.
The report didn’t take a view on where the toll-dodgers might have gone.
But during that same period, the Brooklyn, Manhattan and Williamsburg bridges added a total of 4,246 vehicles to their annual count — nearly the same number that abandoned the Battery Tunnel.
Those three bridges, of course, don’t cost a cent.
A similar trend was evident at the tolled Henry Hudson Bridge, where traffic was down by 3.6 percent, or 2,494 vehicles.
The free alternative, the Broadway Bridge, saw a corresponding jump of 2,300.
“It’s just a case of bridge shopping,” explained Sam Schwartz, a traffic expert and former city transportation commissioner.
Schwartz argued that the numbers provide further proof of the need for congestion pricing, where every route into Manhattan would carry a price tag.
“It’s really very bad for the environment,” he said of the drivers roaming around seeking cheaper alternatives.
“They’re polluting a lot, driving extra miles, using more gasoline.”
City Councilman James Vacca (D-Bronx), a strong opponent of congestion fees, reached the opposite conclusion.
“We may be reaching the point of diminishing returns with the constant toll and fare increases,” Vacca said. “If they keep raising it further, I’m worried about the impact on jobs. The reality is, some people do have to take their cars to work.”
Overall, traffic into and out of Manhattan was relatively flat between 2008 and 2009, dropping by a thin 0.2 percent, from 1,830,907 vehicles to 1,828,065.
The peak hour for vehicle “accumulation” was 2 p.m., when an estimated 369,100 cars and trucks were either moving or parked on the island.
Schwartz blames former Mayor William Gaynor, who served from 1910 to 1913, for the budget predicament facing the city and the MTA these days.
Until Gaynor abolished tolls in 1911, there was no free ride on East River crossings. Horse carriages were charged 3 cents and cars 10 cents.
“As a result we didn’t collect billions we could have collected,” Schwartz observed. As head of a bridge-centennial commission, he’s commemorating the 100th anniversary of that momentous event by setting up a mock toll booth at the Williamsburg Bridge Tuesday.
There’s no need for motorists to avoid it. The fee will be 10 cents — and it’s voluntary.