How can I afford this?

These past months prices have been sky rocketing whether it is gas or even the tolls to get over the bridges. Staten Islander’s are finding it difficult to afford and are wondering what they can do to lower the cost, and if there even is anything that they could do. Although the gas prices will continue to stand there is something they can do to lower the cost of the toll every time they cross the bridge. It is called the Port Authority Carpool plan. This plan drops the price of the bridges to $2.00 E-ZPass tolls. This is almost at 66 to 75 percent discount. You can’t get better than that! This works for bridges and tunnels including the Goethals Bridge, Outerbridge Crossing, and the Bayonne Bridge. However, there is one catch- drivers who use this plan must have three people in the car or else it won’t work. Numbers show that this plan is used by only 1.6 percent of people during weekdays and 2.3 percent on weekends. Looking into the matter a little deeper it is easy to weight its benefits and its losses.

The obvious benefit of this plan is that it saves the driver money. If you are a frequent user of the bridge this money could definitely add up. For example, if you go over the Outerbridge five times and use the Port Authority Carpool plan it will cost you $10.00 as opposed to $40.00. That is and $30.00 difference. Also, by having people carpool it puts fewer cars on the bridge. This makes less traffic which can save drivers time when trying to get places.

What could be better than saving time and money? Why wouldn’t everyone want to sign up for this plan? Well, the plan does have some disadvantages as well. It will only work when the driver goes through a cash lane. The reason for this is because when you get up to the toll window the person collecting the tolls has to count the number of occupants in the car to make sure it is three or more. Some people find it a hassle to wait on these lines and feel it defeats the whole purpose of even having E-ZPass. Also it is hard for some people to travel with three or more. For example, when going to work in the morning most people travel by themselves, making the plan invalid. It can sometimes be a pain to travel with coworkers especially if they live in all different directions. One of the reasons this plan has not been used so highly yet is because most people are unaware of it. Those that do currently have it were probably informed by word of mouth because this plan has not been highly advertised. It is a tough sell. When people are in their own car they feel comfortable, for them to give up the freedom of controlling their destiny in their car is a hard thing to do.

I think this is a great idea. I feel this is very considerate to drivers knowing their expenses and trying to help. bit of patience this plan could definitely be successful. I know I personally have this plan and although it gets Even if you go over the bridge once a month and use the plan it is still money that is being saved. With a little annoying at times waiting in the cash lane, with a good song and good conversation you don’t even realize it took ten minutes or so! From experience, it definitely pays off at the end of the month when the E-ZPass bill arrives in the mail.