Op-Ed: In response to ‘A ‘Thruway’ fee Long Island never asked for’

In response to the“Op-Ed: A ‘Thruway’ fee Long Island never asked for,”I write to address the misinformation mentioned in the op-ed regarding the state Thruway Authority’s toll management service provider program.

For over 20 years, theThruway Authorityhas had agreements with two private companies that established commercial accounts to consolidate toll bills on behalf of individual trucking companies. Since that time, the tolling landscape has vastly changed with the introduction and now the prevalence of cashless tolling. Our team revised and updated the terms of the outdated agreements to ensure proper governance and transparency, mitigate financial risk and fraud exposure, promote competition and benefit the commercial trucking industry.

The Authority is committed to supporting the commercial trucking industry. Commercial vehicles traveling on the Thruway pay toll rates that are among the lowest in the nation, and fleet operators are eligible for a 20% discount, reducing tolls even further. The Authority is not increasing tolls for commercial drivers.

The new program includes a 1% administrative fee, which is only being charged to the service providers. The fee offsets the costs the Authority incurs to administer this program and allows the authorized service providers to access information and data they use to operate their business. This new program also ensures fleet owners receive the 20% volume discount, and ultimately, trucking companies will benefit from the increased competition in this service provider arena.

We will continue to protect our toll payers and support the commercial trucking industry.

Frank G. Hoare, Esq., is the NYS Thruway Authority Executive Director.

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Source: LI Press