Drone views of a barge on the Hudson River
The tugboat Treasure Coast pushes a barge down the Hudson River and under the Gov. Mario Cuomo Bridge April 9, 2024.
If you live in Rockland or Westchester County and qualify for a resident discount to cross the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge, E-ZPass would like to hear from you.
Letters went out this month to nearly 60,000 E-ZPass customers telling them they’ll need to update their information to keep paying the discounted $5.40 to cross the bridge.
Some 235,000 residents of the two counties receive the discount, which is $1.35 less than what New York E-ZPass customers pay. About three-quarters of those customers have already qualified by providing the necessary information and have been automatically renewed, according to the New York State Thruway Authority, which operates the bridge.
What do I need to do to keep my Cuomo Bridge discount?
To keep the discount, the customer’s E-ZPass account address must be in Westchester or Rockland and the license plate associated with each E-ZPass tag must be registered in one of the two counties.
The letters include instructions on how to complete the process. Customers have 30 days to get in touch with E-ZPass’ customer service center by phone, mail or online through e-zpassny.com.
Letters were also sent to customers who receive a resident discount to use the Grand Island Bridge in Western New York. Grand Island residents pay 9 cents to cross their bridge, while others pay a $1 toll. Recertification began in September for the roughly 12,000 accounts with a resident discount.
“We understand the importance of these discount programs for lower Hudson Valley residents and our Grand Island residents,” said Thruway Authority spokeswoman Jennifer Givner. “This due diligence protects customers who are eligible for the discounts. This is also part of our efforts to collect every toll dollar owed to us.”
Is this the only time I’ll have to go through this process?
The Cuomo Bridge’s resident discount program began in January 2021. Recertification will now take place every two years. If residents no longer qualify for the discount, no further action is needed.
Thomas C. Zambito covers energy, transportation and economic growth for the USA Today Network’s New York State team. He’s won dozens of state and national writing awards from the Associated Press, Investigative Reporters and Editors, the Deadline Club and others during a decades-long career that’s included stops at the New York Daily News, The Star-Ledger of Newark and The Record of Hackensack. He can be reached at tzambito@lohud.com.
