Posted on December 17, 2024
NEW JERSEY — The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey has given a green light to a $9.4 billion budget for 2025.
The Port Authority commissioner board voted to approve the agency’s latest budget on Thursday, which includes $4.1 billion in operating expenses, $3.6 billion in capital expenses and $1.7 billion for debt service and deferred expenses.
The total is up slightly from last year’s $9.3 billion spending plan.
The bi-state agency operates many of the region’s busiest transportation hubs, including the George Washington Bridge, Lincoln Tunnel, Port Authority Bus Terminal, the Port of New York and New Jersey, the PATH rail system and the area’s three major airports: LaGuardia, Newark Liberty and JFK.
The Port Authority’s annual budget includes no tax revenue from either the states of New York or New Jersey or from the City of New York, relying mostly on tolls, fares, user fees, retail stores, consumer services and facility rentals.
The spending blueprint comes with some toll and fare hikes. These would help to pay for the “largest Port Authority capital investment in history,” in addition to offsetting massive losses seen during the coronavirus pandemic, officials said.
Watch a video of Thursday’s budget hearing and vote below.
TOLL AND FARE HIKES
Cars, motorcycles and trucks crossing the Port Authority’s bridges and tunnels will see a 25-cent toll hike on Jan. 5, in addition to a separate 43-cent increase that kicks in automatically.
Other toll increases have been approved for drivers without E-ZPass, and E-ZPass users whose transponders aren’t “properly mounted.”
Meanwhile, PATH train riders will see an automatic hike of 25-cents for single-ride fares starting on Jan. 12. The single ride fare was last adjusted in October 2014, more than a decade ago.
On the flip side of the coin, the agency approved a new discount program for PATH riders with qualifying disabilities. Passengers who qualify under this program will pay the same reduced fare rate as a senior citizen, or $1.50 per ride. It will become effective once the new TAPP fare system is fully operational, which is estimated for summer 2025, officials said.
UPCOMING PROJECTS
The proposed budget includes $3.6 billion of capital infrastructure investment, according to the Port Authority.
