See this story at BrooklynDaily.com.
By Max Jaeger
Brooklyn Daily
The verdant wilds of bucolic Staten Island will soon be just a card swipe away.
The Metropolitan Transportation Authority announced July 28 drivers will soon be able to use credit or debit cards to pay the $15 cash fare to cross the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge.
But the measure is more about safety than service, and commuters are still supposed to pony up greenbacks if they have them, a spokeswoman said.
“It’s for people who don’t have enough cash,” said the authority’s Judy Glave, adding E-ZPass users with insufficient funds can also use the service, but they’ll have to pay the full fare rather than the reduced E-ZPass rate of $11.22.
Previously, drivers short on cash or with low E-ZPass balances had to pull over so toll workers could take down their tag number and send them a bill, but that proved hazardous for the authority’s workers, Glave said. There have not been any severe incidents recently, but Glave said toll workers occasionally get clipped by passing motorists.
Giving drivers more options for how to pay will also reduce congestion on the bridge, because drivers will no longer have to pull to the side, she said.
The authority began accepting plastic from commercial drivers in October 2013 and expects to start offering the option of last resort to commuters in the coming weeks, she said.