As gas prices continue to climb, drivers will have to contend with another increased expense – this time via an E-ZPass charge or by mail rather than at the pump.
State Thruway tolls are scheduled to rise by 5% come Jan. 1 under a scheduled increase approved by the state Thruway Authority’s board of directors in September 2023. The board also approved a 5% increase that took effect in 2024 – the first since 2010.
That means a driver heading from Albany to Syracuse on Dec. 24 will pay $6.03 in tolls. By the time they head back on Jan. 1, they will pay $6.34. Traveling to and from Buffalo, the toll would increase from $12.78 to $13.41. If the driver uses an out-of-state E-ZPass or pays by mail, the charges would be even higher.
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The increase, in the works for nearly a year before it was finalized, was forced by what officials said at the time was a pandemic-prompted reduction in traffic and $470 million in capital needs not funded by their existing 2022-2026 capital program. About 85% of the Thruway’s roadway base dates back to its original construction in the 1950s and 75% of its bridges are over 60 years old.
“The Thruway is a 70-year-old superhighway supported primarily by tolls and receives no dedicated federal, state or local tax dollars,” a Thruway spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Every dollar collected goes directly towards ensuring the continued safety and reliability of the roadway that our customers have come to expect.”
A toll sign for I-87 and I-90 at Exit 23 is posted on Southern Boulevard on Wednesday, Oct. 7, 2026, in Albany, N.Y. (Will Waldron/Times Union) (Will Waldron/Times Union)
The rising costs come as rising diesel prices – which reached an all-time high last month – supply chain issues and new federal regulations have squeezed the trucking industry. A bill in Congress aimed to protect victims of truck crashes would also raise the federal minimum liability insurance requirement from $750,000 to $5 million.
But Zach Miller, vice president of government affairs for the Trucking Association of New York, said their organization is not objecting to the increase in tolls, especially given a need for updates and repairs following a more-than-decade-long toll freeze.
A better solution, he said, would be relief to the industry such as by eliminating the state’s highway use tax. A bill to do this was introduced in the state Assembly last year. Miller also does not expect tractor-trailer drivers to avoid a highway that is generally safer, more direct and more efficient than alternate routes, especially given those rising fuel costs.
“It’s not a Thruway challenge, it’s just the economic climate we’re in right now,” he said.
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This article originally published at As gas prices rise, so too will New York State Thruway tolls.