{"id":369742,"date":"2026-10-10T12:04:11","date_gmt":"2026-10-10T12:04:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/369742\/"},"modified":"2026-10-10T12:04:11","modified_gmt":"2026-10-10T12:04:11","slug":"as-gas-prices-rise-so-too-will-new-york-state-thruway-tolls","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/369742\/","title":{"rendered":"As gas prices rise, so too will New York State Thruway tolls"},"content":{"rendered":"

As gas prices continue to climb<\/a>, drivers will have to contend with another increased expense – this time via an E-ZPass charge or by mail rather than at the pump.<\/p>\n

State Thruway tolls are scheduled to rise by 5% come Jan. 1 under a scheduled increase<\/a> approved by the state Thruway Authority’s board of directors<\/a> in September 2023. The board also approved a 5% increase that took effect in 2024 – the first since 2010.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

More: Thruway tolls to rise 5 percent in January, then again in 2027<\/a><\/p>\n

Costco, BJ’s and Sam’s Club fuel gas war in Albany area<\/a><\/p>\n

Truck driver English mandates spark concerns as labor shortage grows<\/a><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/p>\n

\"A<\/p>\n

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)<\/p>\n

The rising costs come as rising diesel prices – which reached an all-time high last month<\/a> – supply chain issues and new federal regulations<\/a> 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<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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<\/a>. 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.<\/p>\n

“It’s not a Thruway challenge, it’s just the economic climate we’re in right now,” he said.<\/p>\n

Subscribe<\/p>\n

There’s more to Albany with the Times Union. Subscribe today for just 25\u00a2.<\/a><\/p>\n

This article originally published at As gas prices rise, so too will New York State Thruway tolls<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As gas prices continue to climb, drivers will have to contend with another increased expense – this time…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":369743,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[9,11,10,49,51,50],"class_list":["post-369742","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york","tag-new-york","tag-new-york-headlines","tag-new-york-news","tag-new-york-state","tag-new-york-state-headlines","tag-new-york-state-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369742","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=369742"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/369742\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/369743"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=369742"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=369742"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=369742"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}