Orange County residents are now eligible for a 20% discount to cross the Gov. Mario M. Cuomo Bridge.
Orange County drivers with E-ZPass will pay $5.80 per trip, a $1.45 savings off the standard rate for
passenger vehicles, no matter how many times they cross the bridge.
The $3 million tab for the price cut, which began this month, will come out of the state’s general fund in this year’s budget.
Lower Hudson Valley lawmakers pressed Gov. Kathy Hochul to extend to Orange County residents the same discount their neighbors in Rockland and Westchester counties receive, citing the Metropolitan Transportation Authority’s $9 congestion pricing toll to enter Manhattan’s business district that went into effect last year.
“When it comes to transit costs, Hudson Valley commuters have it hard enough as it is,” said Assemblymember Chris Eachus, a Democrat whose district includes parts of Rockland and Orange counties. “Between high-cost tolls on the state thruway, bridge tolls, MTA Payroll Tax, and most recently Congestion Pricing, it’s never been harder to justify a daily city commute.”
Discounts a response to congestion pricing toll
West-of-Hudson commuters have fewer public transportation options than commuters across the river where Metro-North Railroad offers a one-seat ride into Manhattan.
“This is a meaningful win for Orange County residents, one that will keep real money in people’s pocketbooks,” said James Skoufis, an Orange County Democrat who led the discount push in the state Senate.
The charge will appear as MCRO on E-ZPass statements. The cost will increase to $6.20 on Jan. 1, 2027, when a 50-cent increase to the Cuomo Bridge’s base toll rate goes into effect.
A separate proposal to give Orange County residents deeper discounts for southbound trips through the Harriman toll failed to receive state support, but Skoufis has vowed to continue pushing the idea.
Currently, Orange County residents get a $1.61 discount off the $2.19 Tolls by Mail rate for southbound trips at the Harriman gantry if they make a minimum of 35 trips per month. The Thruway charges 58 cents for each trip not taken under the 35 minimum.
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
This article originally appeared on Rockland/Westchester Journal News: These NY residents are getting a discount to cross the Cuomo Bridge
