Transit & Streets Reviewed 2026-08-22
What the bridges and tunnels cost, and which ones are free
Three agencies run the crossings, and only one of them charges nothing: the city's four East River bridges are free, the MTA's seven bridges and two tunnels cost $7.46 by E-ZPass for a car as of January 2026, and the Port Authority charges $16.79 at peak to drive in from New Jersey. Which crossing is whose, what each one costs, and what happens if you skip the E-ZPass.
The numbers that matter
- Free
- The Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, and Ed Koch Queensboro Bridges, and every other bridge the city's DOT operates (NYC DOT Bridges page, read August 2026)
- MTA major crossings, cars
- $7.46 with a New York E-ZPass, $9.79 mid-tier, $12.03 by mail, on the Verrazzano-Narrows, Bronx-Whitestone, Throgs Neck, and RFK Bridges and the Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown Tunnels (MTA toll rates effective January 4, 2026)
- MTA minor crossings, cars
- Henry Hudson Bridge $3.42 by E-ZPass ($8.87 by mail); Cross Bay and Marine Parkway Bridges $2.80 ($6.02 by mail) (MTA toll rates effective January 4, 2026)
- Resident rates
- Registered Staten Island residents effectively pay $2.75 on the Verrazzano; Rockaway and Broad Channel residents $1.83 on the Cross Bay and Marine Parkway Bridges (MTA toll rates effective January 4, 2026)
- Port Authority crossings, cars
- $14.79 off-peak and $16.79 peak with E-ZPass, $23.30 by mail, collected only entering New York at the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, and the three Staten Island bridges from New Jersey (Port Authority toll schedule, July 2026)
- The E-ZPass discount
- At least 25% off the Tolls by Mail rate at every MTA crossing; a mailed bill unpaid after 30 days adds a $5 late fee, rising to $50 after 60 days (MTA How to pay tolls page, updated April 2025)
Three owners, one map
The price of a crossing depends entirely on whose crossing it is, and the city's own bridges are the part most people get wrong:
NYC DOT owns, operates, and maintains over 800 bridges and tunnels throughout New York, including the Brooklyn, Ed Koch Queensboro, Manhattan and Williamsburg Bridges, 24 movable bridges, and four tunnels. There are no tolls on bridges operated by NYC DOT. Some bridges in New York City are operated by other agencies.
That is the whole East River bridge system, free. Brooklyn and Queens to Manhattan costs nothing if you take a bridge; the toll shows up when you take a tunnel.
Many roadway bridges and tunnels not under NYC DOT's jurisdiction are the responsibility of the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) or the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.
We operate seven bridges and two tunnels in New York City, handling more than 336 million vehicle crossings each year.
The MTA's nine: the Verrazzano-Narrows, Bronx-Whitestone, Throgs Neck, Robert F. Kennedy (the old Triborough), Henry Hudson, Cross Bay, and Marine Parkway Bridges, plus the Hugh L. Carey Tunnel (the former Brooklyn-Battery Tunnel) and the Queens Midtown Tunnel. Every one is tolled.
The third owner is the bi-state agency, and its crossings are the ones that connect to New Jersey: the George Washington Bridge, the Lincoln and Holland Tunnels, and the Goethals, Bayonne, and Outerbridge from Staten Island.
What the MTA charges
These toll rates are effective as of January 4, 2026.
Bronx-Whitestone, Throgs Neck, and Robert F. Kennedy Bridges; Hugh L. Carey and Queens Midtown Tunnels
The major crossings share one car rate: $7.46 with a New York E-ZPass, $9.79 mid-tier, $12.03 by mail. The Verrazzano-Narrows charges the same three numbers. The Henry Hudson Bridge is $3.42 by E-ZPass and $8.87 by mail; the Cross Bay and Marine Parkway Bridges are $2.80 and $6.02.
Includes: SUVs, self-propelled mobile homes, ambulances, hearses, and vehicles with seating capacity up to 15 adults including driver.
The car rate covers more than cars: two-axle vehicles up to 7,000 pounds, which takes in nearly every pickup and passenger van on the road.
Three prices for one crossing is the thing to understand. The bottom rate requires a New York-issued tag, the middle one is for tag-holders the camera had to identify by plate, and the top rate is what the registered owner gets billed when there is no tag at all:
E-ZPass rates apply to NYCSC E-ZPass customers only. NYCSC Tags are issued by The Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, The New York State Thruway Authority and MTA Bridges and Tunnels. Non-NYCSC customers pay Tolls by Mail rates.
NYCSC is the New York Customer Service Center. A tag from another state's E-ZPass program does not get the New York rate at MTA crossings; it gets the mail rate.
For E-ZPass New York Customer Service Center (NYCSC) Customers When Not Using Their Properly Mounted NYCSC E-Z Pass Tag; For Crossing Charges Posted to NYCSC E-ZPass Accounts Based on License Plates; and For NYCSC Third-Party Account Providers.
The mid-tier, in the MTA's own capitals. Leave the tag in the glovebox and the plate reader still finds your account, at a price $2.33 higher on the major crossings.
The resident discounts
Under the MTA’s Staten Island Resident Rebate Program, the effective toll rate for registered Staten Island Residents is $2.75. Should the rebate program end for any reason, the crossing charge for qualifying E-ZPass accounts will be a $4.19 toll.
Registered residents only, with the toll rebated down to $2.75 for as long as the program lasts; the $4.19 is the fallback the schedule keeps in print.
For NYCSC E-ZPass account holders, in order to be eligible for a resident discount plan, vehicles must be registered to a valid resident address in Staten Island or the Rockaways/Broad Channel. The toll on the Cross Bay Bridge is rebated after each trip by the MTA.
It goes by registration address rather than where you sleep. Commercial vehicles are excluded, and the MTA reviews residency status periodically.
What the Port Authority charges, and the direction that matters
Tolls are collected entering New York. No tolls are collected entering New Jersey.
One-way tolling, eastbound only. A round trip to New Jersey is charged once, on the way home.
All Port Authority crossings are cashless and no longer accept cash toll payments.
Peak Hours: Weekdays, 6 - 10 a.m., 4 - 8 p.m.; Saturday & Sunday, 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.
Unlike the MTA, the Port Authority prices by the clock. A car with E-ZPass pays $14.79 off-peak and $16.79 in those windows; the mail rate is $23.30 at any hour.
E-ZPass, the mailed bill, and the late fees
All MTA Bridges and Tunnels tolling facilities use cashless tolling. Vehicles that use one of these facilities can pay tolls automatically with E-ZPass. Otherwise, the registered owner of the vehicle will receive a Tolls by Mail bill in the mail. Paying with E-ZPass will get you a discount of at least 25% percent.
There are no booths anywhere. The gantry reads the tag or photographs the plate, and the only choice left to the driver is which price to pay.
If your toll bill is unpaid after 30 days of the bill date, you will owe the toll amount plus a $5 late fee. After 60 days, the late fee for each unpaid bridge or tunnel toll will increase to $50.
Per toll rather than per bill. Two months of ignoring a $12.03 crossing turns it into $62.03.
If you do not pay your toll bill in a timely manner, you may be subject to additional fees, suspension of your vehicle registration, or exclusion from MTA Bridges and Tunnels toll facilities.
Where the toll money goes
The Bridges and Tunnels portion of the capital budget is completely self-funded through bonds, which are repaid with toll revenue.
The crossings pay for themselves. It is also why the free East River bridges come up every time the MTA needs money: they are the untolled way onto the island from Brooklyn and Queens.
For the other toll on a Manhattan trip, the one cars pay for entering the street grid below 60th Street, read how congestion pricing works; for where the MTA's money comes from in full, how the MTA is funded; and for the traffic on these crossings year by year, the bridge and tunnel traffic series.
The questions New Yorkers actually ask
Is there a toll from Brooklyn to Manhattan?
Not on the bridges. The Brooklyn, Manhattan, and Williamsburg Bridges are operated by NYC DOT and carry no toll. The Hugh L. Carey Tunnel, run by the MTA, costs $7.46 with a New York E-ZPass, $9.79 mid-tier, or $12.03 by mail for a car. Entering Manhattan's street grid below 60th Street also triggers the separate congestion pricing toll.
How much is the Queens Midtown Tunnel toll?
$7.46 for a car with a New York E-ZPass, $9.79 mid-tier, and $12.03 by Tolls by Mail, under the MTA rates effective January 4, 2026. The Queensboro Bridge a few blocks north is free.
How much is the Verrazzano Bridge toll?
$7.46 with a New York E-ZPass, $9.79 mid-tier, and $12.03 by mail for cars. Registered Staten Island residents with a New York E-ZPass pay an effective $2.75 under the MTA's rebate program.
How much is the Holland Tunnel or George Washington Bridge toll?
Under the Port Authority's July 2026 schedule, a car with a New York or New Jersey E-ZPass pays $14.79 off-peak and $16.79 during peak hours (weekdays 6 to 10 a.m. and 4 to 8 p.m., weekends 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.); the Tolls by Mail rate is $23.30. Tolls are collected only entering New York.
Which New York City bridges are free?
Every bridge operated by NYC DOT, which includes the four East River bridges (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, Ed Koch Queensboro) and the Harlem River bridges. The tolled crossings belong to the MTA (seven bridges and two tunnels) and the Port Authority (the New Jersey crossings).
What happens if I drive through without E-ZPass?
All MTA and Port Authority crossings are cashless. A camera reads the plate and the registered owner receives a Tolls by Mail bill at the higher mail rate. At MTA crossings, a bill unpaid after 30 days adds a $5 late fee per toll, which rises to $50 per toll after 60 days, and persistent non-payment can lead to registration suspension.
Does an out-of-state E-ZPass get the discount?
Not at MTA crossings. The E-ZPass rate applies only to New York Customer Service Center accounts, whose tags are issued by the Port Authority, the New York State Thruway Authority, and MTA Bridges and Tunnels. Other E-ZPass customers pay the Tolls by Mail rate. At Port Authority crossings, the discounts apply to New York and New Jersey E-ZPass account holders.
The documents
The public records this page draws on. Read them yourself:
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