State Senator Chris Jacobs, R-Buffalo, is calling on the State Thruway Authority to suspend Grand Island bridge tolls until Canadian drivers are required to pay them.
In a release Friday, Jacobs said it is not fair that New York drivers must pay on the toll road to Toronto while there is no agreement between the Thruway Authority and Canadian governments to collect tolls from Canadian drivers.
“Why the Thruway Authority would not have negotiated this agreement with the Canadians before going to cashless tolling on the bridges is shocking to me,” said Jacobs.
Cashless tolls at the Grand Island bridges were impemented last year.
Jacobs notes thousands of Canadian motorists use the spans on a regular basis, and that the lack of an agreement is costing millions of dollars in revenues.
“In a way, U.S. drivers are subsidizing the roads for Canadians,” said Jacobs. “This needs to stop.”
