The phantom tollbooths

Eighty-one years after the Triborough Bridge tollbooths started collecting a quarter for every car, there are no more tollbooths in New York City. Fabulous. Friday night, the booths on the BronxWhitestone and Throgs Neck were hauled away, which means all nine crossings of the MTA’s Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority have open-road tolling for $2 billion collected a year.

The 90% of drivers who use E-ZPass pay $5.76. Those without it have their license plates read and are mailed bills for $8.50.

Great credit to Gov. Cuomo, who got this done in under a year. The benefits are less traffic, less time on the road, less frustration, less gas burned and less pollution.

Last week, we asked the new leadership of the Port Authority if the $1.5 billion in tolls they collect on the George Washington, Lincoln, Holland and Staten Island bridges will go to openroad tolling. Answer: It’s not even under study.

And so, New Jersey, saddled with the region’s worst commuter rail, also must suffer the most choked bridges and tunnels. Perfect.