BIG TOLL, HUGE FINE

MTA sued over ‘ridiculous’ penalties

As if it’s not bad enough that New York City drivers are getting hit with exorbitant tolls at MTA crossings, they’re getting socked with outrageous fines over them, too, a Manhattan lawsuit charges.

The agency is battering drivers with thousands of dollars in unfair fines after they miss paying tolls for reasons that include faulty E-ZPass technology, the federalcourt suit says.

Lawyer Joseph Santoli, representing plaintiff Jason Farina, says he wants to add to the suit as many as 10,000 other drivers who, like his client, have been forced to pay huge bills for missed tolls.

“Folks are getting soaked with these violations,” Santoli told The Post. “Plenty of people are getting hit for a variety of reasons. And then the MTA and the collection agencies won’t work with them. Even if they waive the $8.50 toll, they’ll say they still have to pay the $100 fee. It’s ridiculous.”

The MTA moved to an entirely cashless tolling system at its bridges and tunnels last year.

For drivers crossing without an E-ZPass transponder, a camera will capture their license-plate number and a bill will be mailed to them. Those who do have an E-ZPass should be automatically billed after a sensor reads their transponder.

But, Santoli argues, the sensors often fail to collect the toll and the cascade of fines begins.

“The system is very glitchy,” the attorney said.

Farina, who has driven over MTA bridges for years, said he never had a problem with his E-ZPass transponder until this past fall, when he began receiving notices from a collection agency claiming he owed a series of $8.50 tolls and a $100 fine for each.

Vehicle owners who ignore two bills in a row are slapped with the fines. But Farina says he never even knew there was a problem until he had already received an avalanche of notifications.

Farina denies he’s a scofflaw, saying his transponder was faulty.

He said that he tried to work with the MTA, but that the agency refused. Meanwhile, his fine amounts continued to escalate, and Farina now owes the MTA more than $6,000, his suit says.

“Defendants repeatedly assessed a $100 fee on . . . Farina, even when the underlying toll was relatively small and even when he paid the underlying charge for the toll,” reads the suit, filed Friday.

The MTA declined to comment, with spokesman Jon Weinstein citing pending litigation.