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August 19, 2011 11:02 AM

I need help calculating toll expenses for a car trip between NY and NJ.

I'm travelling from Rockville Centre on Long Island (NY) to Atlantic City (NJ) this Sunday, August 21st, and returning to Rockville Centre the following day. So my questions is: how much should I allocate to pay for tolls and bridges overall?

posted by clockzero to Travel & Transportation around New York, NY (14 answers total)

Best answer: Google's route sends you over the following toll roads:
- Verrazano Bridge: $13 westbound only
- Outerbridge Crossing: $8 eastbound only
- Garden State Parkway, from exit 127 to exit 38: $2.50 each way (two $1 toll plazas and one 50-cent toll plaza)
- Atlantic City Expressway, from exit 7 to the eastern end: 75 cents each way? (It looks like you only pay at Pleasantville but I am not one hundred percent sure.)

So that comes to $21 plus twice $3.25, or $27.50, for the round trip. There might be some way to exploit the fact that the bridges only charge one way but I don't want to think about it.

(Also, if Google can calculate public transit fares, why can't it calculate tolls?)
posted by madcaptenor at 11:25 AM on August 19, 2011

I'm just a geographically distant Googler, but it looks to me that if you take the route recommended by Google Maps it'll be $16.25 each way:

1. Verrazano Narrows Bridge: $13.00
2. Garden State Parkway: $2.50 (switch to "Garden State Parkway" and "Toll Plazas" on the map)
3. Atlantic City Expressway: $0.75

posted by Johnny Assay at 11:25 AM on August 19, 2011

Alright, someone who knows New York City bridges is going to have to answer this. I'm pretty confident once you get into New Jersey. Note that there's a simple mnemonic for tolls on bridges crossing both the Delaware and the Hudson: getting into Jersey is always free, you have to pay to get out.
posted by madcaptenor at 11:27 AM on August 19, 2011

madcaptenor, that's not true on the Verrazano, where you pay both ways.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:35 AM on August 19, 2011

PhoBWanKenobi: Wikipedia says the Verrazano is one-way westbound. MTA Bridges and Tunnels says "One-Way Tolling" but doesn't say which way. (I guess they don't want you to know so you don't try to route around it?)

(And Staten Island is not part of Jersey.)
posted by madcaptenor at 11:39 AM on August 19, 2011

Do you have an EZ Pass, and if so, from what state? I believe I pay less than $13 with the NYS EZ Pass.
posted by kellyblah at 11:40 AM on August 19, 2011

You don't pay both ways on the verrazono, but you have to pay at either the gothals or outer bridge in the other direction. It is possible to take the Brooklyn bridge and then take a tunnel out of manhattan for free.
posted by ihadapony at 11:41 AM on August 19, 2011

Response by poster: I have a NYS ez pass, yeah. Thanks so much for all your helpful answers, guys!

This is a slight derail, but: I've been on metafilter for many years and I'm still continually impressed by how wonderful people are here, how mefites will take a few moments out of their day to really help someone out, just because they asked for it. You guys are so cool. I'm so happy to belong to this community.
posted by clockzero at 11:44 AM on August 19, 2011

You don't pay both ways on the verrazono, but you have to pay at either the gothals or outer bridge in the other direction.

Whoops, yeah, that was what I was thinking.
posted by PhoBWanKenobi at 11:53 AM on August 19, 2011

The EZ-Pass can make a dent in the cost. The links that madcaptenor helpfully posted will tell you exactly what you can expect to pay. Note that taking advantage of lower costs in some cases might require you to travel at "non-peak" times.

(And yes, this is a great community!)
posted by Conrad Cornelius o'Donald o'Dell at 12:23 PM on August 19, 2011

You can get an E-ZPass for $30 at some of these retailers in New York City and Long Island. The pass will load $30 onto your account when registered. If you ever plan to use a toll bridge or tunnel in the region ever again, this will save you money.
posted by grouse at 12:35 PM on August 19, 2011

madcaptenor, that's not true on the Verrazano, where you pay both ways.

You do NOT pay on the Verrazano both ways. Only coming out of Brooklyn.

There is no way to game the one way bridges. I've tried to figure this out on many occasions. It can't be done.
posted by spicynuts at 1:17 PM on August 19, 2011 [1 favorite]

You can at least get from LI into NJ for free using the BQE to the Williamsburg Bridge, then cutting through Soho to the Holland Tunnel.
posted by Gridlock Joe at 2:18 PM on August 19, 2011

You can at least get from LI into NJ for free using the BQE to the Williamsburg Bridge, then cutting through Soho to the Holland Tunnel.

That only adds 5 mi and 10 min to your trip (assuming no traffic in Manhattan, haha!), no extra charge on the Garden State Parkway, and an extra $1.95 on the New Jersey Turnpike (assuming I read those toll charts correctly—I did it in a hurry).
posted by grouse at 2:35 PM on August 19, 2011