The GW, Holland and Lincoln tunnels saw 7.5 million vehicles pass into Manhattan from Jan. to May

The total conversion of Port Authority crossings to cashless tolls is expected by 2021

Despite the controversy over cashless tolling, the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey is expanding its crossings with the cashless system.

Work can now begin on implementing a $240 million cashless toll system at the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel and George Washington Bridge, a project authorized at the Port Authority's Thursday board meeting.

The system eliminates the use of toll booths, instead using cameras mounted on large gantry frames over roadways that scan E-ZPasses on dashboards or take pictures of license plates so the toll can be mailed to the address affiliated with it.

While it does make for a more seamless drive on busy toll roads or crossings, it has also come under fire for excessively billing its customers, problems with mailing bills and aggressive collection tactics.

In some cases, people had their cars impounded and repossessed for unpaid tolls, others had mounting bills claiming to be unpaid despite having E-ZPass.

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The problems became so severe the New York State Thruway Authority implemented an amnesty program for customers with mounting violations, and in New Jersey a class action lawsuit was filed challenging the tolling authorities' issuance of what the plaintiffs are calling excessive fines.

Conduent, based out of Florham Park, New Jersey, is the embattled contractor that mails toll bills to drivers.

The company received a $2.5 million increase to its $213 million contract with the Port Authority so it could expand its customer service center and equipment to meet its needs with more future users going through the New York-New Jersey tunnels and George Washington Bridge.

"The Port Authority is aware of problems that Conduent has had in the past, and as we convert the Port Authority crossings to cashless tolling we are advancing measured activities to monitor contractor performance," a spokeswoman for the Port Authority wrote in an email.

"We have added dedicated management staffing to manage Conduent’s performance, with particular attention to the Tolls-by-Mail program. We have intensified reporting to ensure customer service standards and ensure Conduent is meeting its contractual obligations."

Conduent's contract, which was first authorized in 2007 with the Port Authority, ends in October 2020.

Ken Philmus, a senior director with Conduent, left the Port Authority in 2005 after working in the agency for 33 years in the Tunnels, Bridges and Bus Terminals department. He joined Xerox, the predecessor parent company to Conduent, in 2009.

"Conduent is an industry leader in automated tolling across the United States. We have been providing reliable, accurate and high-quality solutions for our clients and the traveling public for over two decades and remain committed to do so," the company said in an email.

For the first five months of the year, about 7.5 million cars, trucks and buses came into Manhattan using the Lincoln Tunnel, Holland Tunnel and George Washington Bridge — and about 87% of them used E-ZPass to pay the toll, according to Port Authority data.

Two Port Authority crossings — the Bayonne Bridge and Outerbridge Crossing — have cashless toll systems in place, and the Goethals Bridge will have one before the end of the year, the bi-state agency has said. The total conversion of Port Authority crossings to cashless tolls is expected by 2021, according to the agency.

The cashless tolling system is expanding at an accelerated pace across New York, with Gov. Andrew Cuomo championing the movement. His office announced last month the state Thruway would have cashless tolling, at a cost of $355.3 million by the end of 2020.

However, Cuomo has not yet signed the "Toll Payer Protection Act" that passed the New York State Legislature in June to provide safeguards for drivers, like eliminating excessive fines, requiring a bill to be sent within 30 days, and making it unlawful to suspend a driver's license due to unpaid tolls.

This is the second attempt made by state legislators Sen. David Carlucci and Assemblyman Tom Abinanti, who passed bills in last year's legislative session but were vetoed by Cuomo.