MidHudson News is reporting state Senator David Carlucci has urged the state Thruway Authority to change its policy on the Tolls by Mail surcharges. Carlucci made his appear during the first of a series of virtual public hearings on the proposed toll increases going into effect across the entire Thruway system. Carlucci said his office has received reports of Westchester and Rockland residents receiving enormous penalties from Tolls by Mail, since it gained wide use during the pandemic. He said a two-dollar surcharge, in addition to the huge penalties for not returning payment in the required timeframe, are hurting workers' abilities to commute. This would get worse if proposed service cuts from the MTA go through, making transportation extremely difficult for residents in both counties, he said. The Thruway Authority claims the surcharges are necessary to fund the technology and operation of the Tolls by Mail system. A Thruway representative argues that commuters purchase an EZPass to avoid the surcharge. Carlucci told the Thruway Authority that imposing a $2 surcharge was “heavy-handed” and there should at least be some forgiveness of fines incurred from Tolls by Mail use. The authority will conduct two more virtual public hearings on the proposal, at 4 p.m., Wed., Oct. 14, and at 6 p.m. on Thu., Oct. 15. Information is available at thruway [dot] ny [dot] gov. Read the full story at MidHudsonNews [dot] com.