Cross Bay Bridge Toll: Rockaway Trips & Who Pays

In short: The Cross Bay Veterans Memorial Bridge costs a car $2.80 with a New York E-ZPass, in each direction. On a TLC trip from Queens to the Rockaways over this bridge, the passenger pays two times the toll ($5.60 with that tag). On a trip from the Rockaways to Queens, the passenger pays no Cross Bay toll. The idea: the passenger who takes you onto the peninsula pays for your way off.

Cross Bay rates (Class 1 car)

• $2.80 needs a New York Customer Service Center (NYCSC) tag. Other states' tags pay the Tolls by Mail rate, $6.02. In the MTA's words: "Non-NYCSC customers pay Tolls by Mail rates" (MTA).
• Mid-Tier, $4.42, is charged when an NYCSC customer's tag is not read and the crossing is matched by plate.
• By mail, the toll is 115% more than with E-ZPass, one of the largest gaps at any MTA crossing.

The direction rule, and why it exists

TLC rules for taxis (§58-26(f)(1)), FHVs (§59A-23(b)(1)) and green cabs (§82-26(g)(1)) say, for trips inside the city:

• The passenger pays two times the toll "from Queens over the Cross Bay Veterans Bridge to the Rockaway Peninsula".
• The passenger pays no toll on trips "from the Rockaway Peninsula over the Cross Bay Veterans Bridge to Queens".

The Rockaway bridges were the first with a return-toll rule. TLC's statement of basis says passengers had to pay both tolls "to prevent the Driver from incurring an additional expense to re-enter the rest of the City from the Rockaway Peninsula". In 2023 TLC rewrote the rule by direction, so passengers leaving the Rockaways pay nothing. In TLC's words, "This ensures that residents and visitors of these specific areas are not overcharged" (TLC promulgation; effective November 29, 2023). The same rule covers the Verrazzano; see the return toll rule.

Worked example

You pick up a passenger in Howard Beach going to Rockaway Park. You cross the Cross Bay Bridge with an NYCSC tag: $2.80 is charged. At the end of the trip, add $5.60 to the fare. You head back over the same bridge empty: $2.80 charged, already paid by the passenger. Later a passenger in Far Rockaway asks for Jamaica via the Cross Bay Bridge: you add $0 for the bridge. Whatever the trip, charge the actual E-ZPass amount; anything more is an overcharge (§58-26(f)(3)).

Passengers can check this themselves. TLC's public taxi fare page tells riders that "discounted E-ZPass tolls will be added to the passenger fare at the end of the trip" and lists trips over the Cross Bay and Marine Parkway bridges among those where passengers pay the tolls to and from. If a rider questions the double toll, showing that page is usually the quickest answer.

The Rockaway resident rate

The MTA's Rockaway/Broad Channel plan (plan code RR) gives an E-ZPass rate of $1.83 at the Cross Bay and Marine Parkway bridges, and the Cross Bay toll is rebated after each trip. It is for vehicles registered to an address in zip codes 11691, 11692, 11693, 11694, 11695 and 11697. Two limits matter for TLC drivers (MTA resident programs):

• "Vehicles used for commercial purposes are not eligible for residency plans." The page does not mention TLC plates. Ask E-ZPass New York (800-333-8655) before you count on it.
• The tag must be mounted; an unmounted tag pays Mid-Tier. Resident rebates do not apply to congestion zone tolls.

Traffic

In 2025 the MTA counted 7,823,341 crossings (4,131,031 northbound and 3,692,310 southbound), 88.0% by E-ZPass. Only the Marine Parkway Bridge (90.3%) and the Verrazzano (88.8%) had a higher E-ZPass share (our sums of ebfx-2m7v, fetched October 12, 2026).

The other way onto the peninsula: the Marine Parkway Bridge from Brooklyn. All taxi toll rules in one place: who pays tolls on taxi trips. Other crossings: Verrazzano, Whitestone, Throgs Neck, George Washington Bridge. Congestion charges don't apply out here; for the Manhattan zone see congestion pricing for TLC drivers. More: tolls hub.