One Year Later: Ghost Car Crackdown Hits 100 Operations at NYC Bridges and Tunnels

By BoroPark24 Staff

One year after city and state agencies launched their first coordinated crackdown on “ghost cars,” the enforcement efforts are showing significant results—and they just hit a major milestone. The task force marked its 100th operation, highlighting the ongoing commitment to keeping New York City’s bridges and tunnels safe.

The joint initiative, involving 16 agencies from the NYPD, MTA, State Police, Taxi and Limousine Commission, Nassau County, and Port Authority, targets vehicles with fraudulent, defaced, or covered plates that allow drivers to evade tolls, traffic cameras, and law enforcement. According to Catherine Sheridan, president of MTA Bridges and Tunnels, officers have impounded over 5,300 vehicles since the task force began in March 2024. “Many of these cars were not just toll evaders,” Sheridan said. “They were unregistered, uninsured, stolen, and used in more serious crimes, including those involving firearms and narcotics.”

The crackdown has issued tangible results: the MTA alone issued 16,000 summonses, the NYPD reports 1,300 arrests, and unpaid toll collection has dropped 20% since the task force began. Chief Felix Rivera of the Triborough Bridge and Tunnel Authority Police emphasized the importance of additional legislative support from Albany, noting that current laws limit arrests to drivers with fake plates or outstanding warrants. “We’re looking for other tools, such as those persistent toll violators that have the ability to execute judgments against their assets, their vehicles,” he said.

Officials continue to stress that ghost vehicles are more than just toll evaders—they are often tied to serious crimes, from shootings to hit-and-runs. “Every number is a story. A story of one less car on our streets with a driver behind the wheel committing a crime,” said Olufunmilola Obe, NYPD chief of transportation. With plans to expand the task force statewide, the MTA and partner agencies remain determined to make the roads cleaner and safer—one ghost car at a time.photos: Marc A. Hermann / MTA