How the hell can NYS charge me almost 3x more for traveling on the thruway because I refuse to buy an EZpass?! 27 bucks, but says it would be 10 if I had their gizmo. Rotten SOBs, I swear to God...

Thought this was going to be about a speeding ticket and troopers wearing masks that make them look like banditos.

New York City bridges and tunnels too. The bill they send you is far more than what it would be with EZ-Pass. I've had one since 1994 (participated in the early test run at the Tappen Zee). My EZ Pass account number is so low that when I call they ask for it twice because the normal account numbers are a long string of digits. I had a friend who had a 3 digit account number as he was in the early test too.

Try going through with a plate not attached to an Ezpass. $1,75 toll and $50 processing fee.

That's why I bought my EZ Pass through New Hampshire.  Screw NYS... they're not getting the interest on my account balance.

Some years ago when I went to get our ez passes I did check on buying from other states but saw some charged sales tax so I just ordered mine from NYS with a $25 amount.

I'm guessing that they want everyone to go the EZ Pass route to cut back on manpower costs of staffing the booths?

You can be 100% certain of that.

That was the stated goal. They would save tons of money. Then PANYNJ started adding a $1 monthly maintenance surcharge on EZ-Pass accounts to cover expenses (as if the interest free loans do not cover it - PANYNJ is a vast sinkhole of waste - just like all the other transport related agencies). I think MTA Bridges and Tunnels did too at one point but I see no record of them doing it now.

When I got EZ Pass in 1994, I did miss the daily interaction with the TZ toll collectors who collected my daily commute coupon. Especially Bob who gave everyone a cheerful "Good Morning" and received an outstanding service award from the Thruway Authority.

Was there a savings before the removal of the booths? Or was it just the convince of no line, no stopping?

Why does it have to be one or the other?
There is definitely a convenience factor in not having to wait in long lines for a human being to collect a physical ticket and the associated currency

I love the new no lines, no waiting. But, 3x(2.7) seems awful excessive to me. Imagine a restaurant charging you 3x more than the next booth because you wont leave(dont trust) your payment info on file w/ them. Goddamn thing was supposed to be free after initial cost were paid off anyway. Have you seen any bills? There are different amounts for the same distances traveled. Same route, different days being charged different amounts... Just like everything else in NYS, something is shady here...
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I just stop taking toll roads.

Getting harder and harder if you wish to escape from Long Island. The only toll free way at the moment of escaping here is via one of the old East River bridges (Brooklyn, Manhattan, Williamsburg, 59th Street). The tunnels (Brooklyn Battery and Queens Midtown) and newer bridges (Throggs Neck, Whitestone and Triboro) are all tolled by MTA. And the way they keep talking, pretty soon the old bridges will be tolled too due to "congestion pricing" Right now the best toll free way to get off Long Island IMHO is the 59th Street Bridge to the FDR Drive. Take FDR Drive up to the Willis Avenue Bridge and you are in the Bronx toll free. I've done it a few times but the traffic and time involved is significant. Add to that, if you want to cross the Hudson River, it is free to go west but tolled to return heading east. You have to go up to around Albany to cross east toll-free.