Port Authority officials were brimming with good news: revenues for the first quarter of 2024 were up by $31 million compared to 2023 and $16 million more than budgeted for.
The good news for the bi-state agency continued when Fitch Ratings gave a stable AA- ranking last week to a $650 million Port Authority bond issue that would fund major capital projects. Fitch cited strong airport recovery and proactive toll increases on the authority’s six bridges and tunnels that had minimal impact on traffic levels.
Fitch cited “solid growth in 2023 for aviation and toll traffic and revenues and maintenance of sound net revenue generation.” Aviation and bridge and tunnel tolls are the agencies largest revenue sources. The authority has a total of $28.1 billion in debt as of Dec. 31, 2023.
The only potential dark cloud on the horizon is how New York’s congestion pricing plan will affect authority’s revenues when New York’s Metropolitan Transportation Authority begins charging drivers $15 to enter Manhattan south of 60th street on June 30.
The goal of congestion pricing is to reduce traffic in the Central Business District by 100,000 vehicles a day in addition to reducing crashes and air pollution.
That could result in a $830 million loss of toll revenue for the authority, said U.S. Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-5th Dist., a vocal opponent of congestion pricing.
Gottheimer’s concern is how a revenue loss could affect the authority’s capital program, which includes plans to rebuild the Port Authority midtown bus terminal, to redevelop Newark Liberty and JFK international airports.
Authority officials said they have not finished their own study of how congestion pricing would impact toll revenues.
“The Port Authority is currently engaged in a thorough analysis of congestion pricing and its potential impact to the agency,” an agency spokesperson said.
Toll revenue is projected to be $2 billion in 2024, according to the agency’s budget. It is the authority’s second largest source of revenue, after aviation ($3.6 billion).
So far in 2024, traffic volume was down, which authority officials attributed to winter storms, but revenue was slightly better in 2024 due to a 63-cent toll increase.
Traffic has remained on a par with 2019 pre-pandemic levels, officials said. Bridge and tunnel traffic was the first and quickest authority facility to bounce back after 2020 lows due to the coronavirus pandemic.
The authority’s airports continued to perform well in 2024, besting 2023’s revenue by 1.2% by earning $377 million in the first three months of 2024. The airports handled a record 32.4 million passengers, a 440,000-increase compared to the same time in 2023, officials said.
“The agency is performing above the first quarter of last year and better than budget,” said Rick Cotton, Port Authority executive director. “The agency is performing at extraordinary levels.”
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Larry Higgs may be reached at lhiggs@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on X @CommutingLarry
