Ghost license plates cost NYC $200 million a year: report

NEW YORK (PIX11) – Ghost license plates are costing New York City at least $200 million a year, according to an analysis from the Manhattan Borough President’s Office obtained by the New York Post .

More than 5% of vehicles passing through traffic cameras and toll stations each month have an unreadable license plate , the analysis reported. That means the city gets no revenue from those cars.

Over 100,000 plates passing through Department of Transportation-operated cameras alone monthly are unreadable, with the number of unreadable plates increasing, the Manhattan Borough President’s Office said.

The Manhattan Borough President’s Office suggests using digital tags on registration stickers, training NYPD officers to spot ghost license plates , using AI to identify partial or obscured plates, increasing fines for people caught with ghost plates and stopping the sale of license plate covers, ghost plates and temporary plates.

Erin Pflaumer is a digital content producer from Long Island who has covered both local and national news since 2018 . She joined PIX11 in 2023. See more of her work here .

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