4. There Was a Pedestrian Toll of 5 Cents to Cross the George Washington Bridge

When the George Washington Bridge opened in 1931, there was a pedestrian toll to cross the bridge at $0.10. On the first full day of operation, 20,000 people crossed the bridge by foot while another 10,000 people, discouraged by the fare, watched from Manhattan Plaza.

3 years later, the pedestrian toll was reduced to $0.05 and eliminated in 1940 at the request of Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia and Robert Moses. It’s likely this move was both for the public and for financial reasons: the amount made in pedestrian tolls barely covered the cost of collection.