Posted on 07/17/2010 8:56:06 AM PDT by Willie Green
E-ZPass customers will get price break over those paying cash
A toll increase on the Pennsylvania Turnpike in January likely will make it the most expensive long toll road in the nation.
The turnpike commission on Wednesday approved a 3 percent increase for users of E-ZPass electronic fare collection and 10 percent for cash customers, effective Jan. 2.
That will raise the cash cost of driving the turnpike to 8.5 cents per mile, highest of the 11 U.S. toll roads of 100 miles or longer. Currently, the Pennsylvania and New Jersey turnpikes are tied at 7.7 cents per mile.
Shorter toll facilities, including highway spurs and bridges, typically have higher per-mile costs. A March survey by the Pennsylvania Turnpike found 10 facilities with per-mile rates of 27.8 cents or more, including a 6-mile highway in California whose users pay 45.8 cents per mile.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike has ascended to the top among longer toll roads largely because of a 2007 state law requiring it to help fund non-turnpike transportation programs. Since then, the turnpike has given the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation $2.5 billion to pay for highway and bridge work and mass transit.
That amount is the equivalent of more than three years' worth of turnpike toll income. The turnpike took in $700 million last year.
The law, Act 44, envisioned a stream of revenue from higher turnpike tolls and new tolls on Interstate 80 flowing from the commission to PennDOT.
(Excerpt) Read more at post-gazette.com ...
“Allowing the marketplace to determine the value of interstate highway travel is no more inefficient than allowing it to determine the value of rail or pipeline transportation.”
...and you saw what we had to do to break up the MONOPOLIES that formed. I’m all for a free-market, but I don’t think that it’s particularly healthy for government-protected monopolies to be allowed to price to the highest level they can get away with - which is why utilities are REGULATED.
This crap is an unregulated monopoly - called me a Socialist if you wish, but I simply have a problem with it.
The Indiana Toll Road directly competes with the mainlines of the CSX and Norfolk Southern for freight traffic. US highways 20 and 30 parallel it for it on the south and US 12 and I 94 on its north. Its hardly a monopoly.
LOL. When you can tell me it takes the same amount of time to drive from Toledo to Chicago using ANY of those routes, I’ll sell you a bridge.
IT IS A MONOPOLY AND YOU KNOW IT. Now, please, go back to work at Cintra, you’re wasting your time with me.
Which was less than 1/3 of what it was actually worth. The People of Indiana were swindled.
Willie never heard of Boston's "Big Dig."
We would rather have lower taxes and a balanced budget, thank you.
I don’t know. Maybe because Maryland has been dominated by liberals forever.
YEP - that’s called the INTERSTATE SYSTEM.
You may not have a problem with barriers to interstate commerce (and a handful of politically well-connected people getting LOADED from them), but the 5th Amendment certainly does - and so do I.
Let’s see what company Mitch Daniels winds up working for when he retires from politics - we’ve already seen revolving door regarding private toll roads here in Texas, with our (now dead, thank God) highway commissioner.
The Indiana Toll Road was built, and is maintained, entirely without the assistance of federal funds. The central government’s arrogation of power to itself doesn’t create an obligation for taxpayers of the State of Indiana to subsidize the lifestyles of folks who like to drive through our state.
“The Indiana Toll Road was built, and is maintained, entirely without the assistance of federal funds. The central government’s arrogation of power to itself doesn’t create an obligation for taxpayers of the State of Indiana to subsidize the lifestyles of folks who like to drive through our state.”
Once you linked it to the Interstate System you GAVE UP that independence, as far as I’m concerned.
Regardless - it would be fun to see the 5th Amendment kick in and tell Indiana that they can charge tolls UP TO what it costs to operate and maintain the road (roughly one tenth of what the monopoly rate typically is).
Essentially the Feds just did that to Pennsylvania, LOL, when they tried to put up toll barriers on I-80. The state told the feds that they would use the tolls to pay for mass transit (as you guys in the East call it) in Phili and Pitts. The Feds said: NO DICE!! Seems all of the Whining by Penn about the cost of the road was a RUSE to try to put up toll barriers to milk interstate truckers.
Anyway, the fun thing about these discussions is that it makes me think.
So, what if United Airlines came to Obama and said that they pay the feds $10B for 50 years of monopoly flights between Dallas and Chicago - and being allowed to charge what they wish (essentially owning the airway). Of course United would demand a non-compete clause which would be structured to make a traveler trying to use another airline a minimum of 12 hours to get between the cities. This might include a 200 mile radius around each city belonging to United and anyone connecting between these regions would have to make a minimum of 3 stops, etc.
Of course it wouldn’t be a “real monopoly” since people would have choices (like chartering a boat from Houston, up the Atlantic, and through the Great Lakes - to exaggerate a bit)...so problem there.
Now once United has that route tied down, the logical thing for them to do is raise rates until people are forced into alternatives, such as driving, taking a bus, etc - pretty much making it impossible to fly except for business travelers paying $1000+ round trip.
Now Obama could say he hand an “epiphany” (to quote Mitch Daniels - as if Daniels came up with the idea without any ‘outside’ help, LOL) and run around and claim that he (Obama) balanced the budget (or got a lot closer by selling off a whole bunch of others).
The question then becomes whether that is a smart thing to do in this country...most people would say no - since it essentially shuts down air travel, but I seem to run into a lot of people who think it’s “Market Forces” at work - so monopolies (or things that look a lot like monopolies) are just fine.
As I said, with these govt. owned enterprises, their corruption for activities other than their true and intended purpose is a given.
“As I said, with these govt. owned enterprises, their corruption for activities other than their true and intended purpose is a given.”
I agree - GET RID OF THE TOLLS and no more corruption, and no more Billions being siphoned out of the pockets of consumers by foreign companies.
Finally, we can end this discussion.
“I agree - GET RID OF THE TOLLS and no more corruption, and no more Billions being siphoned out of the pockets of consumers by foreign companies.”
That’s your solution.
Some Libertarians might suggest that the state government temporarily take them over completely, then have an IPO on a total privatization of them (all proceeds going to retire any of the state’s debt) and afterward, the private operation would have nothing to do with politicians, or state subsidies, and as a private enterprise its revenue would be taxable the same as other PA corporations.
But, maybe that would not satisfy those (maybe you) who think taxes SHOULD subsidize such roads.
So, to end the conversation; if the government is going to be involved, then there is going to be corruption and waste, whether in how “toll” revenue is used, or in how “fuel taxes” are used. Either way, its the same, and government is the source of it.
...and you also get rid of the temptation of dishonest governors claiming to have “balanced the budget”, when, in fact, they forced the state to take a hit of financial heroin (except with a worse withdrawl, as it goes on for many decades).
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