Toll rant

[magid]

When the Mass Turnpike was built, it was made a toll road, to defray the cost of building it.

At least 2 or 3 years ago, they took the tolls off the last couple of exits in western Mass. I assumed this was because things were (finally) being paid off, and would be part of a gradual change to no tolls, since that's what whatever politician said at the time of the announcement. Additionally, not much money was raised from western Mass, so it was a cheap way to make western commuters happy.

So I was surprised when I went out there (going to Kripalu) to find that even though there are no tolls for those exits, *there are still toll takers* who are there to take the tolls from cars that started farther east, and to let the people from the free exits through, once they handed in their ticket showing they'd entered the Pike at a free exit. This, I just don't understand. Maybe they weren't getting a lot of money from those exits, but if you're still paying the people to sit there, wouldn't the tolls collected at least defray the cost of having those people there?

Yesterday, the Pike tolls in the Boston area doubled. There's a (possibly temporary; it's only guaranteed until the end of the year) discount for people using transponders. This is the first time the Mass Pike has done this; New York and other states have done this for years, trying to keep traffic moving in addition to getting their money.

Anyway. Why did the tolls double, when presumably the Mass Pike is getting closer to being paid for? To pay for the Big Dig, putting the Central Artery in Boston underground. And that bothers me. I would be perfectly willing to help pay for this (mismanaged, etc, as it's been). However, the commuters heading into Boston on the Central Artery, the very highway being worked on, do not have to pay. There is no toll on that road, and no one has suggested one. Instead, people commuting from the western suburbs have tolls doubled (oh, and the toll for the harbor tunnels has also increased). Heck, I barely drive in Boston at all, and I'm paying more than someone who drives there every day. And that annoys me to no end.

I don't understand the people in charge of the highways in Massachusetts.
t

Comments

could be employment

[cthulhia]

the NY subway would be cheaper to run if it were free, but it would employ less people.

sort of one of those things they should've gotten oout of about 5 years, but now we need people to work, and our economy needs the money to change hands.

damn, I wish I had an ezpass thingie.

EZ pass

[magid.livejournal.com]

I got mine through NY (ie, and EZ Pass, rather than FastLane), 'cause they didn't make you pay $27.50 for the transponder. Plus I liked that NY was doing things with varying tolls depending on time of day to decrease traffic jams, etc. I think that they were thinking of traffic management as well as collecting $, while MA was just interested in getting their $ more efficiently.
t

Re: EZ pass

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

I got mine through EZPass.com for the same reasons. HOWEVER! The discounts will only apply to genuine 'Fast Lane' users...ezPass holders will pay full fare.

(This according to WBUR's local news yesterday morning.)

Assholes.

Re: EZ pass non-discounts

[magid.livejournal.com]

I hadn't heard that, had assumed that (as with other states) there would be reciprocity.

!*#

What total jerks. Frequency is frequency, no matter where your transponder's from.

(BTW, your last word, in addition to expressing my sentiments exactly, was my best Boggle word Sunday, except perhaps "panthers".)

Re: EZ pass non-discounts

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

After reading today's Boston.com article (http://www.boston.com/news/daily/03/tolls.htm), it sounds like they had originally planned to restrict the discount to FastLane drivers who're MA residents.

They're claiming that restricting the discounts to FastLane drivers doesn't violate the interstate commerce rules because non-MA drivers can buy the FastLane transponder too. I hope they get slapped with a class-action suit.

Re: EZ pass non-discounts

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the article.

I just don't see why they feel a need to restrict it to FastLane users only (oh, except for the obvious wanting to get ahold of $27.50 motive).
What jerks.

Re: EZ pass non-discounts

[magid.livejournal.com]

According to the news this morning, yesterday they voted to let EZPass users get the discount, too.... I guess the articles were effective!

Re: EZ pass

[magid.livejournal.com]

Driving home this morning, the news on WBUR included an item about the relevant people voting yesterday to allow EZPass users to get the discount, too.

I wonder how much of that was b/c of articles in the Globe about interstate commerce regulations (I saw at least 2)...

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

The tolls were, AFAIK, never removed from western Mass, it was only ever something done to alleviate the burden on the local folks for whom the Pike is often the only way to get from place to place. Kind of like how if you're going from Quincy Center to Wollaston or N. Quincy on the T, you can get a token back when you exit.

[magid.livejournal.com]

I guess I didn't write it clearly: there are tolls on those exits if you started farther east. If you started within that area (I think it's the last 6 exits), there is no toll to use the Pike within those exits. In fact, local commuters there can get free transponders (don't have to pay the $27.50 that MA charges) to let them through the toll booths faster. I don't think the free transponders work elsewhere, though, to register tolls in the rest of MA or anywhere else they have reciprocity.
e

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

I know there are tolls when you start further east, but since you expressed surprised at the toll-takers, it sounded like you'd expected them to be completely free.

I've heard about the free transponder thing as well, and you're right, that it doesn't work elsewhere, so they still need to buy another one. Gotta love it. Of course, since those folks are already really close to NY, I can't imagine that they wouldn't just get an EZPass instead.

[clauclauclaudia]

I don't think the MA (FastLane) transponders work anywhere else.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Actually, I believe they work in NY and NJ, and possibly around DC as well. I know the NY ones work in MA as well as NJ (I have one).

I don't think they'd work in Atlanta, though - my impression is that they have a different system for transponders or something that don't work with the one the states up here have adopted.
k

[clauclauclaudia]

Huh. The FastLane FAQ says you're right. My mistake.

On a happier note...

[surrealestate.livejournal.com]

When did you go to Kripalu and whadja do? :)

Re: On a happier note...

[magid.livejournal.com]

Two summers ago, I went with my brother, parents, aunt, and uncle for a weekend of beginning yoga. I'd taken a yoga class at the Newton JCC that spring (wonderful teacher), so I had a relatively easy time while getting new moves, learning from new people. It turned out to be a relatively easy mini-vacation-with-family (some family gatherings can be tricky), and I think my aunt has continued with yoga, too. I did find the complete lack of AC trying at times, though...

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

The bonds have been close to paid off several times, as I understand it. Each time, the gummint decides to renew them. Huzzah.

It's an easy source of cash, and toll-taker positions are commonly political patronage jobs as well. Yay, politics.

[magid.livejournal.com]

Grrrr.

(and I'd managed to not comment on how some toll takers are pretty piss poor at their job, creating lines when others are efficient. though now it's easier, I suppose, since they don't have to give that tricky 50 cents change...)

"

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

The people in charge of the highways in Mass. are in a lose-lose situation.
Nobody wants to pay for roads they're not using. In principle, it's certainly fair to charge people tolls for the roads that they do use.

But the Central Artery already moves very slowly at rush hour and adding tolls would make that even worse. It's also probably a lot cheaper to raise tolls on a road that's already set up to collect them than to add new tolls on a road that was previously free.

I think that the city should raise money by buying up parking lots and charging people exorbitant prices to leave their car in the city once they've driven there. That way the road gets paid for and nobody's commute is slowed down.

Exhorbitant parking

[magid.livejournal.com]

Thinking outside the box... I like it.

I know people who park in Boston already feel it's far too expensive already, of course.

Re: Exhorbitant parking

[slinkr.livejournal.com]

Parking in Boston is outrageously expensive, but people still persist in doing it so the state might as well get in on the action.

Re: Exhorbitant parking

[jbsegal.livejournal.com]

The problem around parking is that the EPA came in some years ago (20+??) and said "Bad Air Quality. No More Parking Spaces!" (the theory being that with less parking, there'd be fewer cars. Ha!)

Re: Exhorbitant parking

[gingicat]

Pity the EPA didn't recommend more frequent bus service at the same time... the real way to dissuade people to stop driving is to give them a usable alternative. If I didn't find driving scary, I'd never bother with buses.

Oh, yeah

[magid.livejournal.com]

And so the people in Newton are concerned that traffic will increase as more people try to avoid tolls, so perhaps they will reconstruct the toll booths that used to be at exit 17, as well (not to mention more $ raised, of course).

Just great.
s

Re: Oh, yeah

[hammercock.livejournal.com]

Fuck! I really hope they don't do that! Grrrrrrrrr!

[teddywolf.livejournal.com]

The way things came to fruition in western MA was that travel between exits 1-6 was to have no charge whatsoever. If you traveled to or from any other exit there would be hell, err, tolls to pay. Originally they let you get a sticker you could put on the windshield and just travel between the booths. I seem to recall that this happened about 5-6 years ago.

Now as to continuing charges on the Pike, I think that our current Acting Governor wanted to keep the possibility of some political capital back in western MA because that's where she's from and she'd like to be able to run for public office again sometime. Reinstating tolls out there would have been political suicide.

I think it would have been much more equitable and at least more evenly spread if they raised the state gasoline tax a penny or two a gallon. It would still be odious for people but it wouldn't be a huge bite from anybody - and some of the people who'd be paying take the Artery.

I also think that the Pike is used as both a cash cow and a spot for patronage.

On the (small) plus side for us, we have a Fast Lane transponder in the car.