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magidWhen 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
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
no subject
Date: 2002-07-02 07:12 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2002-07-02 07:24 am (UTC)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
no subject
Date: 2002-07-02 07:36 am (UTC)