NJ Toll Hikes!!!
I don't know about the rest of you, but I find these toll jumps very unwelcome. Most of us have read various articles with reference to their reasoning for another financial donation to the good ol' State of NJ, but that doesn't change how I, or probably a good number of us feel. So I'm encouraging you to please send an email of displeasure to The NJ Office of the Govenor and the NJ Turnpike Authority, as well as your area legislators and express your feelings. Every time this happens it gets higher and higher and worse and worse. Whenever I write I always close with "I'm looking forward to your reply or response to this matter". That pretty much obligates them to take the time to respond to your specific concern.
Happy New Year, Dave |
the state and the governor have nothing to due with the current toll hike.
this toll hike was orchestrated 5 years ago by the turnpike and parkway authority when they merged to pay for capital improvements on both roads and agreed to by then governor corizine. it called for the toll hike 5 years ago, a 50% percent raise this year, and another 50% raise 5 years from now. if the toll hikes bother you so much, use the free state highways. |
Tom, I know the situation how this came about, but the Governor's Office is still the chief office of the State, as is a Mayor's Office in a municipality, and these two toll roads run through the entire State and the Turnpike Authority still has to answer to the State in some fashion. They can't just do whatever they want, imagine if they could we would have had a 300% increase like some places. There were several articles just yesterday of disagreement over this between the Governor and legislators, they're all right in the mix on this. And while yes, I could start to use non-toll roads, really, how practical is that for me or other people who make certain trips or daily commutes especially as a truck user who spends more on gas anyway. Then if you have a dually, which some do, you get whacked more. It also seems to be according to some news articles that some of this money was to go for the now defunct tunnel. I am not familiar with the future 50% hike, but if there is no tunnel, perhaps they only need 10%, or how about they better cut waste and get zero. And while there are "bond holders" involved that are guaranteed a certain rate of return, etc. I also have read where more could be done but isn't/wasn't. Also the residual effects of things like the price of goods such as supermarket items will ultimately be effected as companies pay more to ship, once again we'll pay more and more.
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actually the turnpike and parkway, and atlantic city expressway are privately owned roads and do not have to answer to anyone in the state if they do not want to.
the agreement with the state DOT is that they will notify the state before they do anything regarding tolls or enforcement of state laws by the state police on the parkway and turnpike. the turnpike and parkway toll hikes are used strictly for improvements to those two roadways. parkway and turnpike employees are not state employees. they get paid by the highway authority out of money collected through tolls. the state police on those roadways are paid by the authority also, not by state funds. the hikes on the turnpike and parkway had nothing to do with the tunnel, that was part of the gas tax, rail and bus fare hikes, and toll increases on port authority tunnels and bridges.. i drive for a living. with the new job, i only average 100-150 miles per day. the old job averaged 450 miles per day. and 99% of all those miles were on non toll roads. |
According to several news sources there was an earmark of around 1.25 billion toward the ARC tunnel and a vote was taken in the Senate to repeal this part of the toll hike in February but Christie threatened to veto it, so it never moved on. IDK, it sounds like the State of NJ to me. So if the legislature is considering and Christie is vetoing it, they're all in.
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rite. but that 1.2 billion was coming from the state transportation funds. not turnpike ands parkway operational funds.
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Yes, and I believe that was pretty much the point of Wiesnewski and the legislative oversight committee blah-blah-blah that if the 1.2 wasn't going to the tunnel, then the Authority no longer needed to raise same/such through the toll increase and on and on, but Christie said the bond holders would sue blah-blah...., regardless, we still got the 50 and 53% sham and the State still had it's hand in it and our pockets in some way, shape or form, and no harm will come from average drivers who got the increase making noise about it in Trenton and through their respective legislators.
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Unless I'm gravely mistaken, the NJTP and GSP are still publicly owned. Corzine really pushed for them to be sold to holding corporations, but it fell through so close to the last minute that many people didn't realize it never happened.
Technically, yes, both roads are controlled by "independent" authorities. But in practice, government is government, whether Federal, State, local, or an "independent authority". Christie has made it clear that such authorities will be answering to him. It all has the same effect on the average citizen, if something is paid for by the Feds instead of the State, it's still tax money that comes out of our pockets. "Free" highways are paid for by fuel taxes. Even with the $$ the Feds skim off, there is still more than enough to pay for the roads. NJ toll roads receive just as much of this tax money as "free" roads, so it stands to reason they could have enough money if they stopped collecting tolls altogether. No one asked me, but this is what I would do if I ruled the world: Give NJTA employees reasonable pay in line with the private sector, take away all benefits; prohibit unionization of employees of contractors building for NJTA, and give everyone a swift kick in the pants and tell them to do work instead of drinking coffee while the 1 guy of 7 does their job for them. Then either end tolls altogether or charge $0.25. |
Yea, the tolls got me by surprise too. I had my $1 in exact change in my hand all the way through Perth Amboy, then when I got to the Raritan Toll Plaza I got held up for an awkward minute when I had to dig around for an extra $0.5.
I've found that the now-obsolete cassette player in my truck makes for an excellent way to hold on to Turnpike toll tickets without them blowing away or getting lost. Maybe I should look into EZ-Pass. |
and Dave, i just re read my first post. sorry, i did not mean to sound like an ass with that last comment.
i was having a bad day, and tend not think think through what i say and type when i am in that kind of mood. |
Originally Posted by tjc transport
(Post 11240578)
and Dave, i just re read my first post. sorry, i did not mean to sound like an ass with that last comment.
i was having a bad day, and tend not think think through what i say and type when i am in that kind of mood. TJC, hope you're having a good day today. |
Lol, Tom, nothing taken as cross here at all. We're just hashing through the details which are always incredibly fogged because they don't ever want us to know what's really going on, whatever that is, because we never know... Now what was it that was actually going on? 8-)))
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The idea of the garden state parkway was "sold" with the premise that the tolls were temporary, and once the lease of the land was paid off, the tolls would be removed.
Of course that was supposed to happen with the tolls were 25 cents. People/companies/government/authorities just can't ever give up their revenue streams. That's why we as "the people", need to not give it to them in the first place. |
+1 here, Fred. That I am aware of, the government has never repealed a tax outright or reduced highway tolls. You are absolutely correct that the ($0.25) toll was sold on the premise it would be done away with once the bonds were paid off.
Don't even get me started on Port Authority tolls. Last time I drove in New York City, it cost $8 for the Outerbridge Crossing and $13 for the Verrazano-Narrows Bridge. Since all interstate bridges in NJ except for one charge you to leave but not come in, this place has become like the Hotel California. FTE should hold a rally against Parkway tolls, they'll keep going up as long as white-collar commuters with Lexus cars will pay them. Not much of a public benefit is you ask me. |
port authority tolls are now $13 per axle.
that means every bridge or tunnel i use costs me $52 in the dump truck, or $65 with the lowboy i don't know what the verrazano is now. either $14 or $15 per axle. |
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