Does each state have its own EZ Pass system or can you register for one to use when crossing through all those northeastern states?
I got to wondering about this when we were driving to the FL keys a couple of weeks ago on the FL Turnpike which no longer has toll booths. You either pay via Sunpass, an EZ Pass type system, or they mailed a ticket based on your tag photo, which costs more.
So if you are a visitor, can you purchase an EZ pass that charges your credit card? Do you have to pay for the transponder unit? How does this work?
I'm just envisioning the whole east coast with multiple systems requiring a bunch of different transponders and accounts. What a mess.
* This post was
edited 04/04/12 09:04am by NCWriter *
If you're interested on what can happen with a toll highway that has no toll booths, HERE is an article about the "407ETR" mess we have in Ontario, Canada.
For those who don't have a transponder, a camera takes a photo of your plate and you get an inflated bill in the mail. (Even if you have a transponder, the toll charges are outrageous.)
The 407ETR was originally built as a "public-private partnership" and was structured to allow the private company to collect tolls for 35 years, after which time it was to return to the province of Ontario.
A subsequent election brought in a different party who decided it to "lease" the highway for 99 years (yeah, some lease, they basically sold it, and for far less than market value).
Another election returned a different party, but they soon found that the 407ETR lawyers were smarter than the government lawyers, and basically the privately-run 407ETR does what it wants to.
Hopefully cooler heads will prevail in NC, and they won't make the huge mistakes they made in Ontario.
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Tolls are charged BECAUSE THEY CAN what is to stop them?? NOTHING you can choose to ride another route and we do. MA to CT to NY to PA to VA to 95 where there are no tolls but sounds like that will change. More Money spent and great traffic jams are to be expected if you want to go South. Wouldn't it be nice if they are going to charge tolls to keep the roads well maintained, that they spend it for that purpose. My god, in NY esp the roads are in TERRIBLE shape, huge pot holes and roads that cannot handle the traffic, but none the money from the $12 toll(for cars) on the GW Bridge seems to be spent for the purpose of maintainence. Toll keepers make mega bucks but roads go without care!
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RVER wrote: ... but none the money from the $12 toll(for cars) on the GW Bridge seems to be spent for the purpose of maintainence. Toll keepers make mega bucks but roads go without care!
Could the fact that the GW is one of the busiest in the world have anything to do with its condition and maintenance needs? Maintaining the road surface is only one part of maintaining a bridge. It is also something that is hard to maintain without disrupting traffic.
Actually, I was speaking of the roads that lead from the GW Bridge down by Manhatten and are ALWAYS clogged. Because the fixing disrupts traffic does not tell us that if they are not going to spend the money on the roads as that money is supposed to be spent due to the disruption to traffic to fix, then why charge for the bridge since you are saying they cannot spend the money on the roads? SO that leaves all the money is doing is paying the toll takers and pay them well since cars pay $12 and god knows what it costs for an RV or a truck!!!! SPEND it on the roads for goodness sakes!!! Corruptions exists there and elsewhere. I must say that the MA PIKE (RT 90) IS well maintained and IS one of the most expensive roads toll wise but at least they put the money in the roads. The tolltakers on MA pike are very well paid for collecting change and great retirements etc. Hope that they will have one tolltaker and the rest go through the unmanned toll counters for most of us have transponders, no tolltaker needed. Saves the Commonwealth lots of money, machines get no retirement, sick time, vacation time etc and do a good job!!
Pirates used to travel the seas, now they have toll booths on roadways.
It's not enough to pick our wallets for sales tax on motor vehicles, annual excise/registration taxes, the per gallon Federal and State fuel taxes ?
I don't understand by what authority Eisenhower's Federal Interstate program became an avenue for such piracy, the likes of which some states clearly abuse.
I-95 from Maine to Baltimore is disgustingly expensive. Adding tolls in VA. and NC ? Again, I don't understand by what authority can they now implement tolls where none existed for over 50 years ?
The authorities formed to collect the tolls were formed and I believe it is in their Charter that the monies collected are to be used for maintainence of the roads and bridges, YES.
RVER wrote: My god, in NY esp the roads are in TERRIBLE shape, huge pot holes and roads that cannot handle the traffic, but none the money from the $12 toll(for cars) on the GW Bridge seems to be spent for the purpose of maintainence. Toll keepers make mega bucks but roads go without care!
The money goes to the Port Authority of NY/NJ's general fund and little IF ANY goes to maintain the bridges or the roads. We have two mega-lords in NY - the MTA and the Port Authority - they both like to fund "other projects" by raising tolls on the bridges and roads while showing record income, complaining that they can't meet budget, and then raising the tolls some more. There is currently a legal fight going on headed by AAA to stop both from doing this, as money collected in tolls is supposed to be going to maintain those roads and bridges.
quoyfab wrote: Pirates used to travel the seas, now they have toll booths on roadways.
It's not enough to pick our wallets for sales tax on motor vehicles, annual excise/registration taxes, the per gallon Federal and State fuel taxes ?
I don't understand by what authority Eisenhower's Federal Interstate program became an avenue for such piracy, the likes of which some states clearly abuse.
I-95 from Maine to Baltimore is disgustingly expensive. Adding tolls in VA. and NC ? Again, I don't understand by what authority can they now implement tolls where none existed for over 50 years ?
I don't like the idea of taking an interstate road and turning it into a toll road.
Most if not all of the "interstate" toll roads were originally stand alone toll roads within a state. When the interstate system was begun, a lot of the toll roads were incorporated into the interstate system.
The Richmond-Petersburg road was in place before the interstate system. I-95 incorporated the Richmond-Petersburg toll road as part of the interstate system.
The tolls didn't come off the old toll road UNTIL the I-295 bypass of both Richmond and Petersburg was completed. If the toll had stayed on the old toll road, only locals would have been paying the tax. All others would be going around on I-295.
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