Tolls- What do you think of them?

[Jim Robeson]

Our toll lanes in Miami/Fort Laderdale are variable also. I saw $10.00 one night.....it's normally $.50 to a $1.50 during off peak hours.

You all that live in toll areas, do you like this idea of getting everyone that comes through your state to help pay for the roads?? I just get tired of our roads and bridges being in such bad shape because we don't have the money from tax revenue to help keep them up. There had been some rumors that they were going to turn a section of I-70 into a toll road. I say bring it on!! Anything but more taxes!!

 

[billyb]

You all that live in toll areas, do you like this idea of getting everyone that comes through your state to help pay for the roads?? I just get tired of our roads and bridges being in such bad shape because we don't have the money from tax revenue to help keep them up. There had been some rumors that they were going to turn a section of I-70 into a toll road. I say bring it on!! Anything but more taxes!!

I would a bit pissed if they did that. The only time I use 70 is to get to my boat.

 

[Ronnie]

Maybe this is best put in its own separate thread but to be clear the only people that can drive in these express toll lanes are those that have signed up for a payment/tracking transducer from caltrans. That stated, I don't think they are getting any revenue for out of staters passing through. The last I heard there are only four of these lanes in CA and they are not on interstate freeways. The only other tolls I know of in ca are the 17 mile drive through Carmel (you have to use this road to get to pebble beach golf course) and the major bridges in the area like the golden gate or bay bridge. Ca has the same revenue problems as other states and they address them by increasing toll fees and new taxes. In the mid 80s it cost 50 cents to cross the bay bridge, now it's $5, $6 to cross the golden gate and more on weekends.

To counter the loss of gas tax revenue caused by electrics and hybrids there is a proposal to tax ca residents based on the miles they drive per year. I sure hope that doesn't pass.

 

[Julian]

I think tolls are a poor way to collect money for road upkeep. It is a tax.....but the infrastructure costs to collect it are such a waste! A simple tax on gas collects the money with no over head collection costs. Admittedly, now that tolls are electronic we don't slow ALL the cars to a stop (waste gas) and pay someone to take your spare change....but it still isn't cheap!

 

[Shuck Water]

As someone that pays between $250-$300 per month in tolls, I hate them, but the toll roads are by far the nicest in Dallas. Plus, it's my own fault for buying a house flanked by two toll roads....actually it's my wife's fault because she wanted the kids in a good school district.

 

[Big Shasta]

Interesting that you mention tolls. We went to Mobile to visit a college for my daughter this past weekend. There is really one way to get over that way efficiently, it's always been interstate 10. I always hook up the garmin GPS because I like the distance to go and all that jazz plus I'll need it to get to the exact address of the hotel in mobile. I got a new garmin since I last drove over that way but garmin has always in the past routed me up a road about 10 miles west to go north until I get to interstate 10 and then head west. Well, for some reason this one had me going 30 miles west first so I thought "Ok, must know a quicker route" It flipping took me across the only toll road/bridge in the panhandle. I know it isn't faster, that road has been there forever and I used to travel that way almost monthly for work.....but now for some reason this new GPS decides that is the fastest route? BS.....I set that damn thing to "avoid tolls" from now on. Nice Try Garmin.

 

[BoaterGuy]

I am personally getting tired of being hoodwinked by the state. They tax these things, which ultimately is class warfare, then promise to spend on things that make your life safer and better. Then they turn around and funnel the money to their crony contractors or straight into their own pockets.

MD has a big problem with transportation funding. The money was there, but they robbed it and put it into the general fund. Dont trust anything a politician tells you!

http://www.changemaryland.org/2012/...solving-transportation-problems/#.VO5ukeEncVI

“Here we go again,” said Hogan. “We were successful in stopping the gas tax increase, and the sales tax on gasoline last session, but they are still trying to ram it through. And now O’Malley expects struggling Maryland families and small businesses to pay for his mistakes. They want us to forget about the hundreds of millions of dollars he robbed from transportation funds.”

Over the past decade, $1.1 billion in transportation funds initially intended for local governments to use on roads and bridges has been put into the state’s general fund to help balance the budget.

Why is it that I should have to pay more for express lanes when you used my tax money to build it? Talk about a smack in the face!

 

[sstegh]

Talk about timing... in the mail TODAY, I received a bill from the North Texas Tollway Authority for $11.48. I live in St Louis Missouri. The dates detailed on the "transactions" are from October 2013 while I was in Dallas taking a class. WTF?!! How am I getting this a year and a half later? I no longer have the receipts for the tolls I paid while I was there, now what? Should I pay it? What would you guys do?

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Talk about timing... in the mail TODAY, I received a bill from the North Texas Tollway Authority for $11.48. I live in St Louis Missouri. The dates detailed on the "transactions" are from October 2013 while I was in Dallas taking a class. WTF?!! How am I getting this a year and a half later? I no longer have the receipts for the tolls I paid while I was there, now what? Should I pay it? What would you guys do?

My time is worth something...so is yours. Spend 15 minutes and call them to explain your situation. If they say pay up, just pay it and move on.

One would think there is some sort of time limit on billing for such a toll.

 

[Ronnie]

I'd just pay it. It would cost Me more than $12 to deal with it. Refusing to pay may get it sent to a collection agency. If it was $120, or $1,200 fight it but $12 is a rounding error that wouldn't cover my toll over a bridge here in CA with a boat in tow.

I didn't mean to start a new theead by posting a pic of an express lane here in ncal. I like complaining about taxes / tolls as much as the next guy but have to say it's never changed anything for me. The ca legislature has proposed to raise the bridge tolls again next year, I'm sure they will and all we the public will get is is notice of when the new toll will go into effect.

I don't think the toll express lane I pictured is generating the revenue anticipated. Last night traffic was light so there was hardly anyone in the lane. Which means little or no revenue and now an unused lane. They closed that lane for a few days and spent a lot of money on monitoring gear, signs and to put pullout pits in place for the highway patrol to sit in and be closer to the action to give out tickets to violators (get caught in that lane without a transducer and the ticket is around $400 as I recall from the news story on the subject, similar to a car pool violation fee). Seems circular since the other lanes are getting more use and therefore will need more maintenance sooner. I'm pretty sure I know how/where they will get the money from.

I stopped trusting politicians a while back. Prior to the 1989 World Series quake here in SF the bridge toll was $1. After the quake they raised the toll on a "temporary" basis to $2. The rollback to $1 never happened. Now it's $5 and climbing. The only thing temporary about the change was how long it remained at $2 before it went up.

I'm grateful that tolls fees are limited here in ncal. I've visited Chicago and remember paying small toll fees of 25 cents. I thought that was great until I drove a little and paid again, and again and again. Got lost and turned around and paid some more. This was just to go from the airport to the hotel. In Florida my first and only time on the panhandle, I should have known Something was wrong when they handed me a card as I got on the toll road. I was curious why all the restaurants, rest stops and gas stations were In The medium but found out why when I got to the end of road, where they collected the toll. They took my card, noted that I never exited and charged me over $10. I put away my cash and broke out a debit/credit card. At least in Chicago they warned me at they semi warns me at the airport by exchanging my cash for coins.

 

[itsdgm]

We have a few toll roads down here in Southern California (south Orange County). I had always assumed that the toll roads were privately owned. But after a Fire Engine from my Fire Department came down to the area for a funeral (and was mailed a ticket for not paying the toll) I called them to ask WTF? It was explained to me by someone pretty high up in the Toll Road system that the roads were not private roads, they were built with bond money. Therefore the only users that are exempt are the CHP who has law enforcement and I believe Orange County Fire Authority. Other vehicles, including law enforcement and fire departments or any other public agencies for that matter have to pay to use them while not responding to an emergency. So yes, we are paying tolls with our tax dollars when these agencies use the roads. It's complete idiocracy. Welcome to California. Even the government taxes itself!!!

 

[jawsf16]

Talk about timing... in the mail TODAY, I received a bill from the North Texas Tollway Authority for $11.48. I live in St Louis Missouri. The dates detailed on the "transactions" are from October 2013 while I was in Dallas taking a class. WTF?!! How am I getting this a year and a half later? I no longer have the receipts for the tolls I paid while I was there, now what? Should I pay it? What would you guys do?

Sometimes it takes them awhile to track you down, but they always do. The toll roads in Dallas are good, the toll roads in Oklahoma suck. If you pay for a decent road, so be it. If not....

 

[BoaterGuy]

We have a few toll roads down here in Southern California (south Orange County). I had always assumed that the toll roads were privately owned. But after a Fire Engine from my Fire Department came down to the area for a funeral (and was mailed a ticket for not paying the toll) I called them to ask WTF? It was explained to me by someone pretty high up in the Toll Road system that the roads were not private roads, they were built with bond money. Therefore the only users that are exempt are the CHP who has law enforcement and I believe Orange County Fire Authority. Other vehicles, including law enforcement and fire departments or any other public agencies for that matter have to pay to use them while not responding to an emergency. So yes, we are paying tolls with our tax dollars when these agencies use the roads. It's complete idiocracy. Welcome to California. Even the government taxes itself!!!

Lol thats funny! (well not really....) Remember the interest on the bond money comes from the taxpayers. Too often the interest is more than the coupon itself. And the bond holders get to deduct that interest from their taxes for Muni's. So it's a double hit, you pay the interest and then get to make up the difference on their tax writeoff.

 

[Jim Robeson]

Hadn't really thought about the infrastructure until @Julian mentioned that. But with that being said I can't help but think about the Oklahoma turnpike roads or some of the toll roads going through Dallas. I'm sure it would suck to have to pay a toll every time you got on and off the highway but at least the folks coming through your state are helping with the maintenance of these roads. I'm not sure about this part of it but I would have to think that there is a different fee for residents and non-residents. I-44 is just 7 miles from my house and I use it about every other day. But the amount of traffic that highway gets, day in and day out is incredible.

Didn't mean to start a new thread, sorry about that.

 

[Ronnie]

I will throw a boating twist at this. Bridges here in ncal are the primary toll roads. It cost $5 to cross most bridges (except the golden gate) in a car with two axles. After that the toll goes up by the axle. If you are towing a one axle trailer the fee is $15. For a two axle trailer it's $20. So the third axle cost $10 whereas the fourth is only $5. To illustrate how much the toll has increased in the mid 80s the toll was 50 cents for a car and $1 for a car with a single axle trailer (3 axles total).

 

[Murf'n'surf]

Didn't mean to start a new thread, sorry about that.

That's actually part of the reason I started the "show us what you see" thread! It's a great thread to start discussions and if the topic warrants a new thread, that's great! It's a compliment to have your thoughts start a new thread.

 

[davel501]

I am fine with tolls to support new roads but it kills me when taxpayers pay to open a road for free and then give it to a government agency that sells it back to them a trip at a time, spreading the money around to all of their friends.

 

[Zeus2013]

I for one hate them. Living in NY, the tolls are very expensive and ridiculous. The MTA collects these tolls for road repairs, but the same roads are in crappy conditions around NYC since I can remember. The MTA collects these tolls to fund all the screw ups in their projects that are underfunded. There is s law suit pending from AAA to have congressional oversight as they are raping people on the roads, subways, and rail road.