Quoted from bumblethru

Although no one, including myself is happy with any increase, I don't think that Gov. Thomas Dewey envisioned what the Thruway would look like today. From EZ Pass to an authority that employs many to the increase in traffic. I don't think any of us envisioned what it is today..... back 50 years ago.

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AROUND NY

Thruway asks 45 percent toll boost for big trucks

ALBANY — The New York State Thruway Authority on Wednesday decided to seek public input on what a Cuomo administration appointee called a “modest toll increase” of 45 percent for big trucks, and more toll increases may be on the way for all drivers.

“That’s a huge chunk,” said Kendra L. Adams, executive director of the New York State Motor Truck Association. “It’s outrageous.”

In another surprise to trucking operators, the Thruway Authority said the toll increase for trucks with three or more axles won’t be used to pay for the upcoming replacement of the Tappan Zee Bridge, which carries traffic over the Hudson River between Rockland and Westchester counties. In a letter to board members, Thruway Executive Director Thomas Madison said the Tappan Zee Bridge project “will be addressed with separate financing.”

— Associated Press

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More Backlash Against Toll Hike on Truckers
Posted on May 31, 2012 at 11:09 am by Politics on the Hudson in

More Backlash Against Toll Hike on Truckers
Posted by: Jon Campbell - Posted in Uncategorized on May 31, 2012
The state Thruway Authority’s decision to begin the process of hiking tolls on most commercial truck traffic is already receiving significant pushback from truckers and lawmakers.

Yesterday, the authority’s board voted to get the ball rolling on a 45 percent toll increase—termed by Board Chairman Howard Milstein as “modest”—on vehicles with three or more axles. The hike, which first needs to be subjected to an environmental review and public hearings before it can be implemented, would apply to the toll portions of the state’s superhighway, as well as the Tappan Zee Bridge.

Late yesterday evening, Senate Transportation Committee Chairman Charles Fuschillo, R-Nassau County, issued a statement blasting the proposed increase.

“A 45 percent toll increase would dramatically raise costs on trucking companies that are transporting goods across the state,” he said. “While this is characterized a commercial toll increase, businesses will not be the only ones affected. Ultimately, consumers will pay for these cost increases in the form of higher prices on all types of goods.”

For good measure, Fuschillo closed with a pun: “I urge the Thruway Authority to put the brakes on this toll increase and continue to find savings internally through improved efficiencies as a
way to improve its finances.”

The toll hike, which Thruway Authority officials said would be paired with cuts to the agency’s operations, was also panned in a statement today by the NYS Motor Trucks Association.

“The majority of trucking companies in New York State are small businesses that can’t afford another toll increase. Over $1 billion in thruway toll revenue in the past decade has been used to fund the canal system,” association President Kendra Adams said in a statement. “If the Thruway wants to increase tolls they first need to stop spending $100 million a year on the canals. Commerce, jobs and road infrastructure are more important than leisure boating.”