You would think that they haven't heard about this thing that other businesses do to bring in more profit. It's called a sale. A time where you lower your price. Amazing what would happen when it costs people less to use the same product.
Thruway Authority OKs toll hike April 25, 2008 The Associated Press contributed to this report
ALBANY — The cost of driving on the New York State Thruway is going up. The Thruway Authority’s board of directors approved a series of toll hikes today that managers of the 641-mile superhighway say will raise about $375 million over the next three years. Drivers who pay cash will see the smallest increase. Cash tolls will go up 5 percent next January and another 5 percent in January 2010. Those using the EZ-Pass electronic toll collecting system — which provides discounts as an incentive to get drivers to sign up — will see much steeper increases. Starting this July, a series of reductions in the EZ-Pass discount rates combined with higher toll rates will result in some drivers paying as much as 28 percent more than they do today. Earlier in the day, authority officials said they have been doing all they can to avoid the hike. In a statement released this morning, officials said the authority has been operating under its own cost-containment measures for years, but still needs additional revenue to continue to fund its multi-year capital improvement program. Officials said the authority has eliminated more than 450 jobs since 1995, with plans to cut at least another 50 positions by the end of 2012. Authority officials blamed state leaders in part for the toll hike, pointing out that no additional state or federal aid has been dedicated to the Thruway this year, an action they said could have led them to reconsider the toll hike. "In fact, the authority waited to present the proposal to the board for final action until after the state budget was passed," the statement said. "However, no monetary or statutory relief was provided to the authority. Had relief been provided, the authority could have pursued other options, but the increase is, now, the last resort." Authority officials said the proposed toll hike "will compliment cost-containment efforts and will enable the authority to fulfill its commitment to provide safe and reliable roads and bridges to Thruway motorists," according to the statement. Authority officials also addressed several recommendations made in an audit by state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in January, saying they have agreed to implement some suggestions, like increasing efforts to collect delinquent E-ZPass tolls and other fees. However, a recommendation to increase the amount of advertising and sponsorships along the highway is severely restricted by federal law, authority officials said, making it unlikely to generate additional revenue. Meanwhile, the suggestion of having the authority divest itself of the state Canal Corp. would require action by the state Legislature, authority officials pointed out.
ALBANY Toll booth to cost more Thruway rate increase to start with E-Z Pass BY BOB CONNER Gazette Reporter
The New York State Thruway board on Friday ignored the unanimous advice of New York’s political leaders and approved a series of toll increases that will take effect over the next 20 months. E-Z Pass rates will go up in June, and then again in January 2009 and 2010, when cash tolls go up in two 5 percent increases. Cash tolls went up 10 percent this past January, and Thruway officials said the E-Z Pass adjustment will have that program consistently offering a 5 percent discount from the cash payments. Much steeper discounts are available in a commuter E-Z Pass program, but it too will see increases in 2009 and 2010. The Thruway board did slightly modify its proposed toll increases, keeping in place an E-Z Pass discount program for some New York-based truckers, and expanding the discount for hybrid vehicles meeting fuel efficiency and emission standards. Thruway leaders including Chairman John Buono and Executive Director Michael Fleischer defended the toll increases as necessary to preserve its 2,430 miles of pavement and 807 bridges, 80 percent of which were built when the road was, in the 1950s. The toll increases, they said, are needed to fund the capital program to keep that infrastructure in good condition. Gov. David Paterson and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli denounced the toll increases the day before the board acted. On Friday, DiNapoli spokeswoman Jennifer Cunningham said more audits on the Authority will be forthcoming, and one already is under way. One was completed earlier this year, also. She said the Thruway board should have waited until the new audits were done and more cost-saving measures were identified. Fleischer said the Authority has responded to the comptroller’s first audit, and some of the actions, such as pursuing E-Z Pass deadbeats, were already under way before the audit recommended them. On Friday, the board approved a contract with a company to collect those debts. But it is open to new ideas, he said. Assembly Minority Leader James Tedisco, R- Schenectady, issued a statement Friday denouncing the toll increases and pushing his conference’s bill to prevent the Authority from raising tolls without legislative approval. “We can’t just go out and do the political thing,” Buono said after the meeting. “No one wants to do this, but there’s a reality out there. If you hit a pothole at 60 mph, you’re going to be dead.” Kendra Adams, acting president of the state Motor Truck Association, said the trucking industry cannot afford these increases, especially given the high cost of gas. She said it wants the Canal Corp. separated from the Thruway Authority so that motorists’ tolls no longer pay $80 million per year for upkeep of the canal. Buono has said he favors that separation, and DiNapoli said it should be considered. However, the governor is trying to cut state costs, not increase them, and no one has suggested any way of paying for the canal apart from tapping state funds if it were to be separated from the Thruway Authority. Asked if truckers might stay off the highway because of the toll increases, John Bryan, the Authority’s chief financial officer, said it has been determined that any such diversion would be minimal. High fuel prices, he said, may help keep truckers on the Thruway rather than traveling less-direct routes where stop-and-go traffic burns more fuel. Adams said some local truckers may seek alternative routes, although it helps that they will still get the E-Z Pass discount. While strongly opposing the toll increases, she said the Authority does do a good job keeping the road and bridges in shape. By the time the increases are phased in, they are supposed to bring in an additional $125 million in annual revenue. Thruway leaders said they have been economizing, eliminating more than 450 jobs since 1995, and planning to eliminate 50 more through attrition by 2011. Their budget is up 3.2 percent this year, they said, and they plan to hold to that rate of increase over the next few years. They also note their budget increase is significantly less than the state’s budget increase. One board member, Jeffrey Williams, who is a strong advocate of separating the Canal Corp. from the Authority, voted against the toll increases. Also at the meeting, the board designated Erin Crotty as vice chair, No. 2 to Buono. She is a former environmental conservation commissioner, and, like most board members, an appointee of former Gov. George Pataki, a Republican. Paterson and DiNapoli are Democrats. The former vice chair recently retired from the board. The Associated Press reported that most drivers interviewed Friday were not happy. “I don’t like it,” said Ron Kuvik of Massena, while stopping at the Clarence rest area on his way to Erie, Pa. “I don’t have any idea why they’re doing it. We’re already taxed highest in New York state and as far as I’m concerned, it’s taxation without representation. No one asks the little people.” Paterson’s statement said: “The Thruway toll increase is unfair to drivers who are being asked to tighten their belts every day in these troubled economic times. I have asked my agencies for acrossthe-board cuts of 3.35 percent in their operations. I am also undertaking a comprehensive review of the budget to further reduce spending. For the Authority to increase tolls now, and also plan 5 percent increases in the following two years without a commitment to take every possible step to reduce spending, runs against the state’s goal of fiscal restraint in the face of a national economic downturn.”
It makes one wonder who really runs the Thruway, the Thruway Authority or the NYS Government elected by the people. The Thruway Authority certainly seems immune to any requests made by the state not to raise the tolls. I also agree with Ron Kuvik that we now live in a state/county where we have taxation without representation and it's time for a change in the way government is run. It's time for that tea party we talked about b4.
The Thruway toll hike approved Friday is an insult to all users of the 641-mile highway, but most of all to upstaters, whose economic wellbeing is threatened by the ever-increasing tolls. Thruway officials’ explanation for the latest round of hikes is that fewer people are using the toll road these days, while maintenance costs are rising. Why are fewer people using the highway? Could it have anything to do with the 25 percent-35 percent hike in tolls just three years ago? Not according to Thruway officials, who blame higher gas prices. Indeed those have finally started to put a dent in auto travel. But it’s folly to think that higher tolls don’t also discourage motorists from using the Thruway. And as for a business model that suggests the solution to falling sales is a hike in prices, well, let’s just say that it sounds about right for a government agency. Granted, the Thruway Authority needs money to improve its roads and bridges, some of which are in pretty rough shape. But there’s a way to balance the equation without raising tolls: It’s called cutting costs. The Authority brags that it has cut 450 jobs since E-ZPass got started, and that it plans to cut another 50 jobs by 2012. That’s not nearly enough, given that more than 60 percent of the highway’s tolls are now collected electronically. The toll collection staff is down just 35 percent. The Authority should be doing everything possible to encourage even more motorists to sign up for E-ZPass, thereby allowing it to cut even more jobs and save more money. But what is it doing? Reducing the E-ZPass discount, effectively raising the tolls paid by these customers as much as 28 percent. More brilliant business thinking. The Authority ought to have listened to Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli and Gov. David Paterson, both of whom opposed the toll hike. It’s not politics, it’s economics: The higher the tolls go, the worse it’s going to be for New Yorkers, particular those upstate.
It makes one wonder who really runs the Thruway, the Thruway Authority or the NYS Government elected by the people. The Thruway Authority certainly seems immune to any requests made by the state not to raise the tolls. I also agree with Ron Kuvik that we now live in a state/county where we have taxation without representation and it's time for a change in the way government is run. It's time for that tea party we talked about b4.
that would be the other monkey on our backs.......
BTW I drove to colonie center and central ave was a ghost road.....like it could be after 'the bomb'....I could have raced straight down it either way without interference....same with altamont ave.......who are they collecting tolls from---yup, you got it the truckers and their corporations.....
transportation is another way to exploit the masses..........
...you are a product of your environment, your environment is a product of your priorities, your priorities are a product of you......
The replacement of morality and conscience with law produces a deadly paradox.
STOP BEING GOOD DEMOCRATS---STOP BEING GOOD REPUBLICANS--START BEING GOOD AMERICANS
We recently went on a vacation to Indiana. We decided to drive and see the country along the way, allowing us to stop whenever and wherever we chose. Gas, hotels and food costs were all more expensive than in the past — there were no surprises there. The one thing that was a surprise, is that as soon as you leave New York, no more tolls. Not in Pennsylvania, Ohio or Indiana. Nice highways and no one standing there with their hands out. It wasn’t until we were only one mile back into New York that the booths started up again. Why is it that we are one of the most taxed states in the country, have more income from the state lottery than any other, and also have to pay tolls on roads whose construction costs were paid for years ago? Where is all the money going? When you enter our state the sign should read, “Welcome to New York, hope you brought your wallet. You are going to need it! Tolls ahead.” JEFFREY S. REED KATIE L. BENWARE Rotterdam
We are one of the highest taxed states because the NYS legislature needs massive amounts to fund our welfare programs and pork projects in this state. If Jeff and Katie had driven south they would have hit tolls in Jersey, Delaware, and Maryland as I travel that direction a couple of times a year and the tolls sure add up quick.
Regarding the recent article concerning the traffic levels on the Thruway: Surprise, surprise. Keep raising the price and guess what? Users find alternate routes or just don't travel.
The Thruway brass doesn't get it when it comes to managing cost and income. If they really want to reduce cost of operation, don't have so many people walking around on the payroll.
The Thruway Authority should put in more easy pass lanes and more fly-by lanes to keep traffic moving smoothly and then eliminate some jobs thru early retirement.
The Thruway Authority should put in more easy pass lanes and more fly-by lanes to keep traffic moving smoothly and then eliminate some jobs thru early retirement.
I don't know about eliminating jobs, but they were talking about more easy pass lanes. Especially at 24.
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
I travel from NYS to Ocean City Maryland a couple of times every year and NYS is the only state that doesn't have high speed fly-by lanes. NYS is years behind every state on the East coast and I believe it's due to too much politics involved in decisions made in this state.
I don't know how NYS can be behind the times. We pay out a fortune in taxes and what are we getting for it? We should be the most high tech, up to date state in the country!!
When the INSANE are running the ASYLUM In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. -- Friedrich Nietzsche
“How fortunate for those in power that people never think.” Adolph Hitler
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