Toll Hike Delayed?

Posted on January 21, 2009 by billmanzi

It appears pretty certain that Governor Deval Patrick and new Transportation Secretary Jim Aloisi will manage to get the Massachusetts Turnpike to postpone the toll increases announced a couple of months back and scheduled to be voted on tommorow. The meeting of the Pike Board has now been characterized as a “discussion” of tolls, rather than a vote on tolls. The Governor’s long awaited “transportation reform” bill will be introduced before any toll increases are contemplated, although that reform package has been promised for some time now. The resistance to a toll hike of that magnitude has opened the door for the increase in the gas tax that will surely be a part of the Governor’s package.

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2 Responses to Toll Hike Delayed?

  1. Fred Mertz says:
    January 21, 2009 at 9:38 am

    Can’t wait to read about the reform package, because the numbers thrown around in that TPC report were surprising, to say the least. I hope the resistance to either tax increase remains until a bottom line, sustainable budget is proposed.

    -FM

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  2. BOB LEBLANC says:
    January 21, 2009 at 12:08 pm

    Everyone needs to understand that for every dime of tolls not collected..the taxpayers need to make up that dime out of sales or income tax or gas tax revenue…bonds need to be paid off……and the more money diverted from general revenues..the more cuts local aid will take!

    Now..with all the talk about consolidation and ending duplication of services…and months of debate about “reform”..why does the Legislature not just give the Governor the power to cut administrative budgets of authorities..and impose consilidation right now??

    Sen Badddour says there is $3 billion in waste..let’s cut that right now before the sky falls in and local services are decimated.

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