Is it Really Tough Times for Toll Roads Ahead?
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director The website Chief Investment Officer posted in June a lament for how tough it is for toll roads right now. Here’s a quote, “The typically stable asset class has been hit as traffic levels have dropped 40 percent to 85 percent globally, S&P analysts say.” So the website tells […]
Big Changes for Toll Roads in New Jersey and Pennsylvania
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director Despite NMA and public opposition plus general condemnation for holding hearings during a pandemic, the New Jersey Turnpike Authority voted unanimously on May 27 to increase tolls on two of the state’s largest toll roads. The increase takes effect on September 13, 2020, and would increase the average Turnpike […]
Motorists Vote 2020: Arkansas Ballot Issue 1
By NMA member, Tom Beckett Editor’s Note: A couple of months ago, Tom wrote the NMA National Office an email with some information on what is going on in his home state of Arkansas with regards to infrastructure funding. We asked him to write more formally about the situation, and we feel his insight gives […]
The Jigsaw Future of Car Ownership
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director Editor’s Note: This post first appeared as NMA E-Newsletter #416 from January 2017. Owning a car has always been one of those milestones in a person’s life. When we were kids we dreamed about what kind of car we would own in the future. We dreamed of dragging Main […]
New Jersey takes Advantage of the COVID-19 Crisis by raising Tolls: NMA Tolling in America Blog for April 13, 2020
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director The Tolling in America Blog is a biweekly feature of the NMA blog. We want to bring the issues of tolling and infrastructure funding to our supporters. Please feel free to comment below the post. New Jersey takes Advantage of the COVID-19 Crisis by raising Tolls Written with assistance […]
Roadblocks and Checkpoints during the COVID-19 Crisis: Driving in America Blog for April 3, 2020
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director In my position as the NMA Communications Director, I skim or read hundreds of motoring news stories every day to bring you the news and to share trends and perspectives. Up until this week, I rarely ran across articles about checkpoints and roadblocks. The COVID-19 crisis is scary enough, […]
Nothing as Permanent as a Temporary Solution—Driving in America: Arkansas Report Part 2
By NMA Member Tom Beckett Editor’s Note: This post is the second in at least a three-part on the complicated funding for roads in a mostly rural state. Check out Part 1 of the Arkansas Report. Back in 2012, Arkansas voters approved a half-cent sales tax increase to generate revenue dedicated to transportation. With this […]
Driving in America—Arkansas Report Part 1
By NMA Member Tom Beckett This is the first of a series of occasional reports on the activity of the Arkansas legislature regarding highway transportation. I’ll cover not only various legislative acts but also other things of motorist interest that come to my attention here in the Natural State. To begin, an overview of how […]
Virginia Tax Relief—Right!
Car dealers are amateurs when it comes to the bait-and-switch. The true masters of this art are politicians such as Virginia Governor Ralph Northam. He tantalizes empty-pocketed taxpayers whose pockets are empty, with lower taxes in exchange for higher ones. Of course, he doesn’t quite put it that way, much less explain what he’s up to, […]
Shenanigans Abound in the Washington State Ballot Initiative over Car Fees: NMA E-Newsletter #575
Motorists are not cash cows, and it is time elected officials stop treating us as such! In Washington State, Tim Eyman decided he didn’t think it was fair for everyone in the state to pay for big city transit projects through ever increasing vehicle registration fees (or car tabs, as the locals call them). Anger […]