Are Tolls already a Done Deal when Officials ask for Public Comments?
Even before the COVID-19 crisis, funding new roads and bridges has been challenging. Inevitably, the idea of creating tolls to fund new builds or rebuilds comes up for discussion. Sometimes toll roads are ramrodded through with little public input as happened in Florida recently. Residents in San Clemente, California, have been organizing for years against […]
Tolls in America—a New Reality?
Private toll companies and state toll agencies have run up against a funding crisis just like the rest of the country. As mentioned in the last Tolling in America blog, if private toll companies are a part of a PPP or Public-Private Partnership, they might bail (as has been done before) if the money they […]
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 […]
More Fallout in Pennsylvania over Turnpike’s Elimination of 500 Jobs
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director The technology revolution grinds on, and more jobs will be eliminated as more companies realize they can automate functions. That’s exactly what happened in Pennsylvania during the COVID-19 Crisis. Due to the pandemic, the state’s turnpike commission stopped accepting cash payments for tolls due to safety and announced this […]
Driving Across the Country in the Time of the COVID-19 Crisis and Civil Unrest
By Bob Morrow, Montana NMA Member In late May, I had to fly from Montana back to the Buffalo, New York area to pick up my dad’s car and drive it back to Montana. Dad is 84 and can’t drive anymore. I grew up near Buffalo, but I’ve been living in Montana for most of […]
Summer Update from the ALLIANCE FOR TOLL-FREE INTERSTATES
Editor’s Note: The ATFI is a coalition (of which the NMA is a member) which work tirelessly to maintain the longstanding policy of protecting existing interstates from new tolls. ATFI’s Charlie Kiefer has given the NMA permission to showcase the summer update. Due to the current global pandemic caused by COVID-19, the tolling industry has […]
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 […]
Urban activists and officials dishonestly use “temporary” pilot projects to impose permanent policies
Editor’s Note: This post originally appeared on the Washington State Policy Center Blog and was written by Mariya Frost, director of the Center’s Cole Center for Transportation. Ms. Frost has given the NMA permission to use her post dated May 28, 2020. Not letting “a crisis go to waste,” urban activists and public officials in […]
Opposition comes Together to Oppose Federal Bailout for Toll Operators: NYC Congestion Pricing now Iffy
By Shelia Dunn, NMA Communications Director The Newspaper. Com reported this month that traffic is down two-thirds on US toll roads. This downturn in traffic indeed threatens the revenue model of the foreign companies that operate them. So much so, that earlier in the month, the International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Authority asked the federal […]
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 […]