[East of the River]

I voted no. Why do we need to add more bureaucracy and inefficiency into collecting taxes? It would require new infrastructure, new departments etc. seems like a waste only to add a new way to raise revenue that as someone mentioned could be easily raised further in the future.

[Mike 75]

No tolls as Hartford will find a way to spend it on anything but the roads. The state has a serious spending problem that will not be solved with more revenue via tolls.

[Aery11]

I pass through CT a lot and I am fine with paying tolls on major roads however I am beginning to really object to the idea of there being no cash booths at all. Charge me a bit extra, give me one ticket to go through several states if you want to coordinate and cut down on the number of booths (that would be great too!) but I want to pay cash and get it over with. I am not so much a tourist but many who pass through the northeastern states are and I am not sure that eliminating all cash booths is such a great idea.


I do not want another bill arriving in a mailbox I am not at for sometimes months at a time and not being able to pay it if I don't know about it or if all I can pay with from another country is a means that will cost me an even higher amount (for exchange rate or extra fees of some kind) and to incur extra fees/penalties too for being late, etc.


It is either that or there should be some way to calculate my route perhaps when I arrive in Maine at a single 24/7 booth at an onramp to 95 for instance, prepay a card that would work as a temporary pass at least on all the eastern seaboard and as far west as perhaps Chicago and down, and use that for the duration of my trip through many states back and forth or even longer if $ remain on it.

[robr2]

What you are looking for is EZ Pass which works along the east coast and out to Chicago. I'm sure any CT toll will utilize EZ Pass.

[Stylo]

Originally Posted by Aery11

I pass through CT a lot and I am fine with paying tolls on major roads however I am beginning to really object to the idea of there being no cash booths at all. Charge me a bit extra, give me one ticket to go through several states if you want to coordinate and cut down on the number of booths (that would be great too!) but I want to pay cash and get it over with. I am not so much a tourist but many who pass through the northeastern states are and I am not sure that eliminating all cash booths is such a great idea.


I do not want another bill arriving in a mailbox I am not at for sometimes months at a time and not being able to pay it if I don't know about it or if all I can pay with from another country is a means that will cost me an even higher amount (for exchange rate or extra fees of some kind) and to incur extra fees/penalties too for being late, etc.


It is either that or there should be some way to calculate my route perhaps when I arrive in Maine at a single 24/7 booth at an onramp to 95 for instance, prepay a card that would work as a temporary pass at least on all the eastern seaboard and as far west as perhaps Chicago and down, and use that for the duration of my trip through many states back and forth or even longer if $ remain on it.

Highly doubt any new tolls will be built with cash booths.

NYC is slowly replacing them all.

[Aery11]

Originally Posted by robr2

What you are looking for is EZ Pass which works along the east coast and out to Chicago. I'm sure any CT toll will utilize EZ Pass.

Since I have never needed or had an EZ-Pass, could you please explain to me how they work? Are they just pre-payment cards or are you billed for what you use - or can you choose which way you want to work in that regard? If they are prepayment cards, fine. When I run out I just buy another then? Or do I put more $ on some 'account' online (which of course houses all my personal information so they can actually track my movement and know it is me when I drive through a 'toll area' using an EZ-Pass)? Or does the system bill you through snail mail after the fact only (on a monthly basis?) and require a credit card or debit card or bank account information to pay it?


The last option is the most problematic for someone like me in my current circumstance (going back and forth from NC to NS - in and out of the country - and often gone in either direction for months at a time .. and though I have places to stay I am not quite sure yet where I live some years to be honest - and mail can't be forwarded in either direction any more across the border .. this is not an easy thing to cope with so I have now tried my best to eliminate ALL mail ... except junk mail). Note: I am in better shape than many Canadian tourists might be in that I have access to some financial services in the States that most won't have but a paper billing system would be very much an issue with me.


It must notify me by email though when there is a bill or a need to fill up my account if it is an online system - texts won't be accepted on my phone and I cannot pay on the road either unless in cash - my phone has no internet access so I would have to stop, haul out my huge laptop, find some wifi in a public place where I would prefer not to do financial transactions just to check on my bill/account status and/or to pay.


I don't like the idea of the second either but if there is only one main road and it is a toll road with absolutely no booths where cash is accepted then I guess I may have to deal with that one too.


The first, if there will be NO cash booths and I have to use a pass of some kind, is my preference. Just let me buy a temporary pass with cash somewhere at a facility that is easy to find along a main highway where EZ-Pass is required and which is open 24/7.


I am not trying to be difficult here - but, often when people vote for this kind of thing they don't consider much more than their own situation and that can have negative consequences for many others when design considerations totally miss the bus for them.

[Raider111]

Originally Posted by Aery11

Since I have never needed or had an EZ-Pass, could you please explain to me how they work? Are they just pre-payment cards or are you billed for what you use - or can you choose which way you want to work in that regard? If they are prepayment cards, fine. When I run out I just buy another then? Or do I put more $ on some 'account' online (which of course houses all my personal information so they can actually track my movement and know it is me when I drive through a 'toll area' using an EZ-Pass)? Or does the system bill you through snail mail after the fact only (on a monthly basis?) and require a credit card or debit card or bank account information to pay it?


The last option is the most problematic for someone like me in my current circumstance (going back and forth from NC to NS - in and out of the country - and often gone in either direction for months at a time .. and though I have places to stay I am not quite sure yet where I live some years to be honest - and mail can't be forwarded in either direction any more across the border .. this is not an easy thing to cope with so I have now tried my best to eliminate ALL mail ... except junk mail). Note: I am in better shape than many Canadian tourists might be in that I have access to some financial services in the States that most won't have but a paper billing system would be very much an issue with me.


It must notify me by email though when there is a bill or a need to fill up my account if it is an online system - texts won't be accepted on my phone and I cannot pay on the road either unless in cash - my phone has no internet access so I would have to stop, haul out my huge laptop, find some wifi in a public place where I would prefer not to do financial transactions just to check on my bill/account status and/or to pay.


I don't like the idea of the second either but if there is only one main road and it is a toll road with absolutely no booths where cash is accepted then I guess I may have to deal with that one too.


The first, if there will be NO cash booths and I have to use a pass of some kind, is my preference. Just let me buy a temporary pass with cash somewhere at a facility that is easy to find along a main highway where EZ-Pass is required and which is open 24/7.


I am not trying to be difficult here - but, often when people vote for this kind of thing they don't consider much more than their own situation and that can have negative consequences for many others when design considerations totally miss the bus for them.

EZ Pass is easy peazy. It's prepaid online - one time setup. You can then set it to auto-replenish once it gets down to a certain level. You never have to do anything else again - forever. Never get a bill, just a monthly statement via email. They mail you the transponder and you stick it on the windshield and go.
If you knew or understood commuting traffic in lower CT, you would know that cash booths are never gonna happen.

[robr2]

As noted, EZ Pass is an electronic transponder that you attach to your windshield:



You can get them from any state that uses EZ Pass and that state may offer discounts if you are a resident of that state. The most convenient (IMHO) is auto replenishment via credit or debit card. You put an initial amount on the account and when the money runs low, your cc or dc is billed automatically.

You will have to put your vehicle and license plate information in your account on-line so that your plate can be matched to your transponder. It may happen occasionally that the transponder isn't read and the character recognition of the camera system will figure out the correct account. That happened to me last month for the first time in 13 years of having an EZ Pass.

If you do go from NC to NS regularly, you'll see that the MA Pike went cashless in October 2016.

[JayCT]

I got my EZ Pass from Massachusetts. It was free because I lived in an adjacent state (Connecticut) that did not offer EZ Pass. I believe other states charge for the transponders. It has been great on recent trips through Massachusetts, New Hampshire and New York. Just breeze on through the toll station. I highly recommend it if you travel anywhere along the east coast. Jay

[SailCT]

Originally Posted by kidyankee764

So, what do you think, CT residents? We're in terrible fiscal shape and the residents of this state can only be taxed so much. Are tolls part of the answer?

* CT statistically has the third busiest highways in the nation (http://www.tripnet.org/docs/Intersta...06-27-2016.pdf)
* CT, aside from VT, is the only state from Maine to Illinois to North Carolina without an EZ pass network
* Would be open-road tolling (not manned booths), so traffic jams would be a non-issue
* Could generate $2.5 billion per year in revenue - subtract federal funding from that however, since we'd lose that.

Considering a significant percentage of people who use our highways are from out of state, who pass through and contribute nothing other than wear and tear, it makes sense to collect some sort of revenue from them - especially seeing most already have EZ pass.

Editorial: Connecticut Really Does Need Tolls - Hartford Courant

We just need to legalize recreational marijuana, the taxes will take care of all the shortfalls.