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I can understand the frustration over the EZ-Pass deal. I haven't driven on the Thruway in YEARS, but if, because of some emergency, I have to, it appears that from a financial perspective, I'd get raped.....
Now if you don't have E-Z Pass, as I was just writing this, the rate could increase to as high as 75%.
I think they will realize that there would need to be some adjustment down from that rate, as people may take the little bit longer I-690 to Route 370 to Route 104 option from Syracuse to Rochester.
I think it discriminates against low income and less tech savvy folks. There is no reason to increase the tolls that much for non EZ pass people. If you are an out of state EZ pass holder, you are also subject to the higher tolls. Under the proposal, rates for commercial vehicles will go from $0.22 per mile to $0.30 in 2027, which is a 36% increase. So if a commercial vehicle goes from Buffalo (Exit 50) to Batavia (Exit 48) that's a $9 toll.
^Most taxes can be viewed as discriminating against lower income residents, whether it is this or the high sales tax in a state like TN due to the likelihood of said people needing goods/services and paying for them at a higher rate in relation to income.
Here is some more about the meeting that just took place in Syracuse...
From the article: "Scott Seeland, a driver for a company that transports Medicaid patients between Rochester and Oneida, is concerned about how a Thruway toll increase will affect his work.
The turnout at a public hearing suggests he is one of the few in central New York worried about the proposed toll hike.
Seeland was one of five speakers at the hearing held at the state fairgrounds on Tuesday. Thruway officials, including interim executive director Frank Hoare, attended the three-hour event.
The Thruway Authority is proposing a 5% toll increase for E-ZPass users beginning in 2024, followed by another 5% hike in 2027. There would be a 75% differential for out-of-state E-ZPass and tolls by mail users, meaning these drivers would pay a 75% higher toll than in-state E-ZPass users.
At the public hearing, the Thruway Authority provided examples of how the increase would affect common or frequent trips. The current toll to drive from Albany (exit 24) to Syracuse (exit 34A) is $5.75. With a 5% hike next year, the toll would be $6.03. It will rise to $6.34 when the second 5% increase is implemented.
Drivers who travel from Geneva (exit 42) to Rochester (exit 45) now pay a $1.07 toll. It would rise to $1.12 in 2024 and $1.17 in 2027.
Tolls are the Thruway Authority's main source of revenue. But Seeland had questions about the agency's financial decisions, from the implementation of cashless tolling to the ongoing service area improvement project. The latter is being paid for with private funds, not state toll dollars.
"You're telling me that you need to raise tolls, but you're tearing down perfectly good (rest stops)," Seeland said.
Hoare explained that the toll hike is necessary because of increased expenses to maintain the Thruway. The authority is not included in the state budget, he noted, and the last toll increase was in 2010.
Another factor is the impact that COVID-19 had on the Thruway Authority. During the pandemic, the agency lost $136 million at a time when there were fewer people traveling and using the highway.
"We think that the proposed increase is very modest," Hoare said.
One of the other speakers at the public hearing was Matt Jones, an aide to Assemblywoman Pamela Hunter, who represents a portion of the Syracuse area. Hunter was in Albany for legislative session and could not attend the hearing, so Jones read a statement from the assemblywoman.
Hunter acknowledged the need for an increase, but disagrees with "the disproportionately large burden that will be shouldered by the unbanked." Her concern is with the increased rate for tolls by mail users. For E-ZPass accounts, tolls are deducted from the user's checking account. Tolls by mail are sent to the vehicle's owner and they must return their payment.
The Thruway Authority will hold two more public hearings in Albany and Rockland counties over the next two weeks. A virtual public hearing is scheduled for Monday, June 5.
The hearings are part of the Thruway Authority's process for implementing the toll hike plan. The authority's board will vote later this year on whether to proceed with the increases."
I think it discriminates against low income and less tech savvy folks. There is no reason to increase the tolls that much for non EZ pass people. If you are an out of state EZ pass holder, you are also subject to the higher tolls. Under the proposal, rates for commercial vehicles will go from $0.22 per mile to $0.30 in 2027, which is a 36% increase. So if a commercial vehicle goes from Buffalo (Exit 50) to Batavia (Exit 48) that's a $9 toll.
All tolls end up being paid by the final user. Just another way of taxing citizens to death.
All tolls end up being paid by the final user. Just another way of taxing citizens to death.
The thing is that given that it is an interstate highway, it isn't just NY residents that get impacted, as those from outside of the state that take the highway without E-Z Pass also get hit as well. Many adjacent states have E-Z Pass and those with it will get that rate, if I'm not mistaken. Here are the states with E-Z Pass: https://www.e-zpassiag.com/about-e-z...e-can-i-use-it
..........I think they will realize that there would need to be some adjustment down from that rate, as people may take the little bit longer I-690 to Route 370 to Route 104 option from Syracuse to Rochester.
Interesting observation, as for me, given where I live, the route you've mentioned works a lot better for me, cost notwithstanding.
So folks without a checking account or credit cards will feel the impact more. Of course there is little pushback because it clips commercial truckers and out of town users. Most people in NYS are inured to rising costs, since it never ends. NYS is in a somewhat unique position because you have to use the Thruway if you are travelling through the state for at least part of your trip.
I just went from Jacksonville to Charlotte NC last weekend, a distance of over 400 miles and didn't pay a penny in tolls. In NYS $28.04 each way for a grand total of $56.08, after the new toll increase are fully implemented by 2027, the trip would be $36.12 each way for a grand total of $72.24 as an out of state EZ pass holder.
To cross the Mario Cuomo bridge, the toll will go from 6.61 to 13.56 for out of state EZ pass holders
Interesting observation, as for me, given where I live, the route you've mentioned works a lot better for me, cost notwithstanding.
Yup, if you are in Webster or anywhere nearby in the Rochester area, taking that route actually makes more sense. I think it will be more popular for those going between the two cities/areas, if the rate increases stay as is.
What makes that route even more interesting is that the new announcement in Webster and the Micron development in Clay would allow for people that may have work to do at both facilities to consider options such as Route 31/Route 481/Route 3/Route 104 or Route 31/Route 370/Route 104 to get between the two. If you go onto Google Maps, both would be a shorter drive between the two, instead of taking the Thruway. So, routes like those I described may be a couple of ways people circumvent the Thruway to get around the state.
Even to get to NYC from say WNY and CNY, you will likely see more people taking north-south routes such as Route 219, I-390 and I-81 to I-86/Route 17 or in the case of I-81, taking I-380 to I-80 to NYC to get around tolls. Some of these routes are faster than taking the Thruway anyway.
Any work done on the thruway must be done with union labor, and at the highest wages. How is that looking out for the taxpayer and being prudent?
When will NYS start looking out for the taxpayer, not the political donors?
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