There aren’t many non-toll alternatives to cross Pennsylvania, either the Tpk or 80. I doubt many thru trucks will want to us US22, US30, US422 or PA6 as alternate routes.

pd

Roads cost us many millions of dollars and most are free to drive on. Trucks beat up the roads far more than consumer vehicles. They should have to pay for that.

Use fees make sense, if that is where the money is spent once it is collected. I-80 has been a PA freebie for years, while you can’t go across OH, NY or MA without paying a toll.

But let me reiterate; while on a strictly personal level I’ll hate having to pay the toll, it does make sense…as long as that money goes back into improvements and maintanence, not the pockets of State Legislators…

Piltdown Man

I agree, with the caveat being (as you said) keeping the toll revenue a true “dedicated” source for highway and mass transit funding. I’m not thrilled with the new tolls, as I don’t feel they address the structural problems with the TA and regional transit authorities, but I’ll take that over an increase in the sales tax or some other form of “revenue-generation”. By the way, didn’t the main argument against turnpike privitization center around the spectre of “massive” toll hikes on the state’s highways? Funny how we seemed to resolve to cope with the devil we know.

Your all missing the point. This is just another expansion of the Turnpike Commission. Has anyone else been to Harrisburg and seen the T.C. office bldg? The structure takes up an entire city block! We would be much better off eliminating ALL toll roads in PA and imposing an extra five cents gas tax to pay for our roads MINUS the salaries of thousands of Turnpike commission workers and managers.

That would be my plan if i were elected to the general assembly.

I am not sure that many know there are independent truck drivers starving to death right now.

Many of us have lost our homes and facing forclosue just because diesel fuel has went up. A tank of fuel 2 years ago was $300.00…now a tank is $650.00. Now with more and more states wanting to fund their revenue with tolls from roads are killing us.

We pay highway road usuage taxes yearly. $550.00 for every truck we own PLUS pay extra taxes at the pump. I believe the states are being irresposible with their spending of these $.

We as American Citizens need to make the states MORE accountable…..not have them charge us more money for their mis- use of money already given to them.

Everyone wants safer trucks on the road. How are we going to accomplish that when every dime we make anymore is given back to the states? Tolls instead of maintainence????

Every truck tire we buy is $250-$350.00 each. We need 16 of them between truck and trailer.

I want to pay my fairshare….........but…...the government is getting too greedy. BTW.....trucks will be charged $150.00 going across. Cars will be $90.00.

We already pay…..at the pump….on our taxes…..when is enough…enough?????

PA toll plan: $150 one-way toll for trucks?U.S. Congressman John Peterson, R-PA, says turnpike toll increases, recently approved by the state legislature, will mean that heavy trucks will pay nearly $148.75 for a one-way trip across the state – and that the toll would eventually increase to almost $200.

Peterson and fellow Republican Congressman Phil English of Pennsylvania are opponents of the toll increases, and of Democratic Gov. Ed Rendell’s plan to turn Interstate 80 into a toll road.

In a letter to Pennsylvania Turnpike Authority head Joseph Brimmeier, OOIDA Executive Vice President Todd Spencer called it “shameful” that Brimmeier denounced the two congressmen as “hypocritical” because they have introduced two bills that would block the plan to turn I-80 into a toll road.

Do you think a heavy truck or double trailer does 50 cents/mile damage to the turnpike? Because that’s what a $200 for the length of the turnpike, and we don’t know if this includes the NE extension, the toll amounts to. I expect they do that and more.

pd

AND that is what the trucks pay $550.00 a year for.

It is called road usage taxes…...also how about the taxes they already collect for fuel???????

I believe accountabilty of what is already being paid is the issue here.

PA has approx. 51,000 trucks registered in the state.
51,000 × 550= $280,500,00.00. That is quite a chunk of change. That is not even including the fuel taxes they collect.

I believe everyone should pay ther fair share. BUT.....if the states are being irresponsible with their money it is time that someone stands accountable.

The really sad thing here is that the shippers will end up paying the difference.
The cost will be reflected in the pricing going on the store shelf.

In the end it costs all of us. Sad but true.

My friend and I are from Canada.Recently we took a road trip.We drove through Iowa,and did not pay the toll.(Not intentionally)Can anyone help me.I wanted to know the website we can go to and pay the fee online.Thanks

I personally believe that the revenue could have been better (and easier) to generate by requiring double plate car registrations… which would only, by the way, apply to new registrations. I hate the toll-highway idea!

I just crossed the state on I-80 and it struck me; why not JUST charge the truckers? Forget about the cars. This would mean that locals, who use the route for daily travel, wouldn’t be inconvenienced or hassled, but the truckers who are using the route for commerce, would be paying a usage fee. Excuse me if this idea has been floated before, but it just suddenly made a lot of sense to me, as I was maneuvering my tiny car amongst a phalanx of giant trucks…

Pilt

I watched a train, a long long train, of truck trailers on flat cars the other day. That is the way to move freight!! Also – it didn’t hold me up, none of those trailers were in front of me on the highway. And none of those trailers damaged the road.
Why are we allowing these long-distance trucks on our roads? There will always be trucks needed for local freight shipments, and to and from a rail yard. But the long-distance over the road truck should be a thing of the past. We can no longer afford their waste of fuel, road damage, and traffic delays.

I hate the way some trucks are always in the passing lane. If they are in such bad financial shape because of the fuel costs, why not slow down to save fuel? I hate driving beside these trucks, and I’m tired of them complaining about their tough times. Why don’t they slow down to save fuel, and raise their rates to cover their costs? The impact on the cost of goods in the store will be minimal. Better yet – put the truck on a train for the longest portion of the haul. Use trucks only for local deliveries.

Did someone make it “Let’s pick on Trucker’s” week?

Why don’t ALL of you narrow-minded people stop and consider how EVERY aspect of your life would be affected if the trucks just shut down tomorrow? How much does your job rely on deliveries made by those trucks? How much extra are you willing to pay to get your groceries, clothes, medical supplies and other goods transferred and transferred by rail? How long are you willing to wait to receive your goods? How about those of you who live in a major rail hub, and already have difficulties getting around, or waiting for some of those trains with a hundred cars, on a daily basis?

Road deterioration? I guess it’s easier to blame the truckers than the construction companies who cut corners on blacktop and stone, or who don’t do the proper preparation or finishing, or maybe the blacktop plant should be blamed for substandard materials, or maybe the PennDot inspectors for approving materials and workmanship that was subpar, or maybe it’s the sheer increase in volume of light-duty traffic, and quite possibly even the weather with the freezing and thawing. Find any road with deterioration, and it will be because of a combination of any of the above. I’ll bet you people blame the truckers when the Steelers lose!

As for “hating” trucks, I run I-76 and I-80 from Harrisburg to Ohio a couple times a month, and the truckers are usually the most courteous drivers on the road. They’re the ones you see swinging to the passing lane when a vehicle is broken down/parked along the roadside. Most light-duty traffic just goes barreling right by at 70mph, even if the left lane(s) is open; in spite of the fact it’s now a state law to move over if possible. The truckers are quicker to let you on an entrance ramp than the light-duty traffic, and the list goes on. The biggest danger from a tractor trailer is usually from careless, oblivious motorists who try to cut back in front of a truck too soon, or who follow too close, etc.

No, I’m not a trucker, married to a trucker, etc. I work in a medical practice. That said, I know, the cost of healthcare is ridiculous, AND if I didn’t work there, I would say the doctors are greedy, but I see first-hand the government requirements, and overhead costs and it’s not nearly as lucrative as many people think. Why don’t all of you complaining about the truckers put YOUR occupations out there, so you can be told what’s wrong with it, and how it’s contributing to the demise of our roadways, or driving our fuel prices up or for whatever else you are deeming the trucking industry to be responsible.

As far as I-80 being made into a toll road; I gladly pay the I-76 turnpike fee for the convenience of avoiding the two-lane congestion, and being assured the reoadway will be well-maintained and clear during the winter months. If making I-80 a toll road guarantees the same results, I’ll pay it. The question of HOW much to charge which vehicles is an entirely different issue.

tg

You keep talking about getting the trucks off the road, just park them; if things keep going the way they are now, OUR (America’s) truckers may do just that. Shippers won’t revert to rail; it’s too expensive, too slow, and too inconvenient… they’ll just utilize all those Mexican trucks that are now allowed across the border. At least then you’ll have something else to whine about.

You sons of bitches who keep bashing truckers need to remember one
thing…..if it were not for a trucker, you all would be NAKED,
HOMELESS, & STARVING !!! If u drink it,eat it,sleep in it,on it,or under it,wear it drive it & even wipe your ass with it…...
a proud trucker delivered it!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!Cause that
fucking train can’t get it to the grocery,hardware,clothing store.