quote:

Originally posted by TigerDore:
There is nothing I resent more than a toll on an interstate highway that was paid for by my tax dollars already. It's a scam, it's thievery.

But, whether an interstate or toll-funded thoroughfare, tollways are one of the greatest examples of government waste one could ever illustrate. Toll collection points are supposedly created to fund the building of the road, but they end up being nothing more than a money furnace used to prop up the government bureaucracy created to collect the toll in the first place.



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The only interstate tolls I can think of in Houston are 'optional' (I10, I69, I45 express lanes) and are part of the HOV system, basically letting you pay a toll to utilize the HOV lane when solo.

Tolls here in NC are pretty reasonable. I pay $4.72 per day both ways to from work, money well spent. Traffic can really suck around here, and the toll road is the least aggravating.

I bought a house back in April, and to live half the distance that I am now, which would allow me to use surface roads with aggravation, it would have cost me about $50k more than I paid. I can pay for a lot of tolls with $50k.

That being said, I used to live in the Houston area and tolls there are a complete racket. The tolls on the big toll roads were supposed to disappear once the road construction was paid off but that never happened. The Harris County Toll Road Authority makes so much money that why would they give that up? In certain cases, toll roads are routed in manner that favors the friends and colleagues of the decision makers.

Typical E-Zpass for my 5 vehicles is $220 per month. They charge my credit card twice a month for $120. When I first got it, they would take $50 out at a time.

quote:

Originally posted by P250UA5:


The only interstate tolls I can think of in Houston are 'optional' ....

I understand that. I am talking about places like I-90 where it isn't optional or wasn't optional the last time I was there.



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quote:

Originally posted by ChuckFinley:
I was shocked when they took the toll off the Coronado bridge.

For decades the blue bloods and blue hairs wanted it there to dissuade the commoners from coming to their island, unless it was to work at North Island and then leave.

I was there (in California) when the bridge was built. The elites on Coronado "island" didn't want a bridge at all, for the reasons you mentioned. When the bridge was first built (it is beautiful, BTW) the lighting was just some strip lights under the railing of the sidewalls--there was nothing on the bridge more than about 3 feet above the road surface. I will tell you it was SCARY driving that bridge! I noted in later years that they added little light poles to the bridge.

flashguy

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
Typical E-Zpass for my 5 vehicles is $220 per month. They charge my credit card twice a month for $120. When I first got it, they would take $50 out at a time.

Wow. $2640 per year PLUS no telling how much in gasoline tax. You should be able to glide to work on gold plated roads for that!

Not many toll roads/bridges around here, but I use the pass and get the discount. As far as tracking your movements, they do. Like your cell phone and your late model car and the untold number of cameras mounted everywhere.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

quote:

Originally posted by GTO:
Our toll costs me $5 to get to work. I contribute around $1000 each year.

Do you haven an alternative route you could take or is it just not feasible time-wise or worth the hassle?

It would cost more to go around the toll bridge. Tacoma Narrows bridge from Gig Harbor to Tacoma. Both money and time. Not practical,

Around Houston isn't bad. For me it's only one toll to the airport each way. So given I fly one long trip per week, that comes out to only $3.00/week for tolls on a round trip to/from IAH. But that's just to work and back. Seems I see a $40 charge to my account about every 4-6 weeks to bring up the balance.

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Originally posted by Edmond:
Illinois did it very sneaky many years ago. They tried to say that if you got one of the automated toll passes, you would be saving money. But the fact was that they simply doubled the cost of cash tolls.

We have lots of tolls here in Central Florida which start around $1.25. While it doesn’t sound like much, the volume of tolls makes them expensive.

In 1959 they (Illinois) started the tolls but they said in 10 years the toll road would be paid for and the toll booths would be removed. But in typical Illinois democrat style the tolls are still there and higher than ever.

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
Typical E-Zpass for my 5 vehicles is $220 per month. They charge my credit card twice a month for $120. When I first got it, they would take $50 out at a time.

I'm over $200 a month for my work vehicle, my company pays it. I get reimbursed for all vehicle related expenses. Personally I spend $50 a year on tolls and a couple hundred on gas. Best part is wife pays my personal car E-ZPass, thanks honey. I've seen the 66 as high as $49-50 bucks in the morning, I've already paid nearly $5 in tolls on what used to be referred to as The Toll Road now it's just a toll road.

If ya gotta pay tolls, they do make it more convenient... and more importantly SAFER. You're not digging around for change or trying to get your wallet out of your back pccket as you're coming up on stopped traffic.

The HOT Lane tolls in VA are free if you have the correct number of people in the car, but for that you have to make sure you have the better transponder that has the "HOV" switch on it.

quote:

Originally posted by HRK:
I'd rather be on the toll road than taxpayer roads.

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Toll roads are a god send, more idiots prefer to stay on the freebee roads...

Here in Louisville, 2 new bridges, out of the 3 over the Ohio River, were built at taxpayer expense of $3+ Billion and opened just a few years ago. These FedGov taxpayer-funded bridges are TOLLED, supposedly to help pay off the govt bonds!

Ever since, the company that is supposed to collect these tolls has been experiencing “problems” with their billing operations. “Non-payment” of mailed-out billing results in being flagged on vehicle registration requirements, even though payments were made.

And now, the transportation departments of both Indiana and Kentucky want to completely shut down the third (untolled) bridge for repairs (estimated for 2 years), which would thus force ALL north-south and east-west traffic crossing the Ohio River at Louisville to use the already taxpayer funded but TOLLED bridges.

So, no, there is NO advantage to tolled bridges/highways that were built with taxpayer funds.

And here’s an article which further details the “problems” identified in the audit of the bridge tolling company.



https://www.wdrb.com/in-depth/...09-d73b993c3f39.html

Cross the George Washington Bridge in an 18 wheeler, if you want toll shock.

quote:

Originally posted by smlsig:
I drove South through Illinois and Chicago last month and the dam tolls were almost $50!!

You went through the Chicago Skyway...that will cost ya! Avoid it next time.

I don’t have a problem with toll per se..but I get irritated when they don’t give you a chance to pay it. In FL or Texas, they don’t give you a chance to pay it there....FL makes you pay an admin fee even. Texas just charged my rental car company.

What do Sovereign Citizens think about tolls? Must be some good videos out there!

I avoid toll roads as much as I can, but in the DFW area there are a few that simply can't be avoided unless you go 30 - 45 minutes to drive around them. The George Bush is one. To get to the Plano area from where I live on the FW side takes about 30 - 35 minutes on the Bush at a cost of about $2. Driving on the free roads puts that trip at over an hour with all of the aggravation of congestion and many bottle necks. We've got toll tags on both vehicles which also come in handy for short term parking at the airports.

I take a toll-road to work every day. I could avoid it and take city streets but IMO my time is worth more than the toll.

I try to avoid toll roads because of the increasing cost. But sometimes you have to go through them to save time.

Some places now have automated toll systems. They take a picture of your plate where you enter and where you leave and send you a bill.

With a service fee tacked on, of course.

quote:

Originally posted by BamaJeepster:

quote:

Originally posted by rtquig:
Typical E-Zpass for my 5 vehicles is $220 per month. They charge my credit card twice a month for $120. When I first got it, they would take $50 out at a time.

Wow. $2640 per year PLUS no telling how much in gasoline tax. You should be able to glide to work on gold plated roads for that!

My thought as well. Put that money into an IRA instead.