ATA urges governors to reject toll increase

Sept. 7, 2011
Bill Graves, American Trucking Associations president and chief executive officer, called on Govs Chris Christie of New Jersey and Andrew Cuomo of New York to reconsider an “ill-conceived and unprecedented” toll hike that was recently approved, at their request, by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey

Bill Graves, American Trucking Associations president and chief executive officer, called on Govs Chris Christie of New Jersey and Andrew Cuomo of New York to reconsider an “ill-conceived and unprecedented” toll hike that was recently approved, at their request, by the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey.

“We urge you to veto this proposal, which will not only devastate trucking companies that serve the New York City area, but will also increase the cost of doing business in a region already regarded as among the most expensive in the nation,” wrote Graves, the former two-term governor of Kansas, in an August 25 letter.

Graves added that ATA, along with the state trucking associations in New York and New Jersey, were vehemently opposed to a plan where “a majority of new revenues will subsidize projects with no benefit to those paying the tolls.”

“The trucking industry is willing to pay its fair share for the roads and bridges we depend on,” Graves said. “But this increase will primarily pay for the authority’s other operations, notably the reconstruction of the World Trade Center.”

In his letter, Graves said the proposed tolls will be nearly three times higher than for comparable bridges nationwide. Furthermore, he said the combined effect of toll increases in the region must be considered by policymakers before moving forward.

For example, if these as well as other proposed increases in the I-95 corridor are implemented, a truck hauling goods from Baltimore MD to Manhattan will see its toll burden rise from $114.25 now to $209.25 in just three years.

Related