Mass Turnpike board united on toll increase but divided on allocation (UPDATE)

The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority board, united on the need to garner an extra $28m in revenue on the metropolitan system divided sharply, Monday, over how to distribute the increases as between the Turnpike Boston-MA128 and the harbor tunnels, and on whether to encourage an increase in transponder use. At the end of a three hour session the board voted 3/2 for the 1999 "25/50" plan that staff had advanced - 25c extra on the Turnpike (taking cash tolls to $1.25) and 50c extra at the tunnels (taking cash tolls to $3.50).

Mary Connaughton, the most independent and outspoken board member led the opposition, urging:

- a 25c increase in cash tolls only on the Turnpike at Allston & Weston plazas and a freeze on transponder ("Fast Lane") tolls

- a tunnel increase for cars paying cash of $1.50, transponders $1.25 up

- 3 axle and other commercial vehicles would be subject to a 75% increase

Connaughton reportedly held the upper hand during the first two hours. Agreement seemed to be reached to defer the vote on the fine details of her proposal until staff and consultants could verify estimates of revenue. Bernard Cohen the board chairman agreed with Connaughton that the new toll structure should place more of the burden on users of the eastern tunnel facilities while sharpening incentives to use transponders.

Costs of toll collection by transponder is about one quarter the cost of collecting a cash toll (7c v 29c).

Mary Jane O'Meara, executive director and her staff however were deadset against any further delay saying this could jeopardize the Turnpike's bond rating, threaten an urgent but tricky securities swap refinancing, and would leave too little time to implement the higher tolls by January 1.

In an informal meeting during a break O'Meara talked chairman Cohen out of the Connaughton proposal.

Cohen explained his change of position afterward: ""On reflection, I think... many of us realized, that the need to get started with stabilizing the authority's finances by raising the toll in January was paramount."

Connaughton told us this morning she feels the Turnpike missed an opportunity to improve its standing with the public. She says the public hearings showed strong public sentiment for putting most of the costs of the Big Dig on travelers actually using Big Dig facilities rather than piling on western tollpayers.  Eastern harbor tunnel drivers are much more likely to use the Big Dig than western tollpayers.

She said: "The board agreed the 1998 plan is inequitable. We had a chance to move to a more equitable toll structure, far from perfect, but better, a step in the right direction. Instead we implemented this old 1998 plan which is quite irrelevant, drawn up in a seemingly arbitrary fashion before widespread Fast Lane (electronic tolling). It doesn't make any sense to miss such an opportunity for reform to restore public confidence."
Connaughton says staff failed to respond adequately to a board resolution of the previous meeting requesting them to cost alternatives to the 1999 plan that put more emphasis on tolling the eastern facilities.

Connaughton favors moving eventually to a system that distributes tolls more broadly according to costs. Major cost has been the Big Dig's north-south I-93 through the center of Boston, so far completely untolled.

Judy M. Pagliuca joined with Connaughton to vote against the 25/50c plan.

The toll increases are a stopgap measure with further raises to be considered next year.

HNTB is now doing traffic and revenue advice to the Turnpike Authority, after criticism of work done by URS.

REACTION: Mary Connaughton commented on this: "I'm not sure I had the upper hand (before the break), more that there was genuine interest in reviewing the proposal and sympathy with equity issue.  I don't think Cohen ever actually agreed with putting more to the tunnels, but wanted to see what would happen if the proposal was tweaked.  He was leaning in that direction, though.  He was concerned with the higher commercial rate, which I stated could easily be adjusted downward by increasing cash rates slightly. The vast majority of transactions are passenger vehicles." 

TOLLROADSnews 2007-10-30 REVISIONS 2007-10-31 11:45