Had to drive NY to Washington and back this weekend

[edhopper]

$77 in tolls. That seems a lot.
Is this just another income source for East Coast States?
Is it that we don't have enough Fed $ going to roads and bridges?
I don't mind some tolls, but almost $40 for a 5 hour drive?
Am I off base here?

[genxlib]

1. It's not about income

It is about finding sources of funding for infrastructure. The Federal Gas Tax is the primary pipeline for funding highways but it has not increased in decades. Meanwhile, construction costs have gone up significantly.

In the absence of the political courage needed to adequately pay for our roads, tolls become the easiest answer.

There is also a related but parallel movement towards private funding through Public-Private-Partnerships (P3). In those cases, a private entity will pay for the project and get reimbursed with interest over time. Tolls are a common means for that payback.

[StarfishSaver]

4. Exactly right!

[SharonAnn]

23. States have cut funding for many roads, plus tolls are a perpetual income stream.

And, oddly, people don’t consider them a tax.

[hlthe2b]

2. I'm curious as to whether there is any realistic non-interstate (non-toll) alternative route

I tend to only use the Denver metro toll roads if I am absolutely running late (to the airport). Otherwise, I factor in the extra time and inconvenience to take the usual non-toll interstates.

[underpants]

3. Time or money - you are going to pay one

Routes 1 and 17 have no tolls but they do have stoplights and slower speed limits.

[hlthe2b]

5. A matter of principle with me. I only agree to pay the exhorbitant $$ if time is of the essence.

[underpants]

10. Advantage to driving a little car

Tolls have change slots down below. People over pay and coins don’t get caught. Depending on the situation around me I take a swipe from time to time. Lotta silver sometimes. Hey! I haven’t seen any signs saying I can’t.

[Blue_true]

18. Well, your face may be on Interpol. The Trans-state, Trans-national silver thief.

You may want to wear a Nixon mask when you stop at toll booths.

[Renew Deal]

6. Just did a search. It's an hour longer avoiding tolls

From Manhattan to DC.

[edhopper]

14. Hmmm

good to know, though you can't get into NY without a bridge or tunnel toll.

I can afford the tolls, I was thinking about some paycheck to paycheck people who might not.

[Blue_true]

19. Paycheck to paycheck people usually know other roads or take public Trans.

It is the non locals or surburbanites that tolls bite.

[Blue_true]

17. You can take off roads or highways, but you will spend more time,

and risk getting traffic tickets issued by local cops if you don't watch your driving.

[Hekate]

22. I just discovered my iPhone map function will guide you away from tolls & highways

I moved to a new city and county nearly 2 years ago and got my new phone about the same time. I love having it, because I have a poor sense of direction.

My only problem with the map function is it keeps giving me freeway directions, and I like to avoid them if possible. Just this morning I noticed "Driving Options" at the bottom of the first page of suggested routes to my destination, and when I clicked on it there were two options: Avoid Tolls, and Avoid Highways. I tapped them both just to see what would happen and voila, I now have several routes to Costco that avoid the freeway.

Getting back to my old city this way nearly triples the driving time, taking one on a circuitous drive through the mountains instead of a straight shot along the coast -- thanks, but no thanks.

Toll roads? I've only seen one in California, and it was a couple of hundred miles from me.

I'm sure everyone with a Smart Phone already knew this, but just in case you didn't... here's your way to avoid toll roads.

[StarfishSaver]

7. Tolls are often the only way to pay for highway maintenance and other infrastructure

As Genxlib said, the gas tax hasn't increased since the early 1990s. And because it's a flat amount - approximately 17 cents per gallon - not a percentage, the substantial increase in gas prices over the years has not resulted in increased revenue. On top of that cars are much more efficient and people are driving less, so the Highway Trust Fund isn't close to being enough.

Unfortunately, efforts to raise the federal gas tax are shot down immediately, and not just by anti-tax Republicans. Everyone complains about the crumbling infrastructure but no one wants to pay to fix it. And this is one of those areas where better fiscal management, etc. won't make a difference it. Only cash money will suffice.

So, tolls ...

[BSdetect]

8. If people only paid taxes on their vast incomes -and by people I mean corporations.

[woodsprite]

9. We did a road trip last summer going from DE to VT and back

We took the scenic route - DE to PA (Knoebels Amusement Park), to NY (Baseball museum and Herkimer Diamond Mines), to RI (Roger Williams University to scope out grad program), MA (Cape Cod), to VT (UVM for grad program in Historic Preservation and Ben & Jerry's) to PA (Phila Zoo and 4th of July celebration). The most expensive driving seemed to be in PA. Maybe it was how we went. I know having a trailer almost doubled the cost, but I was floored by the cost of the PA Turnpike! If we rode it to the end with our 5th wheel, it was over $107 just for that PA Turnpike stretch.

We ordered an EZ-Pass when we got back because if we would have had that, it would have saved us over $30.

[Blue_true]

20. You know that EZ Pass is run by a pretty good sized corporation.

It manages the pass cards for many states, in Florida it is SunPass or EZ Pass (the latter has mostly surplanted the former). The savings come from not hiring and paying toll collectors. But on the benefit side for drivers is you can stay belted and don't have to be fumbling for change.

[Marengo]

11. If you're passing through blue states, pay your tolls with a smile whatever the amount

[Blue_true]

21. I honestly have never found tolls to be unreasonable. nt

[TreasonousBastard]

12. I used to make the Newark-DC trip maybe once a week and...

yeah, there were a lot of tolls. EZ Pass saves a bit and when I smoked what I saved on two cartons of cigs in Delaware paid the tolls. I don't smoke any more and the tolls are higher now, so that excuse is out.

But, the reason for the tolls isn't just maintenance. States and b&t "authorities" have become addicted to bond money. Outfits like the Port Authority of NY and the Jersey Turnpike have billions out in toll-backed bonds and they have to keep selling new ones so they don't have to up and pay off the retiring ones out of tax revenues. And with that much money swirling around, it's always tempting to dip in for more.

Yes, you can beat the tolls, but don't even THINK of Rte 1 or other toll-free roads in rush hour or during the holiday shopping season. At night the interstates are one solid line of semis, and gas, pee, or coffee stops are always hours away.

[Midnightwalk]

13. Mostly infrastructure but keeping cars off congested roads is good

I agree with others that it is mostly to pay for maintenance and infrastructure.

A side benefit is getting people not to drive.

Just looked up a round trip ticket from penn station manhattan to union station dc for this Saturday, August 10. Starts at $96 for a 3.5 hour ride.

I would have figured out a stop in Jersey to park and taken the train if I wasnt in the city. Even if it took 7 hours. But going with multiple people or needing a car etc could change that.

Fares were higher for start times after 8am, but I don’t know if that’s due to it being less than a week.

[edhopper]

15. We looked at that

because of the time and days we were traveling, it would have been almost $600 round trip. $125 down, $159 back.

With Amtrak, often the lower priced tickets aren't available.

[Blue_true]

16. That route gets a massive amount of traffic, lots of that traffic not local.

The roads and bridges in the route have to be maintained.

I never complain about tolls, I blow three times the money on insignificant shit than I spend on tolls.