Maryland E-Z Pass customers and truck drivers will pay more to travel through toll facilities, under a new proposal to offset declining revenues, state transportation Secretary John Porcari said Monday.
The Maryland Transportation Authority gave preliminary approval to a $60 million “cost recovery” plan that includes a $1.50 monthly service fee for E-Z Pass, a $21 fee for the system’s electronic devices — which are currently free — and increased tolls for multi-axle vehicles.
“Today’s proposal helps better distribute the costs of operating our system among the different types of vehicles that use our facilities,” Porcari said in a statement. “Even with the proposed toll-rate changes and service charges, Maryland still offers some of the most generous commuter discounts in the country, and our truck toll rates are comparable to — and generally lower than — those in the region.”
» The public can e-mail comments on the proposal until Jan. 27 to [email protected]
or send comments to:
Ronald Freeland, Executive Secretary, Maryland Transportation Authority, 2310 Broening Highway, Ste. 150, Baltimore, MD 21224.
Changes to the E-Z Pass system would take effect July 1. Starting April 15, vehicles with three or more axles would see a $2 to $5 toll increase at the Key Bridge and Baltimore tunnels and a $4 to $5.50 increase per trip at the Bay Bridge.
Fines for toll violations would increase from $15 to $25. Standard vehicle and commuter toll rates, last set in 2003, would remain the same.
Porcari said the changes will help combat increasing infrastructure costs and decreasing traffic and revenues at the state’s seven toll facilities. The authority’s revenue is down 6 percent from July to November, members said, even after a deferral of $200 million in capital projects.
The proposal was met by heavy criticism from the Maryland Motor Truck Association, an advocacy group for commercial truckers. Association Vice President Louis Campion called the increase “insulting.”
“They are ignoring the passenger car driving public, which smacks of political pandering,” Campion said. “This fails to recognize just how important this industry is to delivering the products the state uses. What’s good for this industry is what’s good for Maryland’s economy.”
Campion said trucks account for 10 percent of traffic at Maryland toll facilities and 30 percent of toll revenues.
A final vote on the plan is scheduled at the authority’s Jan. 29 meeting.
