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January 5, 2009

Maryland tolls going up (but not for cars)

It appears likely that Maryland is going to raise tolls for commercial vehicles and, for the first time, to charge people for having an EZ-Pass, whether they use it or not. The O'Malley administration looks like it might be a little sensitive to the politics of the issue, given how hard Democrats slammed former Gov. Bob Ehrlich for raising tolls and other assorted fees during his term. The news release from the Maryland Transportation Authority mentions prominently all the other states nearby that have raised tolls on passenger cars and how much the state raised tolls in 2003, though it's subtle enough not to mention that someobdy else was governor at the time.
Posted by Andy Green at 2:10 PM | | Comments (5)
        

Comments

Andy- For those who may have missed the article on this issue, do you think you could post the contact information from that for folks to let the powers that be of their opinions on the matter?

Thanks!

More money they are taking from us to "fix" the Bay Bridge. Brilliant!

I am a people. I have three transponders on passenger vehicles, cars, a van, a motorcycle.

All of the articles talk about monthly fees for the transponders, and increases for commercial vehicles, but none have clearly stated whether the $1.50 fee applies to holders of non-commercial transponders in non-commercial vehicles.

Can you answer that question, Andy?

It's time for the Governor to "grow up". He's already screwed up by running on a no increase in taxes platform and having to live up to it. Life is expensive.

If you icrease the rate, do it across the board and pro-rate the cost for each entity. I'd rather pay now than later.

Drop the two way tolls on the tunnels and bridges. Make them one way so people don't have to avoid them and then traffic will be eased. Paying $4 or near that everyday is ridiculous. What exactly are we paying for?

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About the bloggers
Laura Smitherman has been ensconced in the State House basement, writing about the governor, General Assembly and vagaries of Maryland politics for several years. An erstwhile business reporter, her interest in politics dates to her days in Washington when she covered Congress and national campaigns for another media outlet. She now follows a range of policy debates from slot-machine gambling to universal health care and energy regulation, while keeping an eye on the next election.

Paul West covers Washington for The Baltimore Sun, continuing a tradition that began the month the paper was born, in 1837. He hasn't been in the DC bureau that long--only since Ronald Reagan was president. He's covered Congress, the White House and presidential campaigns as the paper's national political correspondent and Washington bureau chief. He's on the lookout for news of significance to Sun readers at the other end of the B/W Parkway. That includes the activities of the state's congressional delegation and anything else that might shed some light on the inner workings of the nation's capital.

Julie Bykowicz's first days as a political reporter, in January 2009, coincided with Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon's indictment and the start of the Maryland General Assembly's 426th legislative session. She focuses on coverage of state agencies, such as social services, juvenile justice and prisons. During the session, she wrote about the death penalty, slots parlors and speed cameras, among other hot topics. Julie began political reporting after more than seven years on The Baltimore Sun's crime desk. She lives in Baltimore and works primarily in Annapolis.

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