Wow on top of the gas prices this is just getting ridiculous!

I see no mention of an increase for the ICC. Why are the rest of us getting hit while the icc is getting a pass.

ARE YOU KIDDING ME!!! MY HUSBAND & I BOTH USE THE TUNNEL & KEY BRIDGE. IT WOULD COST US $28 A WEEK, OVER $128 PER MONTH. WE CAN'T AFFORD THAT IN THIS ECONOMY.

I guess we get what we keep electing. Idiots. It's crap that as a resident of this state I am now required to pay for and carry a device (EZ Pass) in my car in order to drive on a PUBLIC ROAD. That should be against the law! Heck, the Federal Government already gives a ton of money to maintain the roads. Then they want to impose a gas tax incease, possibly implement sales tax on top of that at the pump AND finally a milage tax where you have to check in to tell them how many miles you've driven. Pretty soon the Government will be using the cell phone data to track us all and tax us based on where we are at any moment in time.

What's a 350% increase between friends, huh? Honestly, 20 years with no increases was ridiculous because everything else has gone up a lot in price since 1991. But you have to wonder who benefitted from it standing still so long.

When will the Sun and it's reporters realize there is a difference between MTA and MdTA.

MTA = buses, Metro, Light Rail, etc..
MdTA: Tolls, bridges, and tunnels

MTA isn't proposing anything, MdTA on the other hand......

I didn't even know a commuter rate was available for the $5 Kennedy Highway toll! How do you qualify for that??

@Johnny - ICC just opened....its toll prices are set in today's rates....while those mentioned here were frozen for a while now.......not hard to understand that over here but hopefully you got it now.

OH my goodness! That's a pretty hefty hike to take all of the sudden! Regardless of the fact they've been frozen for decades, it's going to cut a pretty heafty chunk into daily expenses for those of us who commute through the tunnel each day & don't really have any option of avoiding it. It's not like going through downtown is a viable option with crazy Grand Prix contruction...PLEASE! With that daily gridlock, these rate increases are only going to make that WORSE too.

Who do we have to write to voice opposition to this price hike?!? State Rep? Gov's office?!? Who???

COMMENT: By law, the authority board is the decision-maker. One can protest to the governor's office or the General Assembly but all they can do is try to exert influence on the process. (The governor, in fact, does wield a lot of influence with the board.)
I wouldn't expect either the legislature or thhe governor to intervene to stop the increases, however. The need for revenue is not very flexible. The bonds have to be paid off and the infrastructure needs to be maintained and it's too late to pull the plug on the two big expansion projects being built. The board is set up in a way that shields it from political considerations so that the state can borrow the money for projects at a favorable rate. It's a deal made long ago, and failure to raise tolls could result in a downgrade that would hurt the system in the long term.
In the future, if politicians come along and try to sell them a project based on toll financing, they should remember this lesson. Tolls aren't taxes, but they can cost just as much and they are less subject to democratic forces.

Anonymous,

The I-95 Susquehanna toll is part of the Baltimore Harbor Crossing commuter plan. You pay $.80 instead of $.40 because this toll plaza is only collected on the northbound side of I-95.

This is ridiculous, since when in this society it is ok to raise 125% increase in service fee for a basic need such as travel. On top of that, there are not many good alternatives to it. Almost everybody is captive market.

I pull a double axle camper trailer over the bridge. Ten years ago, when two axle vehicles paid $2.50, I was shocked to have to pay $7.50. I thought it was outrageous that they charged me for the equivalent of three cars. But guess what? A couple of years ago, the bieving thastards jacked up the three axle and more rates. My rate went to $12.00 while the rest of you 2-axle types still paid $2.50. I am paying almost the equivalent of FIVE CARS!! All this so the governor and his partners in crime (legislature) could raid the transportation fund to bail out their inability to control costs.

@Phillip - the only toll facility in MD that REQUIRES you to have an EZ Pass is the ICC, which isn't even a part of this article. As for paying to use "public" roads, all tolls exist because the people voted 'yes' on a bond issue at some time in the past. It would be more useful to complain about the state never paying off those bonds...

You list a lot of ideas that have been floated to pay for transportation projects - none are a sure thing at this point; probably only one or two plans will eventually be approved (not all of them).

How to fund transportation and other infrastructure is quickly becoming the conundrum of our age. Complaining is easy; solutions are a lot tougher.

I think most of us understand that the bridges and tunnels will need expensive replacements in the long term. But what are they trying to tell us by tripling the cost? The idea of "planning" implies that you are able to change routine user fees way more gradually than that.

YES!!! YES!! We must have more of your hard earned money!
When Gov. Ehrilich raised tolls he was accused of raising taxes. What is MO'M going to call it?

This is just crazy. It doesnt seem like much paying an extra dollar here and dollar there. But Debbie is right. When you add it up, we're all looking at an extra $100+ a month. We all have to fight this somehow. There are public hearings before anything can be pased by the state.

What's this "we"? I drive an efficient car and live close to where I work. Heaven forbid that people have to carpool.

This is what happens when you live in a stat that is run by Tax and Spend Liberals that only care about the votes that they get from people that are living off of whatever they can get from the state. Governor O'Malley and his band of theifs could care less about the tax paying citizen of this state. When are the voters of Mayland going to wake up and put a stop to this nonsense.

While it seems that the cost to use these conveniences is extreme, consider the alternative. No bridges, no tunnels; or worse, bridges and tunnels that fail while you're traveling them. The reason that there is no commercial competition to these facilities is that nobody can afford to compete at or below the prices that the state offers. Those of you who want to complain should try White's Ferry across the Potomac River sometime. Or drive the extra 20 or more miles to get to a more convenient river corssing. See how good you have it.