Toll Equity Trust Blog

Below is the statement released today from Jan Schlichtmann, lead attorney for the Massachusetts Turnpike Toll Equity Trust, regarding comments from the Turnpike Authority today regarding the suit and Treasurer Tim Cahill.

“It is shocking that Governor Patrick and his Turnpike Authority would so roundly dismiss the common sense complaints of drivers who for 10 years have been carrying the unfair burden of paying for the Big Dig while others drive it for free. The data released today shows for the first time that every tollpayer on the Turnpike and in the tunnels is paying for themselves and another driver who gets a free ride. That is plainly unjust and unfair and strikes to the heart of our case that these tolls are really taxes in disguise.

“Treasurer Cahill boldly stood up and asked the Governor and Attorney General to take tollpayer concerns seriously, to sit down with us and seek an equitable solution for the entire Commonwealth. It’s a shame this Governor, like so many before, decided to ignore tollpayers and instead stand with the Big Dig establishment.”

For years, drivers on the Mass Turnpike and who use the tunnels coming from the North Shore have known the unfairness of our tolling system. If you live in MetroWest or the North Shore, you pay. If you live off I-93, you ride for free.

But no one had ever done any hard and fast research to see just how bad the inequity is. Well, thanks to the Toll Equity Trust, that has all changed.

In data published in this morning’s Boston Globe, our effort showcased data researched by Kim Hazarvartian, a respected traffic engineer hired by the Trust. In his report, Hazarvartian found that of the 632,000 cars which use the highways around Boston on the average weekday, 288,000 pay tolls – about 46 percent. (more…)

The word on toll equity is most definitely spreading and people are naturally starting to take notice.

Today, the people of Wellesley are reading about the bold actions of their friends and neighbors who have signed on to our toll equity effort. Check out this story from the Wellesley Townsman, titled “Frustrated Drivers, Including Some from Wellesley, Sue Over Pike Tolls.”

Check out the story of Charles Ellis, who has to drive into Cambridge three or four times a week and tries when he can to go around the tolls to save on his costs. Any of you who drive on Route 16 – particularly during rush hour – know the kind of pain that can cause.

But Charles is doing it, like so many of you, not just because the costs of the Pike are exorbitant but because he knows like you all do that the Pike has admitted 58 cents of every dollar that comes out of his Fast Lane account or that goes into the toll-taker’s hand is being diverted to pay for a highway he uses far less often and millions drive on for free every year.

Amazing, but true. (more…)

The march toward toll equity hasn’t been exactly a speedy one for the people shouldering the huge burden of paying not only for the roads they are driving, but also the Big Dig roads everyone north and south of Boston drives for free.

But the last few months (since May 8, when we filed this class action lawsuit) have been momentous ones for our cause and the voices of reform and basic fairness keep growing louder and louder. (more…)