South Carolina Motorcycle Rights Association

Congress had an abbreviated week. As soon as the Thursday morning snow was predicted, the flights out of D.C. began to fill and the scheduled committee business and meetings were abandoned. But not before Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu delivered a joint session of Congress and a big fight over funding the department of homeland security almost shut down the government.

It did afford me the time to research a solid coalition that is working on the issue of tolling, known as the Alliance for Toll Free Interstates. Currently only roads that existed before the interstate system was developed can collect tolls. Examples include the Jersey turnpike and the Pennsylvania turnpike. However, authority was given Missouri, North Carolina and Virginia to begin tolling on I-70 and I-95 respectively. They are allowed to collect tolls and then report back to the federal government on the success of the program. Recently Paul Ryan (R-WI) congressman and former Vice President candidate said that all fifty states should be allowed to collect tolls. Tolling is definitely on the table...

What’s wrong with tolls? For motorcyclists, everything. But for everyone including the states that stand to collect the cash, it's a problem of inefficiency. It adds time to your travel, causes congestion, and only nets about forty percent of every dollar. With EZ pass, it's getting better, but not by much. We need the cash; with roads dissolving into third world condition and bridges failing, we need the money! However it’s cheaper to you, the road user, to pay an increase in the gas tax to fund the problem. Consider this: the average road user pays into the federal gas tax to the tune of about $150 dollars a year. A drive from D.C. to Chicago one-way will cost you just over $46, just in tolls. So this coalition of road users has stymied the implementation of the new tolls through regulation changes and political influence. The MRF will be joining this coalition to help keep more tollbooths from popping up.

Jeff Hennie