West Virginia Turnpike board votes unanimously for toll hikes - for 37% extra $s

West Virginia Turnpike Authority's board voted unanimously today (Wed 2009-07-01) to raise tolls effective August 1. The increases will be the first since 1981, and are designed to increase toll revenue by about $20m/year - from $53.3m to $73.1m or 37% in 2010, the first full year they are in effect. The Turnpike has operating expenses of $33m and debt service of $10.4m, so the Turnpike was generating only about $10m surplus to go for renewal, replacement and capital needs. At the higher toll rates that should rise three-fold to about $30m/year.

The 37% increase in revenue is planned to be achieved by:

-  increasing cash tolls 60% so mainline plazas will collect $2.00 cash from cars v $1.25 before and $6.75 v $4.25 from 5-axle tractor trailers

- increasing out-of-state E-ZPass tolls by the same 60% to remain on par with cash toll rates

- West Virginia E-ZPass for a $5 annual fee will provide car tolls at $1.50 at mainline plazas, a good discount on the $2.00 where there was none before on the $1.25, while 5-axle trucks will be billed $5.06 on E-ZPass v $4.25 before

- an existing flat rate $25/quarter, $95/year commuter fee called (PACC) for unlimited trips by non-commercial vehicles past a specified mainline toll plaza is unchanged

With only four toll points and 18 interchanges the Turnpike has high 'leakage' of revenue from shorter and untolled trips, mostly by locals.

Despite putting most of the burden of toll increases on outsiders there was noisy and prolonged opposition from several local elected officials with Democrats and Republicans vying to make the more extravagant attacks on the Turnpike Authority. One 'lawmaker' socalled threatened to block toll plazas with his car, hoping apparently to intimidate the turnpike authority with the prospect of civil disobedience.

It is unclear however that the general public was much engaged because attendance at public hearings was reported as sparse. 

Previous abortive toll increase

There was a shortlived effort to increase toll rates in late 2005. Toll increases similar to those voted today actually went into effect Jan 1 2006, but a court ruled that proper procedures had not been followed and the Turnpike Authority revoked them in February 2006 just weeks later.
 
on today's toll increases:

http://www.wvturnpike.com/informationforreview.html

horror pictures of deterioration due to deferred maintenance and replacement:

http://www.wvturnpike.com/studies/Deteriorated_Turnpike.pdf

COMMENT: Toll increases in West Virginia are long, long overdue. These will allow the existing Turnpike to be gotten back into decent physical shape. They aren't sufficient unfortunately to do third laning in a busy central section or build a planned new interchange and spur that would improve connectivity with local roads.

It is unfortunate the toll regime in West Virginia is becoming more discriminatory against interstate motorists. The fact a number of other states are doing the same doesn't justify it. Each toll authority is impoverishing the others by loading the toll burden onto one another. 

E-ZPass supposedly a single interoperable toll collection system is becoming increasingly balkanized by differential toll rates for other issuers. Here's one case where the E-ZPass Inter Agency Group could usefully intervene, and adopt a rule that by a certain date, say July 1 2010 all member agencies would be required to have non-discriminatory toll rates. After that date they would cease to deal with any toll agency that continued differential tolls.

Toll authorities setting these discriminatory electronic toll rates risk law suits based on the equal protection clause of the US Constitution. The courts could settle the issue if the toll authorities don't themselves.

TERMINOLOGY: The West Virginia Turnpike is operated by an agency formally named West Virginia Parkways Economic Development and Tourism Authority (acronymed WVPEDTA), a longwinded and misleading name established for it by silly politicians who think clever word play can alter reality. The Authority has no parkway, and it has nothing to do with economic development or tourism. It operates the Turnpike, so we call it by its original and descriptive name: West Virginia Turnpike Authority.

TOLLROADSnews 2009-07-01