Better Get a Fast Lane

I've had a Fast Lane transponder for so many years, I actually do not know when I originally got it. Since I used to commute to work on the Pike, a transponder made a lot of sense. I don't understand why so many daily Pike commuters don't opt for the transponders.

If the reports from this morning actually materialize into reality, I can see many regular commuters signing up for a Fast Lane transponder. A new proposal is circulating that Fast Lane account holders can avoid Mass Pike toll hikes if/when the toll hikes happen. Check out the news on the BostonChannel.com and The Boston Herald.

An editorial from today's The Boston Globe floats a dual idea for fixing the budget woes plaguing the Mass Pike, MBTA, etc. The Globe's editorial staff think that a gas hike is the fairest way to generate revenue for Massachusetts transportation entities. This way everyone across the state would contribute. However, The Globe doesn't think the money should just be raised without fixing the transportation system in the Commonwealth.

Mass Pike Driving

Train Rider drove to Boston today. I've heard from many people that this morning's commute was not a pleasant one for anyone who took the Mass Pike in from Central Mass/Metro West.

Since we're on the driving topic, for now, I wanted to pass along some information a friend of mine shared with me. This is about some additional changes to the Fast Lane transponder program:

As of January, you will no longer receive a Fast Lane paper statement. (For those of us trying to be greener, this is a good thing).

If you want to continue to receive one, it will be $2/mo for residential and $5/mo for commercial. You must log on the Fast Lane website to request this option.

And, they are no longer offering the "post paid" option. Anyone who had it is grandfathered in, but if you have any issues with your payment method and they can't collect, you'll lose it and get pushed to pre-paid.

This happened to me and now they're threatening to charge $50 if I use my Fast Lane tag before they process my "pre-paid" paperwork (won't let me do it online.)

You can log/set up an account at www.mtafastlane.com

I've read some articles about how the Mass Pike is going to charge a monthly fee for Fast Lane users (I believe $.50 per month per transponder), but I haven't heard the news my friend shared with me. The $.50 per month per transponder fee is a bit irking for those of us who have already paid a transponder fee. I get the fact that the state is in a financial crisis, heck it seems like the whole world is right now. But I don't understand why they can't grandfather those of us who have paid a fee for our transponder and start charging us when our transponder fee doesn't cover the the monthly fee anymore. Then again, I do "get" why they won't do this - most Fast Lane users have already paid the monthly fee, so there wouldn't be any revenue to collect.

In today's Boston Globe there is an article about the federal economic stimulus plan. Only 5% of the $819 billion plan is earmarked for infrastructure things such as rapid transit and roads: $12 billion for rapid transit/trains and $30 billion for roads. This means that funding for MBTA-related projects and road improvements could be difficult to obtain.

Smooth Friday Commute

TGIF. I can't believe this is the second to last "summer" Friday. Well, at least before Labor Day.

For a "summer" Friday, it has been a busy one. My commute was fine, very smooth. The P508 arrived in Grafton at 7:09 a.m. and we pulled into South Station at 8:18 a.m.

Boy, there is nothing like talking about fares and tolls to get the comments rolling in. Great comments to Grafton Train Rider's latest ordeal. To Anon 9:43 - your E-Z Pass suggestion is brilliant. I, for one, have never understood why Massachusetts had to go its own way and implement the "Fast Lane" program instead of E-Z Pass. A boatload of Northeastern states (NY, NJ, ME, NH, heck even RI will use it for the Newport Bridges) use it. Why did we have to be different? Different can be good and it can also be bad.

Here is The Globe's take on the Mass Pike Toll saga. Just so I don't come off as a person who promotes regional bias. Drivers who live in MetroWest and the western netherland aren't the only ones who will be impacted if the discounted tolls go away. Residents of East Boston, the North End and Southie will also lose their discounted tunnel privileges.

I will say - $.40 to drive through a tunnel that is normally $3.50 is a way better deal than the $.25 discount at the Allston-Brighton tolls and the $.50 tunnel discount extended to Fast Lane users.

To end the week, I'm sharing this article from today's Wall Street Journal (subscription may be required). Some real estate agents (including Craig Della Penna of The Murphys Realtors in Northampton, MA) are taking prospective buyers on neighborhood tours via bicycle. These Realtors are targeting buyers who are interested in alternatives to driving and may be looking for bicycle-friendly places to live.

Have a great weekend!

All About the Tolls

It is close to the end of the day and I'll be heading out on my own (thankfully toll free) commute. But I wanted to share this article from today's MetroWest Daily News about the recent toll discussion. In the catchy-titled "MetroWest: For whom the commute tolls" the bane of MetroWest (and West) drivers is addressed.

Yup, those of us who live West of Boston are footing the bill for the Big Dig project. I don't think the I-93 drivers who live North and South of the city are thanking us. We're not martyrs, but maybe we should be.

The announcement comes to the chagrin of people like Mary Z. Connaughton, who has served on the Mass. Turnpike Authority's toll equity working group since last fall.

Connaughton, who lives in Framingham, sees the Mass. Pike tolls as an unfair fee structure that places a disproportionate fiscal burden on MetroWest commuters. Expanding the tolls to I-93, both north and south of Boston, is a proposal she would like to see fleshed out.

Through tolls, MetroWest commuters have shouldered the brunt of projects like the Big Dig and supported Turnpike infrastructure outside of the region for too long, Connaughton said.

The article noted that someone driving from Framingham to Boston during the work week could incur toll costs of $1,400.00 annually. Of course, MetroWest commuters could take the commuter rail, but it isn't an option that works for everyone. And not every commuting using the Pike is taking it all the way into downtown Boston. A lot of people have the unfortunate circumstances of working for companies located along Route 9 (TJX anyone) or 128. If you work along 128, it is either drive or try to telecommute.

In a May letter to the Turnpike Authority, Paul Matthews, executive director of the Westborough-based 495/MetroWest Corridor Partnership, wrote Pike tolling options should be reviewed and tolling strategies should be developed where daily commuting cost is "more equitable from all directions."

I don't buy the North Shore's seemingly powerful or motivated reps who feel that adding tolls on I-93 would require federal approval. Why? Because, when you get to the heart of it, the Mass Pike IS a federal road. I-90 is part of the great Interstate Highway. And have these same public officials been up to New Hampshire anytime in the past 25 or so years? Guess what - as soon as you cross over into New Hampshire, on Federal roads, you hit a toll booth.

This is a good time for state reps and senators representing Central Mass and Metro West to step up and demand equal parity for transportation costs!

To make matters worse, for those of us who live West of the city, in today's Mass Pike meeting the authority decided to eliminate discounts for Fast Lane users, according to WBZ. Yup, the one discount that benefited MetroWest / West drivers the most is going away. Really, the "discount" was only $.25 at the Allston-Brighton booth and $.50 at the tunnels.

Eliminating this discount will generate an extra $18 million to the cash-strapped Pike.

I suppose it could be worse - the Pike could have raised tolls across the system.

With that, I need to leave the office and drive home.

Mass Pike Proposes a Single Pass for Cars, Trains and Parking Lots

Officials from the Massachusetts Turnpike, looking to increase revenue, are proposing that a mass transit pass good for Pike tolls, the MBTA and access to state-run parking facilities be implemented.

In an article from today's Boston Herald, Mass Pike head Alan LeBovidge said he

"wants to establish electronic links between the Pike and other agencies that would allow people to travel seamlessly across transportation modes, instead of digging for change or different passes."

The Pike is looking to hire a firm that can create these "links" and make changes to the Pike's Fast Lane automated collection system. The T has met with the Pike to discuss this system. T riders who use a Charlie Card would be able to pay tolls and ride the T with funds being automatically withdrawn from the user's bank account.