Officials lobby to keep Fast Lane discount
Nearly two-dozen local lawmakers welcomed the new Massachusetts Turnpike Authority chairman, John Cogliano, to the job last week with a letter warning him to keep his hands off a commuter discount program that has saved Fast Lane users tens of millions of dollars on Pike tolls.
Governor Mitt Romney tapped Cogliano, his transportation secretary, to take over the embattled Turnpike Authority after a Big Dig tunnel ceiling collapse killed a Jamaica Plain woman in July.
Romney launched a top-to-bottom review of the agency's finances as Big Dig repair bills mounted.
An administration spokesman said that review includes the Fast Lane discount of 25 cents off the $1 tolls on the Boston extension and 50 cents off the $3 toll for the Sumner and Ted Williams tunnels.
The program is funded with the proceeds from a $75 million sale of Turnpike Authority land in Allston to Harvard University in .
State Representative David Linsky , cochairman of the MetroWest Legislative Caucus, argues in the letter to Cogliano signed by 23 area legislators that the program was written into state law in a 2002 transportation bill.
``In my view, the Romney administration has no option but to continue the discount program," the Natick Democrat said. ``The House voted for it, and the Senate, and it was signed by the governor, making it permanent. What part of permanent don't they understand?"
A spokesman for the state Executive Office of Transportation, Jon Carlisle, said the Romney administration hasn't called for an end to the toll discounts.
``We simply want an opportunity to take a look at this program in the context of the rest of the finances of the Turnpike Authority. No decisions have been made," Carlisle said.
``We're working to keep the legislative delegation informed of any potential changes. At this point, we're not looking for a change."
The discount began in July 2002 and has been extended by the Turnpike Authority several times. Fast Lane users had saved more than $30 million under the program as of last year, officials said.
Linsky said he hadn't received any response to the letter as of last week.
``I fully recognize the financial challenges the Mass Turnpike Authority has in front of them, but in looking for places to save money, let's not do it on the back of Metrowest commuters." he said.
Starts & Stops/West, a transportation column tailored to the western suburbs, runs every other Thursday. Feedback and questions on transportation topics are welcome. Please, no phone calls. E-mail to starts@globe.com. Please mention the relevant community or region in the subject field. The mailing address is Starts & Stops/West, Boston Globe, 111 Speen St., Framingham 01701. 
