Fast Lane transponders will be free, but users will see a new fee

Then again, maybe the records are lower due to all the money pocketed by toll takers. You wouldnt register a transaction if your pocketing that cash.
Everyone has knwn for years that they do it, we busted a few of them last year bt if you think it was only a couple of bad apples, your nuts. this is massachusetts home of 101 ways to make a great salary better through greed and corruption.

I think the massive unemployment has something to do with the decrease of turnpike use, as opposed to people taking rt 9 or some other less direct route.

I think this trend is less about the price of gas than the outrage people have towards the Mass Turnpike Authority. November's 7.5% decline conincides with the announcement by the Authority to raise tolls. I may be speaking for myself, but I purposely avoid the Pike where possible just to avoid giving the Authority any more money.

AND JUST WAIT WHEN YOU JACK THE TOLLS UP AGAIN YOU FOOLS!

Well, just wait untill the tolls go up.....there will be a BIG drop!

Read the third paragraph, it's indicative that those people just don't get it. It says that increases in tolls mitigated the lower car volume. What they fail to realize is that the HIGHER TOLL COSTS forced people to AVOID THE TOLLS! It's not the other way around! As we trend to conserving more and driving less, the toll fools running the show will INCREASE THE TOLLS MORE! They fail to grasp the simply Economics 101 concept: higher taxes result in lower consumption. Thus, as you tax the road already paid for years ago with higher tolls, less and less people will use the toll roads, thus generating less and less revenue. Pretty soon the (M)ass Pike will have few cars on it as motorists utilize the smaller local side roads and cause congestions in the local towns instead of paying a $10 toll.

Were they avoiding the Pike and taking alternate routes or were they just not driving as often or as far with gas spiking in the summer? That's a potentially misleading headline.

I drive Route 9 to work everyday from Framingham to Wellesley, and I gotta say it does seem like there's been more traffic on the road for the past couple of months. If the state raises tolls, how many more drivers will veer of the pike to crowd town and city streets.

The gas tax is a better option, but not at 50cents. The raise should be small along with increasing tolls in the city of Boston. I would also look at the possibility of asking the Fed if we can put tools up at the borders like New Hampshire petitioned to do. NH drivers currently don't pay anything to drive on our roads... how is that fair.

With the government bailing out everyone in the private sector, I'm surprised... well not actually, that they haven't looked at the burdens some states are facing, why not write off / pay some of the debt for the Big Dig, keeping taxes and tolls low, to help stimulate the economy with consumer spending? Thoughts?

It should've been a 34% decrease...it's work to even get the toll takers to say thank you.

I may be going out on a limb here, but perhaps ,with high gas prices and a bad economy, people ACTUALLY began to carpool and take public transportation in 2008? I joined a carpool in 2008 to save money.

While the Turnpike Authority did provided carpool incentives for tolls prior to 2008, they have been effectively eliminated in 2009.

Perhaps it was fewer people driving, not "Millions chose to avoid Turnpike in 2008". Idiots.

those tolls should have been taken down a long time ago

Watch what happens to the toll volume if they increase the tolls and gas prices continue to rise again.

I hate the Pike and will avoid it if at all possible. My family lives near Springfield, and I have missed Thanksgiving Dinner multiple times because of the tolls at exit 9--even though there is FastLane it is nearly useless at that exit because of the long two-lane exit ramp. Once the traffic backs up into the ramp even the FastLane users are stuck, and then traffic backs up onto the Pike and back miles, so those heading west on 90 are stuck. I'd much rather pay a gas tax then sit in traffic because of toll booths.

And I work in Somerville and live in the westrn suburbs but rarely take the Pike in either directions because I will almost always sit in traffic, cursing myself for paying money for a road that is so much worse than my other, longer commute path (which I wont share here because I'd like to keep it empty of other commuters!)

I hate the Pike and will avoid it if at all possible. My family lives near Springfield, and I have missed Thanksgiving Dinner multiple times because of the tolls at exit 9--even though there is FastLane it is nearly useless at that exit because of the long two-lane exit ramp. Once the traffic backs up into the ramp even the FastLane users are stuck, and then traffic backs up onto the Pike and back miles, so those heading west on 90 are stuck. I'd much rather pay a gas tax then sit in traffic because of toll booths.

And I work in Somerville and live in the westrn suburbs but rarely take the Pike in either directions because I will almost always sit in traffic, cursing myself for paying money for a road that is so much worse than my other, longer commute path (which I wont share here because I'd like to keep it empty of other commuters!)

It is along know fact, if you raise the price of something, you will sell fewer units. You raise the tolls on the turnpike and former 'customers' will choose to drive the adjacent highways. If those in the Turnpike Authority didn't understand this, why were they placed in charge?

Did you get this press release from the MTA or did you just make up the "Millions fewer people" part of this article? How did you come to this conclusion? Did you figure that there are millions of people who travel the Pike less than 3 times per year, and they decided to not use the Pike? Maybe you should have thought about the average Pike user. It is more conceivable that 7600 fewer people used the Pike last year - if you consider that the average user coming from the west gets hit with four toll collections per day (2 each to and from work), 5 days per week for say 50 weeks per year. Maybe that number isn't sensational enough? I have no sympathy for the Pike. If it wasn't run by the Commonwealth, it would be a cash cow.

There is no way to pay for the Big Dig other than raising state gasoline taxes. No other way will work. Turnpike revenues will never meet the obligation. Give it up, it's time to stop living the libertarian, right-wing talk radio, Bushian dream world ofthe past 30 years and bite the bullet and make, as President Obama says, "make the tough decisions" and in exchange remove tolls on the Turnpike from Weston to Stockbridge and integrate that portion of the turnpike into the state highway system.

With their typical arrogance the "board could decide to vote on the toll increases, if it wanted to." They don't seem to have noticed that we commuters are already voting, with our steering wheels, and are not wanting to ride on their road.

I am boycotting the Mass Pike. The tolls should have been taken down long ago once the Mass Pike was paid off. The leeches at the Pike keep raising the tolls every couple of years.

Now I take route 9 instead when I go to work. It takes a bit longer but it gives me the satisfaction of not paying the corrupt government a single extra penny that they don't deserve.

LETS all take the back roads and boycott toll roads...maybe we can show those crooks in Beacon Hill we too can shape policy!

WHICH PART OF THE PIKE IS DOWN IN RIDERSHIP? THE WESTERN PIKE OR THE METROPOLITAN HIGHWAY SYSTEM---- ITS MAKES A HUGE DIFFERENCE IN THE IMPACT OF THE NUMBER.

I think that the rapidly increasing number of the un-employed directly impacts the number of toll paying turnpike users.

Duh! keep rasing the tolls and watch to see less and less people using the Pike...

The Mass Turnpike is incredible example of government bloat, in-accountability and inequitable taxation. Our representatives are apparently paralyzed by fear. Elected officials in the Metrowest have been trying to do something about it for years with zero results. Good people, like Linsky (Natick / Sherborn) are rendered absolutely useless. It's a shame.

I love this quote: "The impact on toll revenues has been mitigated by increased tolls implemented at the beginning of the year". It's clear that the those in charge simply see the Pike as a cash cow. Where's the leadership here?

The Big Dig makes the Bridge to Nowhere look like a dream project.

I'm not surprised. Every since they raised the tolls, my commute on Rt. 9takes twice as long!

You'd never be able to tell use was down by the amount of traffic in the morning and evening. I wouldn't mind paying more in tolls if I was guaranteed I wouldn't have to sit in traffic for over an hour or 2. The two biggest causes of traffic: Rte 128 on ramp (if there is an accident, forget about it) and Newton Corner, something needs to be done about these 2 locations. Ridiculous.

Great, more ammunition for them to raise tolls AGAIN.

Turnpike = Fail.

yeah, it's called people losing their jobs. Thus not having to commute into town.
Seriously???

I don't believe this. The Turnpike is more crowded than EVER before. Some mornings it take me an hour to go from Framingham to Waltham! They should be paying US to use that silly road!

Why do individuals living in the West have to assume the tax levy for funds to be used state wide? Either increase the gas tax, or put tolls at the NH border

Everyone in MA benefits from the Big Dig, as they do from the harbor clean-up. But in both cases, the people who live closest benefit the most. It is criminal to charge the western suburbs for a road they do not use, a direct application of the Willy Sutton rationale for robbing banks. (It would make as much sense to charge a hefty, excess consumption tax only for families that own mansions in both Milton and the Berkshires.) Such a tax would impell thousands of commuters to use Comm Ave, and Beacon St., adding the costs of excess road maintenance. to the plugging of our civic arteries. Just raise the gas tax.

I'd be interesting learning if the decline has been across the board in terms of time of day, day of the week and portion of the Turnpike. If commuter traffic on the Pike has declined, this may be due due to increased MBTA use and/or it may be due to drivers seeking alternative routes to avoid the Weston and Allston tolls. Can we find out if traffic on Storrow Drive, Rt. 2 and Rt 9 has increased during commuting hours?

Abolish the Mass Turnpike Authority and save millions. People can't pay $7 to go to Boston and will take route 16 to route 99 to get in free - they way everyone else gets into Boston!

Toll Avoidance is part of the equation.....I now use 16 between Holliston and Newton....for 15 years I took the Pike from Framingham and back....Since the last hikes I feel a little better knowing they get less, not more, from me!

Interesting that this goes into place as most existing transponders need replacement due to exhausted batteries. At least be honest about it. Don't say "we're just trying to break even". Feh!

I'm going to get that the $4 gas over the summer had to do with it.

Order your transponder from NJ through EZPass. It's free, no $29 fee and no monthly charges.

You know, when I moved away from Boston, I kept my FastLane transponder so when I flew back I could use it on the Pike and the tunnels going to and from the airport. With a 50 cent monthly fee, as nominal as that sounds, it doesn't make an awful lot of sense for me to pay $6 a year for the 2-3 times I return to the city.

Change we can believe in......

This is nuts. I paid for my transponder years ago and every time I use it I save the Turnpike money because they don't have to pay someone to collect the money and pay to have the cash handled. I'm not a heavy pike user, I got the transponder as a convenience. Now I'm going to tell them to shove it and cost them more money by paying in cash. Dumb Dumb Dumb

Why don't they put a $10 toll on the Sagamore and Bourne bridges to make up the shortfall? Rather than hurting the everyday working commuters, have the vacationers help out. This would help, but I am sure it would never fly because too many politicians have houses down the Cape!!

As an infrequent Masspike user I have been considering getting a transponder, but now that I will have to pay 50 cents/month even if I do not use it, that does not make sense. I'd rather have the option of buying the transponder up front.

This is total bush league, what about the 720,000 that already paid the $26, do I get that back? Of course not. Don't get me wrong the transponders should have been free to start but some of us already paid for them.

I use my transponder less than monthly, so now I will have to pay $6/year for the privilege of saving the state money that they are not paying the toll taker? This is absurd!

Institute a fee on annual vehicle miles traveled when the RMV processes the inspection sticker...that is required for all MA vehicles....then, give away transponders and keep the tolls at currect levels, but add tolls to all in/out border crossings as well as add a 7-cent per gallon gas tax (and 9-cents per gallon diesel). That is fair and the Commonwealth needs the money for rebuilding the roads you and I drive on everyday.

The logic with the transponders has always been flawed.
They should have always been available without the fee/deposit because drivers using them save the state money. It is one less person to pay to sit in a toll both, less counting, less banking/change making etc.
Why should I pay to save the state money in how they charge me money?

The 50cent plan is all wrong. We should save 50cents per toll by using the transponder so as to be rewarded for doing our part to lower overall costs.

The solution for people like me is to avoid the pike , refuse to accept employment or even interview at locations for which pike travel is required, and when we do have to travel the pike, allow an extra 5 minutes to pay the toll manually.

So, let me get this straight....folks from North Adams to PTown already pay 20% of their sales taxes to prop up the MBTA, which is rife with over paid stooges who retire after 20 odd years of service. And NOW some of you want to jack up the gas tax to pay for that incredible waste that is the Big Dig? You have GOT to be kidding me!!!! But, then again, pretty soon The Chosen One with is rainbows and unicorns will make EVERYTHING fine. I mean, after all, Deval has certainly worked out so well so far.

We should avoid the Tolls. What about the transponders we bought by paying 25.95? Will we get credit for this??

Get NY ezpass....free without the fees. Pike is out of touch.

complete idiots. Wanna break even? make people pay more for NOT using the transponder. THEY are the ones requiring the toll collectors and increased costs. This idea was hatched by Union hacks.

Get your transponder from another state. The NY Thruway authority gives them out for free with a Credit Card connected account

Why would anyone get the Mass transponder when you can get it from NY and there's never been any extra fees and it does the same thing?

ABOLISH THE MASS TURNPIKE AUTHORITY!!!!

The Pike wants to charge a monthly fee to new transponder user to encourage them to sign up. If you don't sign up you save $25.95 and the monthly fee.
Where's the incentive to get one?

Wouldn't you want to make it CHEAPER to encourage people to sign up not MORE expensive?

Am I missing something

I have a transponder. I like rolling through the toll plazas. Great convenience. But, it doesn't help with heavy traffic, construction delays, or frustratingly slow commutes. I avoid the turnpike now for short drives (Boston - Framingham) and restrict my use to Boston - Worcester and, on the rare occasions we travel, I drive to the airport. I've cut my regular use of the Pike by at least half.

Both NY and NJ charge a $1.00 monthly service/membership fee.

Just do what a lot of Massachusetts drivers do, get an EZ Pass transponder from the state of New York, it's free and no monthly fee. It can be used everywhere the Mass one is without the charges.

"Daniel said the idea was to encourage people to join the Fast Lane program. If more people do join, he said, it would help the Turnpike move toward its goal of reducing the number of toll takers."

Does this clown listen to what he says? How in the world is charging a fee going to increase usage?

My understanding is that the battery in a transponder has an expected life of five years. Or sixty months. Or $30 in monthly fees. Compared to the current replacement cost of $25.95.

I though NY began charging a fee--
Agree that the transponders should have been free--I would have gotten one. An infrequent pike user its not worth the 25 bucks when I can usually borrow one (You can add your license as a car on the other persons transponder)

When can MASS align all the Fast lane lanes and make clear signs about which lane it is ---even jersey does a decent job at that

I dont think you can get NY EZpass if your a Mass resident. They force you to get Fastlane... I am a very occasional Fastlane user, as I live in Montreal, and drive to NE/NY a few times a year. Looks like I will have to give up my pass if they charge this fee, even if you don't use it on that month.

So rediculous. They save money by having the transponders, but now they want to push you to use expensive toll-takers. And they just laid off more toll-takers in tha past few weeks! The toll lines will be longer than ever!
Mass is so messed up and screwed up, I'm so glad I left.

-- Canada Chex

Let me get this straight, if I have a transponder on my car, do I get charged the 50 cent fee every month, even if don't use the Turnpike or any toll road in that month and it's just sitting on the windshield?

less people on roads=less wear and tear=less costs, so no need to raise tolls.

I live in MD now and they are going to charge $1.50 a month for the tags....I say turn in the tags and take non-toll roads.

I drive the Pike and the Tobin Bridge. If and when they raise the tolls, it will cost me nearly $10 a day to drive in and out of work. I will stop driving on the pike and take secondary roads. Let's do some math. $10 a day X 5 days a week = 50 dollars X 50 weeks = 2500. No way I'm paying that much.

We have two, one for the cars and one for the motorhome. We use them primarily for out of state travel and once or twice a year for a run to the airport. I paid $25 or $26 for each of them, now I have to pay again for the privilege of having them. The occasional user, such as myself, will be returning them and as suggested above, getting one from another state. The faster they get rid of the Turnpike Authority, the better off this state will be.

This is STUPID! The way to encourage utilization of Fast Land and reduce costs is to increase tolls on people paying cash to human toll collectors, not to raise fees on people that are reducing the Pike's costs by automating collections. More brain-damaged behavior by brain-dead bureaucrats.

Ahh, nothing like a little nickel and diming when people hit tough times. Here's a tip, in the winter months, you can just water your plates till they ice over & blow right through those tolls...no transponder needed ...HA...I love Boston!

NY & NJ transponders may be free without fees, but for years you have been paying more at MA tolls than us that have the MA transponder because we get discounted rates on the MA Pike, bridges and tunnels.

While I agree that the Turnpike is a joke I have a difficult time figuring out how President Obama is related to this matter as some of you infer in your comments.

This entire mess is a direct result of bonding the cost of the Big Dig instead of paying for them as we went along. Just like when a person abuses a credit card, it is only a matter of time before the credit is pulled and it's time to pay up. Well it's time to pay up for the mistakes of Weld, Celluci, Swiftie and Romney. Romney can claim that he reduced taxes but all he did was defer the payment of the Big Dig to the next administration. I guess that is smart if you want to advance your political career but I also understand why he wanted out of the state in 2006. He knew that all the bonds that he used to pay for the Big Dig were a ticking time bomb and he needed to get as far away from it before it blew up.

tick.... tick.... tick.... BOOM

First, purchase the out of state transponder (most are free). Second, commuters should agree on a day where everyone takes the old Massachusetts transponder off their windshield and tosses it on to the Pike. Imagine that, tons of smashed-up transponders littering the Pike from the NY border to Boston. That should send a message.

I live in Westfield and use the Pike occasionaly to drive from Westfield to Springfield and Holyoke, which are "free" sections. It makes no sense to have the toll takers give out a ticket and then have to turn it in 5 miles down the Pike, when I can cruise through with my Fastlane transponder. I just paid for the transponder in September as a convenience to me and a saving for the State, but now will get $6 a year added each year for helping reduce the toll collecting staff. If someone already has a transponder, they ought to get 6 yrs free. With the technology, it should be easy to program in.

stealing tolls @ the tobin

turpike has a minimum of $10 balance at all times with transponder users with credit cards. When it reaches 10$ they deposit 10 more..so eally the average is more.
this means we are paying for the tolls BEFORE we use them. THE INTEREST ON THIS MONEY SHOULD MORE THAN PAY FOR TRNSPONDERS. In fact, it is a good investment for them. less labor, and pre-paid tolls.

You've got to remember that these are just simple bureaucrats. These are people of the land. The common clay of the new powers that be. You know... morons

Get one from RI They use it on the Newport Bridge now

The State of Illinois toll roads have doubled the toll for cash payers creating a huge incentive for transponder use. Many exits are unmanned but fully equipped with cameras to catch toll violators. As a cash toll paying visitor, make sure you have plenty of change. An "I-Pass" requires a $10 refundable deposit.
Toll roads are user-fee operations and some states are privatizing them - selling long term rights to operate the roads for 100s of $millions. The private operators are responsible for maintenance and make their money from guess what? Tolls. Don't like paying to ride, and got lots of time to waste? Don't use toll roads.

Fools! I tell my friends here in Australia about how beautiful the Pike is. And how well maintained it is (usually). Here in Melbourne we pay $6.50 to go about 15 miles on a toll road (but no toll booths -- all eTag). What's the cost from Weston to Springfield? Get over it. What would you pay in gasoline if you took Route 20 to Springfield? And would you ever get there?

Some states are considering mileage tax vs the gas tax because the hybrid cars are using much less gas. So it does look like the tolls will be here to stay once the Massachusetts legislature gets wind of the new trend.

I got my NYstate EZ-Pass years ago - free transponder then.. I have received one transponder free as a replacement since then and no fees. Works from Maine to Philly

I see "The Pike is too crowded"

I see "I boycott the Turnpike"

I think it's great that some people are boycotting the Turnpike, otherwise it would be even busier!

Seeing "Turnpike = Fail" is really funny in this context.

#30 has it EXACTLY backwards. Congrats.

thank goodness that storrow drive runs parrell with the pike otherwise i may actually have to had paid tolls!

This isn't right. People who get the free transponder should be charged the monthly fee. Ive had my transponder for a few years and I paid the 27 dollar fee to get it so I should be exempt from the monthly fee because that just isn't fair. I just spoke to someone at the masspike and they informed me that even though I bought my transponder that I would be subject to the monthly fee too. As usual, the state of MA trying to stick it to everyone

@Canada Chex
Get it from the peace bridge authority in Buffalo.

I purposely avoid the Pike I do not use the toll roads just so I don't give more money to the authority so they won't have more money to put into there pockets, Look at the big dig and look at the lottery, it worked for a while then all the executives said gee look, we have lots of extra money now lets make new jobs for our friends and relatives! plus kick backs etc. now the lottery is as useless as the turn pike authority is. when possible I avoid giving the Authority any more money.
Look at the governor and the legislature giving themselves pay raisers behind our backs. every chance they can and we have no say about it. I can express

my thoughts and feeling like most people I talk to but it does no good because we the people have no say about it.
But then this is Massachusetts!!

Note that the "refund" only applies to transponders bought 30 days before the "free" transponders are available... which is on Feb 15. So... as far as current users go... only those who bought transponders in the past week (since Jan 15) get the "refund".

As someone already mentioned; if you got it in the past 90 days, you're better off cancelling your account, getting the refund and then re-opening an account. To save administration costs of people doing that, the MTA should automatically offer a refund going back 90 days (from the date of this policy announcement).

It's funny how alot of people think that in the surrounding states you don't have to pay a monthly fee, i can tell you that ezpass does pay a monthly fee of $1.00 plus they have to pay for there monthly statements so $.50 is not bad it's better then raising the tolls

I signed up for Fast Lane on Oct 31 and according to the MTA site and their Customer Service line, I can return it for a refund of my transponder fee if I do it within 90 days. So I'm going to return the transponder, then sign up a new one for free with the 0.50 cent fee. How dumb are the people running the MTA. If you are going to credit just those who purchased in the last 30 days then make sure your own rules do not allow refunds for those who purchased one 90 days ago. I'm sending the transponder back to them today.

I could see if they charged the fee when you obtained a new transponder, and then stopped the fee when you paid for the thing. Instead, the fee is permanent. If you already own a functioning transponder, you're now being hit with a fee even though you're not costing the Turnpike a dime. If you need a transponder, you're now going to pay a lot more than the original price of the unit.

Let's send the Turnpike Authority a message. The week before the hike takes effect, lets all cancel our accounts. Move your commute to side roads. If you need to take the pike, go through the cash lanes.

If enough people cancel their accounts, the Turnpike will rescind the fee.
If the government needs money to pay off the Big Dig mess, then have the testicular fortitude to increase the income tax so that everyone sees the additional costs incurred by this project.

If you keep using your transponder, you're telling the Turnpike people that it's OK to mismanage projects and pass the costs on to the taxpayer.

Charging people who have already purchased the transponder amounts to robbery. They are essentially stealing your transponder and forcing you to purchase a new one through installment payments. This is just outrageous.

Why should those of us who already bought a transponder be charged TWICE for owning the transponder? While some are willing to overlook the fifty cents, it adds up!!!
I would rather turn my transponder in and start taking Rte 9 again!! I am disgusted with the continued mismanagement of the highway system. We pay more and get less....
Why should a glorified cashier be paid $60,000 a year? Why not encourage and offer discounts to those who have the transponders as they could make more lanes electronic, cut jobs, and save substantial money.
Not to mention that if the system doesn't read your transponder, it charges you for the entire length of the pike....again. Why are we penalized for their short comings?!
It is time they change the way they use our money instead of asking for more!!

"State officials also said the Fast Lane program is good for the environment because it reduces the number of car engines idling in long lines at toll booths."

How about that! People have been complaining for years about the traffic, pollution, and road dangers that toll booths create, but never mind-it's only when there is a dollar sign attached to addressing these issues that the pols move into action.

H

I think all of us with Fast Lane transponders should return them and say if you want us to use one make them free and no monthly fees! Until then... I will do EXACTLY what you don't want... use the old fashioned toll collector. In about two months they'll be on their knees. It is worth waiting in line to give them what they deserve for once.
Turnpike Boycott and if you must use it... Transponder Boycott

So they take a way the replacement cost and give us monthly fees. Wonderful. It saves us nothing in the end and may cost us more if the battery in the transponder ends up lasting more than five years. I liked it when I first got mine. There were no monthly fees, no replacement cost, and the $0.50 discount at tollbooths. Now my $0.50 discount is wiped out by monthly fees. Thanks, turnpike authority! All the more reason to get one from NH or just use side roads.

I think I'm cancelling my account. I already paid for a transponder and would only accept the 50 cent fee when I get a new one.

I've had a transponder for about 8 years but I rarely even use the pike. Now I am going to have ot pay a monthly fee anyway? Unfair, I say! I already paid the fee for the transponder, and I rarely use the toll road. How can this be fair?

1) Eliminate All Toll Booths and Tunnel Taxes -- everywhere in the state.
2) Save all of the money having to run an entire administration devoted to having to collect all the fees/chase people down who don't pay fees, etc.
3) Raise all other vehicle related fees a LITTLE BIT (Not giant increases)
4) Raise the GASoline Tax a little bit to make up for the removal of the tolls -- spread out the cost amongst ALL drivers in the state fairly and equally.

They're not all crooks but I play softball with a toll taker. He takes off his softball uniform and sneaks back into work. He's big in the union and pretty much can get away with anything.

He says he tried to warn those who took the coins recently.

We taxpayers could have sent a message in Nov by voting out the income tax, but now our politicians are back to do nothing, led by Patrick. Even old Finneran thinks he can get his law license back.

Then there are some of us that bought a transponder in the October timeframe for use perhaps three times a year that now get the "benefit" of paying for the transponder AND paying $6.00 a year for the privilege of having the device which decreases Pike costs anyway. This is nuts! I am seriously thinking of returning my transponder and they can take my $6 annual user fee and... I think all of us that BOUGHT a transponder over 30 days ago should return them, not get a new one, and for 1 month all take other routes to our destinations. Whoever designed this new policy cannot be a commuter that has any sense of fairness! If this is indicative of Mass Pike mentality then the they should be reorganized (and quickly)!!!!

when I found out the average toll booth operator makes $70,000 a year,... it just makes me sick.. BIG MONEY.. MENIAL JOBS...
That sucks for the rest of us..Why cant the pay more reflect the job.. ay 35-40k
max.

We should all avoid using the pike, Lets let it happen People.
This is the only way we can have them listen.
Go a different route at least for a while.
One person doing it isn't enough, like a single strand of twine is weak, but many are strong.
Lets band together and show our strength.
Avoid the pike!!

Free transponders is not true. In June, every Fast Lane, will be charged 50cents per month for use. Eventually, you will see this monthly charge increase, just like you pay for the cable box. More transponders, quicker money, more jobs for office people. You take away toll taker jobs, create office jobs, and still pay the hike. What about the families that have to endure whether or not, their family member is next to get the ax.
The unemployment in Massachusetts has risen so much, that it makes sense for decreased revenue. Think about it, people want the quickest way to work, even if it costs a little more. I think the point is being missed. The economy has been suffering for quite some time. They should be assessing whether or not they should put other plazas in other roads to generate revenue.

I'd rather buy the gosh darned thing rather than pay $.50 a month for ever. Just another tax if you ask me.

"The Patrick Administration is serious about..." taxing us more efficiently

Can we get one for our motorhome while towing our car?