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Dec 9, 2016

TRUCK TOLLS * USA - Electronic ones charging big rigs

* Rhode Island - Moves forward on truck tolls

--- Rhode Island transportation officials are moving forward on plans to install electronic tolls that will charge big-rig trucks for traveling along Interstate 95 and other highways. (SEE VIDEO) ... The Rhode Island Department of Transportation said Monday it has begun seeking proposals by companies looking to design, build and operate the tolls... The state truck-only tolls will help to raise money to repair bridges and roads... The first tolls will be erected along I-95 in southwest Rhode Island near the Connecticut border. The state law allows 18-wheelers to be charged up to $20 on a one-way route through the state between Massachusetts and Connecticut... The state plans to award a contract in the spring and complete toll construction by late 2018... 
(Photo: Greater New York Roads / I-95) -- Providence, R.I., USA — The Associated Press/WPRI - December 5, 2016

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Aug 31, 2016

TRUCK TOLL in RHODE ISLAND * USA: ... "A extortion"

* Rhode Island - US trucking industry leader calls RI tolls ‘extortion’

  (Video from WPRI - Aug 30, 2016: The American Trucking Association’s president delivered a clear political threat to Gov. Gina Raimondo and her allies over the new law) 

--- The head of the American Trucking Association has lobbed a new grenade at Gov. Gina Raimondo’s truck-toll law, describing it as an unacceptable effort to force his industry to underwrite the cost of repairing Rhode Island bridges... ATA President Chris Spear said, “Regardless of that outcome, we will punish those people who target our industry as rolling ATMs and make examples of them as a clear message to others who attempt to do the same” ... 
 Providence, RI, USA - WPRI, by Ted Nesi - August 30, 2016

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May 14, 2016

DUTCH TRUCKS vs. BELGIAN TOLLS * Europe - BORDER TROUBLES

* The Netherlands - Dutch trucks take longer routes to avoid new Belgian tolls

--- Dutch truck drivers opt for longer routes through the Netherlands in an effort to avoid new tolls Belgium implemented on April 1st... VID analyzed the volume of traffic to and from the Antwerp port on four routes that include the border crossings with Belgium on the A4, A16, A67 and A76. Since the new tolls were implemented, there is more freight trucks on Dutch roads, the traffic service concluded... Transport companies are trying to limit the kilometers they travel through Belgium, and so save on tolls. This led to traffic at the A4 border crossing Ossendrecht increasing with almost 10 percent since April 1st, while traffic on the A16 Hazeldonk border decreased by 7 percent. Traffic on the highways at border crossings also decreased. According to VID, that indicates that small border crossings on the N-roads, for example, are being used more... Truck drivers from Germany are also trying to avoid the tolls. Trucks between the German Ruhr area and the Antwerp port often take a detour via the Netherlands, instead of taking the shortest route through Belgium – cutting 50 kilometers off the distance traveled through Belgium and thereby saving on tolls... 
(Photo: Motorway between Reeuwijk and De Meern, Utrecht, Holland)   --  Ossendrecht, North Brabant, Holland - VID/ANP/The NETHERLANDS Times, by Janene Pieters - May 10, 2016

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May 7, 2016

TRUCK TOLLS * USA: TRUCKING OPPOSITION

* Rhode Island - Uncertainty over a relief package for truckers

--- Before they authorized a statewide network of truck tolls earlier this year, Rhode Island lawmakers told the local trucking industry that a financial relief package to help deal with the cost of the new tolls would soon follow... They didn't say when it might happen... How lawmakers intended to help truckers has been an open question since a $13.5-million tax credit package for the industry was cut out of early versions of Raimondo's truck-toll legislation... The reason the package was eliminated — concern about the legality of favoring local businesses over out-of-state competitors — remains an issue for the state as it looks to implement truck tolls in the years ahead... Asked how he would construct a local industry relief package that doesn't run afoul of interstate commerce protections, Mattiello in January said "carefully" in interviews after the truck toll bill was passed...
 (Photo  - Trucks drivers circle the Rhode Island State House in opposition to the truck toll legislation) -- Providence, R.I., USA - The Provicence Journal, by Patrick Anderson - May. 5, 2016

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Apr 21, 2016

TRUCK TOLLS * Europe: Based on CO2 emissions

* Belgium - Are trucks taking their toll?


-- The European Commission should introduce truck tolls based on CO2 emissions as part of its ‘Eurovignette’ review this year. So if they are here to stay then trucks will need to become a lot cleaner and safer... Trucks are responsible for a whole range of impacts that bring costs to society; they damage roads, emit air pollution, contribute to climate change and are involved in a disproportionate number of fatal crashes. These negative impacts are called “external costs” and were recently shown to cause a remarkable €143 billion in damages every year in Europe... Currently, only 30% of this amount is being paid for by those responsible and we as the taxpayers are left to pay for the rest. One great way to reduce these costs – and make sure it’s not just the public who pays – is by tolling trucks for their use of the road... Belgium recently introduced a toll for trucks on a large network of their roads. The toll in Belgium will be differentiated based on the “EURO class” of the vehicle, which means that people who drive a truck that emits less air pollution will pay a reduced toll. This will help to improve air quality within the country. The toll also means that the three regional governments can receive more revenue for the public budget... The European Commission defines the parameters by which countries can toll the trucks on our roads. They should not limit the positive things that countries can achieve through their tolls. Tolling could be an effective aid in transitioning to a cleaner transport sector but this requires CO2 to be included, caps to be improved, and antiquated systems to be phased-out...
 (Photo by Bob Adams/Flickr - The European Commission is reviewing the "Eurovignette" directive this year)  --  Brussels, Belgium - EurActiv, by Samuel Kenny - 18 Apr 2016

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Apr 18, 2016

TRUCKS' TOLL * USA: Rhode Island ROAD SYSTEM

* Rhode Island - Ignore the truckers' crocodile tears

-- Rhode Island implement its plan to rebuild its shamefully inadequate road system through tolls levied on the very vehicles that cause most of the highway damage... Tolling trucks here would help place the burden of highway upkeep where it belongs, on the vehicles that inflict upwards of 99 percent of the damage all traffic causes to roads and bridges... Many analysts rate Rhode Island’s major road and bridge network as the nation’s worst, with 57 percent of the 1,162 bridges deemed structurally deficient or functionally obsolete... The trucking industry will no doubt continue to try to stir up anguish among motorists (“four-wheelers,” in the industry’s parlance) by warning that if tolls are levied on their rigs, car tolls are surely just around the corner. But the reality is that trucking hasn’t been paying its fair share for decades. One Washington think tank 10 years ago said that if trucking were to cover all of its direct expenses, including congestion, pollution and highway damage, the per-gallon federal diesel tax would have to be 69 cents (compared with today’s 24.4 cents) and trucks would also have to pay between 7 and 20 cents for every mile traveled... 
(Photo: Big truck travels through Providence on Route 95) -- Providence, RI, USA - The Providence Journal, by Howard Abramson - Apr. 17, 2016

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Feb 18, 2016

BIG TRUCK TOLLS * USA: RhodeWorks signed into Law

* Rhode Islands - Tolls for 18-wheeler trucks: “A gauntlet of regulatory and legal challenges", R.I.T.A.

-- Even though truck tolls are the law, it could be years before the state starts collecting revenue, if it gets to that point at all. The state estimate is for toll gantries to be operational in about 18 months... Chris Maxwell, president of the Rhode Island Trucking Association, says this is just the beginning of what could be a long legal battle...  On Thursday, before Senate passage of RhodeWorks legislation and its signing by Gov. Gina Raimondo, Maxwell said tolls for 18-wheeler trucks – Class 8 vehicles – faces a “gauntlet of regulatory and legal challenges…the real work begins; we won’t give up on this fight” ... The truckers favor increasing the diesel tax as a component of funding the roadwork, with other revenues coming in reduced state spending... But while the trucking association is looking to put the brakes on tolls, as Rhode Island could set a national precedent, the state Department of Transportation (RIDOT) is stepping on the accelerator to repair 150 of the state’s most deficient bridges... 
(Photo: R.I. Gov. Gina Raimondo signs RhodeWorks into law during a State House ceremony last week) -- Providence, R:I., USA - Warwick Beacon, by John Howell - February 16, 2016

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Feb 13, 2016

TRUCK TOLL in R.I. * USA

* Rhode Island - Truck tolls move to Senate after passing House

-- Democratic leaders in the Rhode Island General Assembly plan to send a highway truck toll bill to the desk of Democratic Gov. Gina Raimondo by Thursday night if the Senate votes in its favor... State senators will begin debating Thursday afternoon on the legislation to charge big-rig trucks that travel in the state. The tolls would help finance Raimondo's 10-year plan to repair deteriorating bridges... The House of Representatives voted 52-21 to pass the bill late Wednesday night after nearly seven hours of debate. Democratic Senate President Teresa Paiva Weed said this week that she expects senators to approve the bill...
Providence, R.I., USA - The Trucker - 11 Feb 2016

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Jun 3, 2015

Trucking industry fights back against state tolls * USA

* Rhode Island - Truckers speak out against toll proposal

  WPRI - May 28, 2015 --  Gov. Gina Raimondo unveiled a plan to toll large commercial trucks to help fund a nearly $5 billion infrastructure plan...


-- The Rhode Island Trucking Association is fighting back after Gov. Gina Raimondo announced last week her plan to have large commercial trucks pay tolls when passing through the state... But Bill Fischer, the spokesperson for the Rhode Island Trucking Association, said it will be bad for small businesses in the Ocean State... Fischer believes local companies that travel on Rhode Island roads all day and will be hit with several tolls, are going to have to raise their prices. “Those tolling charges are going to be passed onto the consumer” ... Fischer is calling on the governor to be more transparent about where the tolls will be located, how much they'll cost and what will be the plan if truckers drive around Rhode Island... 
Providence, R.I., USA - NBC 10 News, by Matt Reed - Jun 02, 2015


* Rhode Island - Gov. Raimondo softens proposal for R.I. tolls on truckers
-- Responding to outraged Rhode Island truckers, Governor Raimondo tried on Tuesday to soften her proposal to raise $1.1 billion over the next decade by charging commercial trucks for using the state's bridges... Hours before state lawmakers began vetting Raimondo's toll plan at the State House and just after the Rhode Island Trucking Association denounced it as unjust in a news conference, Raimondo announced two major changes to her RhodeWorks transportation funding package... The first would exempt some smaller commercial trucks — those in classes 6 and 7 of the federal rating system — from the tolls that would be placed on Routes 95, 195, 295, 146, 6 and 10. Vehicles commonly referred to as tractor trailers — those in classes 8 through 13 — would be tolled. Passenger vehicles are not included in the plan... The second change provides that trucks will be charged only once per location per day in each direction. The state plans to add the tolls at between 17 and 22 bridges with a median toll of $6. Crossing the state in one direction would cost between $40 and $50... The RhodeWorks plan is supposed to provide a 30-percent increase in funding for repairs of structurally deficient bridges. The plan is based on a $700-million state revenue bond that the state would repay with the proceeds from the tolls... Despite the concessions, Raimondo's toll proposal was unlikely to draw anything but hostility from the trucking industry, whose leaders on Tuesday told reporters at a news conference at the Rhode Island Trucking Association headquarters in Pawtucket that they would not support tolls under any circumstances... 
-- Providence, R.I., USA - The Providence Journal, by Jennifer Bogdan  and Patrick Anderson - 2 June 2015

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Nov 14, 2010

TOLL * UK - FTA outraged at Severn toll hike

FTA: it has labelled as ‘gratuitous and cynical’ tolls hikes


(Video from YouTube, by civilengineeringtv -7 Jan 2009: Short film about the Second Severn Crossing, created by the Severn Bridges Visitor Centre)

Wales,UK -HGV (UK) -November 10, 2010: -- HGV operators using the Severn crossing, already the most expensive toll in the UK, will be forced to pay an extra 80p in the New Year, which could be the kiss of death for those companies that rely on this vital trade corridor... The Freight Transport Association (FTA) has been very vocal in its campaign to freeze what it has labelled ‘gratuitous and cynical’ tolls hikes, but had been encouraged by the decision to look more closely at the damaging and undeniable impact these tolls have on businesses, on both sides of the river... Ian Gallagher, FTA’s Policy Manager for Wales, said: “Mike Penning’s announcement has come as a massive body blow to the industry which will be felt across Wales and the south west of England" ... The decision to charge so much for vehicles that have to use the bridge is not only irresponsible, when companies are struggling in tough trading conditions, it could be the last straw... The tolls already cost companies many thousands of pounds a month; there are genuine fears that such an unexpected and significant price hike could be unsustainable and force companies to consider redundancies and even insolvencies...

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Jun 20, 2010

Truck Tolls * USA - To soar next two years in San Francisco

San Francisco,CAL,USA -Land Line Magazine, by David Tanner -June 18, 2010: -- One year from now, truckers will pay significantly more to cross certain bridges in the San Francisco area. The current toll of $11.25 for a five-axle vehicle will increase 60 percent to $18 in 2011 and another 39 percent to $25 in 2012... The Bay Area Toll Authority set the new toll rates in January on all seven of its bridges: the eastbound lanes of the Antioch, Benicia-Martinez and Carquinez bridges and westbound lanes of the San Francisco-Oakland Bay, Dumbarton, Richmond-San Rafael and San Mateo-Hayward bridges... The authority is also implementing a congestion-pricing plan to charge higher tolls for cars during peak times on the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge... Toll dollars pay for operations, maintenance and administration for the authority as well as debt reduction and seismic retrofits to shore up the bridges against earthquakes... (Photo from mtc.ca.gov: The Carquinez bridge)

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May 15, 2007

DEBATE * USA - Trucks’ Toll

New York,NY,USA -The Gotham Gazette -May 14, 2007: -- U.S. Representative and likely mayoral candidate Anthony Weiner, who was quick to slam Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s plan to charge some motorists a fee to drive in Manhattan, has an alternative idea. He wants to make it more expensive for truckers to drive in Manhattan because, he says, trucks are a bigger problem than cars... A spokesperson for Bloomberg told that Weiner’s alternative would “drastically increase truck traffic in neighborhoods that already have high child asthma rates,” and hurt small businesses...

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posted by Unknown @ 11:38 AM  0 comments

Apr 30, 2007

Higher truck toll * USA - To raise $10M

PEN,USA -blog.pennlive.com, by Precious Petty and Alyssa Young -April 30, 2007: -- A plan to charge higher tolls for big trucks that cross the Delaware River finally will come to fruition in a few weeks. The Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission has intended for years to raise the toll it charges trucks with three or more axles. Effective May 20, it will rise 50 cents, from $2.75 to $3.25, the commission said today... The change will bring in an additional $10 million in revenue. The commission now raises about $80 million in tolls from this type of truck...

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