Owner-ops urge feds to ‘just say no’ to I-80 tolls

HARRISBURG, Pa. — The Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association wants Washington to deny the Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission’s request to toll Interstate 80.

In a joint letter to Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters and Federal Highway Administrator Richard Capka, OOIDA and the American Trucking Associations, among other groups, explained that tolling interstate highways amount to double taxation of highway users and is too costly for truckers.

Furthermore, tolls cause unsafe conditions on alternate routes as highway users attempt to avoid paying to drive on the highways.

“Responsible use of current resources should be the priority. Unfortunately, there are too many elected and government officials that continue to pour more water into a broken bucket, instead of fixing the hole in the bottom of the bucket,” stated Mike Joyce, OOIDA government affairs associate.

Joyce added that truckers who reside and drive through Pennsylvania already contribute financially through taxes and fees. Whether trucks are base-plated in another jurisdiction, they pay taxes on each mile they drive in each state.

The letter from the four organizations is legislatively focused, pointing out stipulations outlined the Interstate System Reconstruction and Rehabilitation Pilot Program that need to be met by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation in order to be able to add tolls to its highways.

OOIDA and the ATA say that the Turnpike Commission and PennDOT have not met certain criteria in order to add tolls to state highways, and therefore their applications should not be approved.


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