Electronic toll collection makes so much sense…which, of course, is why Ass-Like Drivers don’t use it.

Last month a friend offered to drive me to New York in her spanking new Prius, of which she was enormously proud and, in an effort to minimize her already dwindling carbon footprint by pursuing some sort of gas mileage record, she had taken to coasting whenever possible. Despite a somewhat erratic driving style, I was impressed with her enthusiasm and commitment, and those quiet, gravity-powered, battery-charging interludes began to lull me into a world far removed from the venalities of Boston driving.

Boston drivers, eschewing all things logical and reasonable, hurry to get in the Cash Only lines
Photo credit: DLA Research Labs

As we approached the Mass Pike toll booths, all the “Get Ticket” lanes were backed up hundreds of yards. The FAST LANE lanes were either wide open or blocked by drivers who didn’t remember that they didn’t have a FAST LANE pass until they were ten feet from the gate and were now trying to squeeze left or right while digging quarters from under the seat.  My friend pulled into a “Get Ticket” lane.

Somewhat surprised, I asked her why her environmental consciousness didn’t compel her to become a Fast Lane member, especially in the light of the fuel wasted by millions of idling cars.

"Oh, that FAST LANE thing is one of the biggest rip offs!” she replied.

The rest of the trip would have gone so much better if I had only kept my mouth shut . But, from that point on, it went something like this:

    She:    “It costs more than $25!”
    Me:     “It’s good for three years.”

    She:     “I don’t really use it that much”
    Me:      “FAST LANE users get a discount.”

    She:     “I don’t use the Pike on the way home, only going to work.”
    Me:      “What language are you speaking?”

    She:     “I don’t really mind waiting in line.”
    Me:      "Why don't you just let me out here...”

    She:     “My friend waited until New Hampshire started its program and got one there. Everything is cheaper in New Hampshire.”
    Me:       “How do I unlock this door?”

MISMANAGEMENT? POLITICS? TECHNO-PHOBES?
Noah Bierman, the Boston Globe’s “Starts & Stops” columnist, in the February 24 issue, addressed some of the problems of improving electronic toll collection (ETC) technology on the Pike: toll operators handing out tickets and collecting tolls, no open road tolling (high speed electronic toll lanes), difficulty of widening lanes, high cost of transponders, ad nauseam. Not to mention labor resistance: when the Turnpike authority made noises about replacing human toll operators with machines, local Teamsters went on record as saying that “there aren't enough toll-takers already, causing back-ups at peak times and making the FAST LANE pass system more attractive.”

Hmm…making it more attractive? Yeah, well…gotta get back to you on that one.

His column also made mention of Peter Samuel’s website, TollRoadNews.com, which focuses on and is a source for all things toll related—toll roads, turnpikes, toll bridges, toll tunnels, and road pricing—including toll collection technology, theory, and policy. His archives contain a blistering commentary on last year’s report on the state of transportation financing in Massachusetts, a report subtitled “An Unsustainable System.” Among the report’s findings highlighted by Samuel—which would be comic if not so disappointingly familiar to Massachusetts residents—were:

• The Turnpike has maintenance needs of $470 million per year but revenues of only $387 million per year, leaving a gap of $83 million per year…and that’s just maintenance;
• The Turnpike has used debt for funding which results in 44% of highway funds being used for debt service, the highest in the country (national average= 6%);
• Toll booths on the Western stretch of the Pike are staffed 24/7 in order to collect tolls from trucks, while waving cars through.
• There is no money for expansions or enhancements or any kind, yet tens of millions are spent on planning studies and design work for rail transit projects that have no chance of being funded, and, if they were funded, would have no way to cover the operating losses.

All of this doesn’t bode well for the prospect of investing in technology to improve the level of service on Massachusetts tolls roads.

THIS IS A JOB FOR DLA RESEARCH!

This gets us back to my environment-friendly, technology-wary friend. DLA thinks Bierman missed one of the key aspects of this problem: Boston drivers have one of the lowest uses of electronic toll collection in the country. (see Table 1) Although the Mass Turnpike Authority claims that, overall, 60% of its toll transactions are FAST LANE generated, this is still well below usage elsewhere.

         TABLE 1
                 
         Source: ETC Agency Data, Bay Area Toll Authority (BATA) Study

Even Virginia cites a 75% usage during peak traffic hours. This fact was not lost on the razor-sharp minds of Driving Like Ass researchers who, forever in search of insight into ass-like driving, are especially excited by anomalies such as this. And the question is this: why, in a city known for its rush-hour and all-hour gridlock and for the agitation and impatience of it drivers, hasn’t Boston jumped on ETC use faster than you can say “get outta my way”?

Next: DLA hits the research street in search of links between Boston's Ass-like drivers and FAST LANE usage! Click here for Part Two and DLA Survey Results!