Lawmakers Want USDOT to Again Have Veto Power Regarding Toll Rates

Prompted by toll increases in the New York metropolitan region, members of Congress introduced legislation last week to give the U.S. transportation secretary authority to oversee rates charged on federal-aid highways, bridges, and tunnels.Sen. Frank Lautenberg, D-New Jersey, and Rep. Michael Grimm, R-New York, said the federal government should have the ability to determine whether toll charges are “fair” to drivers — and to order them lowered if they are not, The Hill reported.

“When it costs $12 to drive your car across a bridge in America, something is wrong,” Lautenberg said in a statement. “While the Port Authority [of New York and New Jersey] and the two states are struggling to explain why these dramatic hikes were imposed, commuters are suffering.”

Lautenberg, sponsor of S 2006 (the Commuter Protection Act), added there’s a clear need for federal oversight to make sure toll revenue is being used appropriately. He noted the measure would return authority to the U.S. Department of Transportation that it previously had until 1987.

“Given these out-of-control toll hikes and the cloud of misinformation surrounding them, these federal protections for commuters need to be restored,” Lautenberg said.

Grimm said in a statement that the bipartisan legislation “brings oversight of toll rates on our nation’s federally funded highway system back into the Department of Transportation, where it belongs.”

The International Bridge, Tunnel, and Turnpike Association released a statement Tuesday opposing the Commuter Protection Act.

“The act would add an unnecessary layer of federal oversight in what is largely a state and local process,” IBTTA Executive Director and CEO Patrick Jones said in the statement. “In addition, it may constrain public and private investment in infrastructure at a time when Congress is looking to encourage further transportation investment.”

Jones pointed out that most toll agency boards in America are composed of appointed or elected officials.

“These boards review and approve toll rate increases and provide robust oversight of agency investments and operations,” he said. “This structure makes these boards attentive to and accountable to local taxpayers and voters. The addition of a federal review and approval process takes decision making away from the state and regional authorities that are ultimately accountable for the level of transportation investment and its consequences on local quality of life and regional economic competitiveness.”

Supporters of the legislation include AAA’s New York and New Jersey chapters, the American Trucking Associations, the American Highway Users Alliance, the American Motorcyclist Association, and the Owner-Operator Independent Drivers Association.

ATA President and CEO Bill Graves issued a statement last Friday thanking Lautenberg and Grimm for sponsoring the Commuter Protection Act. USDOT should have power to put a stop to unreasonable toll increases, he said.

“Having seen the toll increase proposed by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, they are acutely aware of the negative impact of allowing toll agencies unchecked power to raise tolls for whatever reason they want,” Graves said. “There are a number of reasons why tolling is bad public policy, but that policy gets worse when the tolls are raised without consideration for the users of highways and bridges and the revenue generated is not dedicated for their benefit.”

As a matter of policy, the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials consistently has worked to provide states with maximum flexibility to toll.