Projection: Bay Bridge toll collections down $1 million

High fuel prices blamed; state says operations won't be affected

By KEVIN ROBILLARD, Staff Writer

Published 08/24/08

The Maryland Transportation Authority is on pace to collect about $1 million less from tolls on the Bay Bridge than it did last year.

Through July, the authority had collected an estimated $632,257 less than it had through July of last year.

If that pace continues through the end of the year, the decline will be slightly more than $1 million.

The loss amounts to 3.2 percent of the revenue collected from tolls on the bridge, and the authority said operations won't be affected.

"We're always closely monitoring traffic and revenue," said Lindsay Reilly, an authority spokeswoman. "We'll continue to monitor them in the future."

The authority is funded by tolls at the Bay Bridge and other bridges and tunnels in Maryland. Money collected is used to support the state's transportation infrastructure.

The amounts are based on an analysis by The Capital of traffic on the Bay Bridge, assuming every car crossing the bridge pays $2.50 in tolls.

High gas prices are causing people to cut back on driving or shift to taking public transportation, meaning fewer people are paying the authority's tolls.

The cutback in driving already has had other impacts on transportation funding in Maryland.

BAY BRIDGE NUMBERS

Number of crossings in first seven months of 2007: 7,812,597
Estimated tolls collected in first seven months of 2007: $19,531,492.50
Number of crossings in first seven months of 2008: 7,559,694
Estimated tolls collected in first seven months of 2008: $18,899,235
Difference in cars: 252,903
Estimated difference in toll collections: $632,257.50

Source: Maryland Transportation Authority, analysis by The Capital

According to figures released last month, Maryland residents drove 200 million fewer miles this May than they did in May 2007. At that time, Mary-land Department of Transportation Sec. John Pocari said the decrease in driving could hurt the state's transportation infrastructure because drivers would pay less in gas taxes, which go to the Maryland Transportation Trust Fund, which funds the design and building of roads.

Peter Samuel, a Frederick resident who runs the Web site www.TOLLROADSnews.com, said cutbacks in driving are hurting toll authorities around the country. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority, for example, already is saddled with debt from Boston's Big Dig and is being hit particularly hard.

However, he said the Maryland Transportation Authority is in better shape.

"It means their budgets are a bit squeezed, but it's nothing too dramatic," Mr. Samuel said.

"You'd expect the Bay Bridge to be down more than the others because a lot of those trips are discretionary" ones to vacation spots, he said.

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Toll decline - August 26, 2008

A solution for the decline of bridge tolls is to install traffic cameras on the bridge and enforce the current traffic laws, like the 40mph speed limit in 2 way traffic. Enforcing the traffic laws on the bridge not only makes the bridge safer to travel, but the traffic fines will more then make up for the decline of the tolls.

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Kristina P. - Easton, MD - Karma: Bad

My Pocketbook - August 24, 2008

My pocketbook has been raided by the utilities. Neither party had the guts to stand up to them and so rates go through the roof...and I've paid for my $170 rebate already.

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J. Jovkovich - Annapolis, MD - Karma: Neutral