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Post by Clipper on Mar 21, 2022 10:21:20 GMT -5
cnycentral.com/news/local/assemblyman-santabarbara-calling-to-eliminate-thruway-tolls-for-summer-months-santabarbaraI doubt that the state lawmakers are about to allow for the tolls to be removed for the summer. Albany has protected this sacred cow for eons. As we all know, the road was supposed to become toll free when it was paid for. For decades the tolls have been challenged, and for many decades any attempts to do away with them have gone down in smoke. In the past few years we have moved away from frequent use of the Thruway when we are in the area. With family scattered from Verona Beach and Sherrill to Mohawk and Herkimer we traveled the Thruway multiple times a day depending on where we were staying. The last couple of trips we have used other routes that may take a little longer but save a few bucks. Doing away with the toll collection booths was the last straw for me. We tried the EZ pass thing the last time we were there. Paid $25 for the EZ pass transponder at a convenience store in Binghamton, used up the $25 over the 11 days we were there and ended up still getting a bill in the mail and suggestion that we use a credit card to add to our EZ pass account. Nope. Route 5, route 20, route 365 all get us where we want to go and Albany won't be sending us any bills. Removing the tolls for the summer would offer trucking companies to recoup some of the money being spent on the increased fuel prices. If fuel prices are $5 per gallon, an entire tank of diesel for a large truck can cost up to $750 or more, depending on the size of the saddle tanks on the truck. Most over the road trucks have a150 gallon fuel capacity. It is not unusual for a long haul truck to have up to a 300 gallon fuel capacity. I have said for years that the only thing that will stop the toll increases or make the road toll free will be when trucking companies band together, bite the bullet, use other routes, and boycott the Thruway. They really don't care about automobile driver's desires when they are collecting hundreds of bucks for a single trip on the Thruway with a semi truck.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Mar 21, 2022 10:36:58 GMT -5
I think driving Rt. 5 from Albany to Buffalo with a full cargo would convince anyone to take the Thruway.
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Post by Clipper on Mar 21, 2022 10:58:17 GMT -5
Of course it does, but I have to believe that boycotting the Thruway until the toll issue is addressed and relief is given to the trucking industry would probably be quite effective in a very short time. I am thinking more along the lines of trucks coming out of the west traveling to New England or downstate destinations. Trucks can exit I-90 in Eastern Pa and traverse a large portion of NY state with minimal use of the Thruway using I-86 (the old rt 17) to I-88 in Binghamton. They would only be subject to the Thruway toll from Schenectady to the Massachusetts line. I realize that the revenue stream from the tolls is a major contributor to the state budget but right now relief from the tolls could quite possibly lessen personal impact on NY taxpayers in the form of increased prices for the goods carried into and around the state by truck due to high fuel costs.
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Post by BHU on Mar 21, 2022 14:37:56 GMT -5
If the tolls are removed that will mean N.Y.S. taxpayer's will be footing the bill to maintain the Thwy. As it stands now people who actually use the thing are paying for maintenance thru tolls. I drive it on rare occasions so imho people including truckers who are tearing it up should foot the bill for it.
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Post by Clipper on Mar 21, 2022 17:48:09 GMT -5
Sorry to disagree but how do you think you should get your goods and yet preserve your roads? Helicopter delivery to your door like door dash? Knowing your precious state government in NY I would wager that a large part of the maintenance funding for the Thruway comes from federal funding while a large part of the toll money is spent maintaining the canal. Remember that the Thruway is governed by an "authority." Authorities have always been suspect and political in nature in my estimation. They tend to be rife with political appointees and cronies of those with political clout. They have been given the responsibility for maintaining the barge canal along with their thruway responsibility. How much do you think that the canal contributes financially to it's own maintenance costs? When was the last time that you had anything come to your door that came by barge? You are already paying to maintain the thruway with your tax dollars along with financing the passage of those yachts through the canal system. take a minute and look at the trucking industry and truck drivers with a bit of well deserved respect and gratitude.
Yeah, lets stick it to the truckers while the canal fees have been suspended and waived through the end of 2022. Don't suspend those tolls temporarily. Screw those drivers that are working their asses off 70 hours a week to keep you fed and clothes on your back. Seeing as how it is New York state, a state that has never been bashful about raising taxes to outrageous levels to finance downstate, or charging ridiculous costs for utilities so NYC can benefit from the power that passes through the unsightly lines that YOU paid to construct but receive zero kilowatts of power from. Hey, what the hell, what's a few extra bucks paid in taxes? Yep, you must pay to fuel NYC, oft described as the "engine that drives NY States economy," but let's not cut truckers and trucking companies any slack.
I would love to see truckers park their trucks for just long enough to remind people how important they actually are. It wouldn't take long for people to find out that without trucks the supply chain would soon run dry of more than toilet paper and foreign cars. I always have said if people don't like trucks or running in traffic with big trucks or the potholes they might cause on the interstate let them carry their asses over onto the 2 lane. They probably aren't going anywhere that requires urgency anyway.
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Post by BHU on Mar 22, 2022 15:09:29 GMT -5
Sorry to disagree but how do you think you should get your goods and yet preserve your roads? Helicopter delivery to your door like door dash? Knowing your precious state government in NY I would wager that a large part of the maintenance funding for the Thruway comes from federal funding while a large part of the toll money is spent maintaining the canal. Remember that the Thruway is governed by an "authority." Authorities have always been suspect and political in nature in my estimation. They tend to be rife with political appointees and cronies of those with political clout. They have been given the responsibility for maintaining the barge canal along with their thruway responsibility. How much do you think that the canal contributes financially to it's own maintenance costs? When was the last time that you had anything come to your door that came by barge? You are already paying to maintain the thruway with your tax dollars along with financing the passage of those yachts through the canal system. take a minute and look at the trucking industry and truck drivers with a bit of well deserved respect and gratitude. Yeah, lets stick it to the truckers while the canal fees have been suspended and waived through the end of 2022. Don't suspend those tolls temporarily. Screw those drivers that are working their asses off 70 hours a week to keep you fed and clothes on your back. Seeing as how it is New York state, a state that has never been bashful about raising taxes to outrageous levels to finance downstate, or charging ridiculous costs for utilities so NYC can benefit from the power that passes through the unsightly lines that YOU paid to construct but receive zero kilowatts of power from. Hey, what the hell, what's a few extra bucks paid in taxes? Yep, you must pay to fuel NYC, oft described as the "engine that drives NY States economy," but let's not cut truckers and trucking companies any slack. I would love to see truckers park their trucks for just long enough to remind people how important they actually are. It wouldn't take long for people to find out that without trucks the supply chain would soon run dry of more than toilet paper and foreign cars. I always have said if people don't like trucks or running in traffic with big trucks or the potholes they might cause on the interstate let them carry their asses over onto the 2 lane. They probably aren't going anywhere that requires urgency anyway. The Canal system which generates millions of dollars in tax & tourist revenue for small towns accross the state from canal users plenty of whom are N.Y.S. taxpayers, provides irrigation for farmers accross the state, is responsible for flood control accross the state from Albany to Tonawanda, Oswego & other areas not to mention hydroelectric power for example, right down in Little Falls among other places hasen't been funded by the Thruway in over 5 years. So no, truckers aren't paying tolls for boaters on the canal who like I said plenty are N.Y.S. taxpayers. I'll subsidize out of State truckers on the Thruway when they help me to pay my property & sewer taxes. It's a known fact & studies have proven it that 18 wheelers cause more damage to roads & highways just by their sheer weight then any other vehicle. Period. And I'm not going to pay for the Thruway when I don't use it so that Jim Bob from Alabamy or Old Miss or Louisiani or Michigan or wherever can deliver goods in his 18 wheeler to us libtard commies in N.Y. & not pay tolls on a highway that is a convenience for him to use in the first place, saving him fuel costs & time because using the Thruway shortens his time behind the wheel. If Jim Bob doesn't like paying tolls then he can take the loooooong way. Nobody if forcing truckers to do anything. |
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Post by Clipper on Mar 22, 2022 18:41:45 GMT -5
www.thenewspaper.com/news/50/5022.aspI am behind the times. When we left NY everyone was bitching because they had folded the canal sytem operations into the Thruway Authority. Amazing. The courts actually ruled in favor of truckers that objected to paying tolls that didn't benefit them in any way as users. They realized that it wasn't fair for the Thruway tolls to pay for canal. I guess you have the same attitude toward the Jim Bob hand that feeds ya as I do toward those NY libtards. If you are so damned worried about where your tax money is going pack up and leave. I know my wallet breathed a sigh of relief when I left that overtaxed crime ridden hell hole. I miss the Adirondacks and NY pizza but I can survive with visiting once a year and paying less than half the tax bill that I paid in NY. You object to waiving Thruway tolls to give people a break during the peak vacation season or give truckers a break seeing as how they are already paying highway tax and exorbitant fuel tax rates to drive within NY. Those dollars are earmarked for highway maintenance, and yet the beloved barge canal is enjoying waived fees and tolls through the end of 2022. Tolls and user fees generate a very small portion of the approximately 90 million dollar budget to operate the canal system. I think I read that recreational boater use only generates something like 2-4 million of the 90 million. Do you by chance realize how many more people would benefit from waiving the tolls on the Thruway than waiving fees to use the canal? They are waiving user fees on the canal, and now you and your tax dollars are paying for the dredging, maintenance, and employee salaries for lock tenders and maintenance folks. www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Blue+States+Map&&view=detail&mid=C3B4C5FFD424D0D77DBFC3B4C5FFD424D0D77DBF&&FORM=VRDGAR&ru=%2Fvideos%2Fsearch%3Fq%3DBlue%2BStates%2BMap%26FORM%3DVARSQPCome on down. We are doing quite well. They can't build homes and apartment complexes fast enough to keep up with demand. More businesses and industries are moving in all the time. You won't have to worry about Jim Bob getting a break from thruway tolls. We don't have, and don't need toll roads. We still have a few liberal democrats here but they are harder to find since they became embarrassed and scraped off their Biden bumper stickers.
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Post by BHU on Mar 22, 2022 19:30:22 GMT -5
The Canal system may be a relic to some people who don't live here, don't enjoy the recreational oppurtunities it provides, the jobs it provides & other things such as farmers having access to it to use as irrigation for their crops or the millions of dollars in tourist revenue that it generates. And that's fine. But some of us do just as an historical landmark alone. The trucker's got their way. Good for them. And it's a positive development that their tolls will now be used to assist in maintaining a highway that THEY'RE using t save on fuel costs & hours spent behind the wheel. I may be missing something here but I fail to see how tolls waived on the thruway for truckers benefits anyone but the trucker's themselves who more then likely have a lobbyist in Albany paid for by a major trucking conglomerate looking for a free ride at the expense of motorists who will have to make up the diference if those tolls are waived. Amazon & WalMart come to mind for starters.
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Post by Clipper on Mar 22, 2022 23:11:38 GMT -5
The waiver of tolls is actually aimed at vacationing families coming out of 2yrs of staying close to home due to the pandemic, but the trucking industry will also find major benefit in the process. It seems that you have very little knowledge or concern for the logistics that bring your goods and services to you. As for greedy trucking companies, here are a few bits of trivia that show how expensive it is to operate a truck or fleet of trucks in today's climate. Trucking companies are struggling to stay afloat with the rising costs of doing business, and the shortage of drivers. An oil change on a tractor uses 7 gallons of motor oil, a tractor trailer averages about 6 mpg of diesel, a normal routine service requires multiple fuel and oil filters, and trucks still have grease fitting and require greasing. Brakes on all 18 wheels are serviced frequently and shoes don't last long stopping 80,000lbs. Then there is the cost of highway use tax permits for each state they operate in or pass through. Those remnants of tires you see along the road cost some truck owner 3 to 5 hundred bucks for a replacement tire plus a couple of hundred bucks for the road service call to replace it. A new tractor costs in excess of $300,000. A reputable company is probably paying the driver anywhere from 50 cents and up per mile. Sounds like a lot of money, but those drivers work 70hrs a week and over the road drivers average 3000 miles per week. I am not up to date on new DOT regulations but when I last drove, a driver could work 15 hours before taking a required 8 hour break. That break had to include his meal, a shower, relaxing for short time, and probably 6 hours sleep before doing it all again. Trucking companies AND drivers earn every penny they make.
You mentioned Walmart and Amazon. In actuality their trucks probably have minimal effect on the roads. Their average loads are not that heavy. A load going to a Walmart store may weigh 20 to 25 thousand pounds. Many other carriers load to max allowed by law and carry 40 to 45 thousand pounds and that puts the entire unit at it's maximum legal gross weight of 80,000lbs.
Your stereo typing of truck drivers as Jim Bob from Alabamy tells me that you don't have a clue as to complexity of operations related to the trucking industry or of the skill level and knowledge necessary to safely operate a semi truck. A large percentage of truck drivers are highly skilled drivers, many of which have more than a million miles of safe driving under their belt, piloting a vehicle in excess of 100,000 miles a year that you probably couldn't get out of first gear or out of the parking lot. The majority of truck drivers are far from red necked, uneducated dummies. The saying that "truckers move America" is actually based on fact. Just about everything that you use in your everyday life is transported by a truck at one point or another.
I feel your pain as you worry about your tax dollar being misused to maintain the Thruway, but it is not Jim Bob's fault that you live in a state where infrastructure costs are exceedingly high.
Fact is some owner operators out of the midwest already avoid NY due to the costs of fuel and the Thruway. Coming east they simply stay on I-80 when I-80 and I-90 split at Cleveland. They come across Pa, through part of NJ, a very short 35 miles of Thruway from Suffern to Newburg, accessing New England via I-84 through Connecticut.
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Post by BHU on Mar 23, 2022 7:42:07 GMT -5
I don't need to operate an 18 wheeler to understand the difficulties involved in earning a living as a trucker. And if I'm not mistaken some of the operating expenses of an owner operator such as fuel costs, tolls, repairs & maintenance of an 18 wheeler can be deducted when they file their taxes as a self employed individual.
As far as "bashing" is concerned what's with the constant derogatory comments aimed at N.Y.S., including this area? Yep, a lot of people have left this area & Utica has some serious issues but the Mohawk Valley is on the rebound with developments all over this area which is witnessed by a new hospital, North Utica building projects, Nexus etc. etc. Yes, people are leaving the state & I know a few of them who have left this area after retiring from state employment then head for the exits & taking their pensions with them, then turn around & bash N.Y.S. whilst living off the pension sytem partially financed by the taxpayers who still live in this state. Gee, if it's so bad up why'd they wait till retirement age to leave?
To them I say, Sayonara.
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Post by clarencebunsen on Mar 23, 2022 8:28:10 GMT -5
I think this thread has gone a bit over-the-top with personal sniping. See you both on a friendlier thread.
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Post by Clipper on Mar 23, 2022 9:09:44 GMT -5
I agree. BHU and I both know how to trip each other's trigger and the low opinion, the negative connotation and dissing of truck drivers really tripped mine. There are plenty of inexperienced reckless hotshot, heavy footed steering wheel holders in dirty sweat pants, needing a bath and a shave out there, but the majority of drivers are skilled and responsible drivers that in my opinion deserve a whole lot more respect than they receive.
Two very opinionated people butting heads and neither giving an inch. Sorry.
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Post by BHU on Mar 23, 2022 15:20:14 GMT -5
I agree. BHU and I both know how to trip each other's trigger and the low opinion, the negative connotation and dissing of truck drivers really tripped mine. There are plenty of inexperienced reckless hotshot, heavy footed steering wheel holders in dirty sweat pants, needing a bath and a shave out there, but the majority of drivers are skilled and responsible drivers that in my opinion deserve a whole lot more respect than they receive. Two very opinionated people butting heads and neither giving an inch. Sorry. I agree. The majority of truckers are responsible professionals who deserve a debt of gratitude for what they do. I meant no disrespect to anyone & hopefully we can agree to disagree. |
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Post by Atticus Pizzaballa on Mar 23, 2022 18:51:48 GMT -5
I was just thinking I have not used the thruway since losing my car. I think that was in the year 2000 since I could not afford the license or registration payment and family would not help. When I was back up here in NYS while in Seminary for one year at Lemoyne College for 28 hours in philosophy staying at Aquinas House in the back area of Lemoyne College then at St Bernard's in Rochester I constantly was driving when on various education breaks or holidays back and forth from Utica to there. When I was assigned a parish for my Deacon year in Syracuse (diocese kept me close since I was a little headache for them) I did not like winter driving on said Thruways especially when trucks huge ones passed me by in my small used car called a Mercury. If it wasn't trucks it was the State salting crew in winter I think they all had it in for me. Best time I had is when I somehow got in the middle of a military convoy headed to I guess Fort Drum. That was sort of cool since my car had some sort of military insignia sticker on my lack bumper from California. Used cars you never know what ya will get but it kept up with my four years in Rochester and extra year in Syracuse and a few years after that and then decided to just die on me on Route 5 heading to Manlius to visit a friend......my luck has been downhill since....
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