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NY Thruway Authority WILL NOT Increase Tolls

The New York State Thruway Authority has just announced that they will not move forward with their controversial proposal for a 45% toll hike on commercial vehicles with more than three axles. TRALA and the broader trucking industry have been fighting this proposal for the last several months. In a November 12 TRALA letter that was sent to the Thruway Authority Board of Directors as well as Governor Andrew Cuomo, TRALA detailed the reasons for our opposition. Today's announcement comes after Governor Cuomo reportedly told the Authority that a toll increase must be a last resort, and the Authority decided not to approve the huge toll increase.


Before today's announcement that they will abandon the proposed increase, the Thruway Authority repeatedly delayed meetings where they were supposed to approve the 45% increase for trucks with more than three axles, with the most recent postponement of a meeting coming on November 13. The Thruway Authority was silent on the issue until today's announcement that they will implement a new savings program to cover their budget shortfall, which won't include toll increases. Specifics of the savings program have not been released yet.


TRALA believes the Thruway Authority made the correct decision to not increase toll fares for trucks, because as the November 12 letter states, TRALA members are some of the most heavily-taxed businesses in New York, we don't believe that the burden of funding transportation infrastructure development and maintenance should fall unfairly on the commercial truck transportation industry, and the proposal would have multiplied the costs of TRALA member companies being held liable for toll violations committed by their customers while operating a rented or leased truck. All of these things combined with increased toll prices for the trucking industry would have resulted in increased costs for the end users - the small businesses and consumers in New York.


TRALA appreciates the leadership of New York State Motor Truck Association (NYSMTA) President Kendra Adams on this issue. To see a copy of TRALA's letter to the New York State Thruway Authority Board of Directors and Governor Cuomo, click here. For questions contact TRALA's Joe Sculley at jsculley@trala.org or by calling (703) 299-9120.