A softened blow, but it will still hurt

Eastern Shore drivers will get a one-month reprieve from Bay Bridge toll hikes – but it’s still likely the prices will rise steeply.

As originally envisioned, Bay Bridge tolls would jump to $5 come October and skyrocket to $8 in 2013. Instead, the MTA is expected to vote next Thursday on a proposal to increase Bay Bridge tolls to $4 on November 1 and $6 in July 2013. So we’ll “only” have a 240% increase instead of a 320% increase.

Still, this will take a larger bite out of our pockets and as a percentage (with some exceptions for Baltimore-area commuters, who now pay less than $1 to cross at various Baltimore-area points) those using the Bay Bridge will see the largest increase in tolls across the system.

While we all figured a toll increase was a fait accompli, I think the grudging preference among those who testified at our hearing (aside from Norm “Five Dollar” Conway) was that increases be phased in slowly and not with such a steep incline as to increase over threefold in the span of two years. We got a little bit of modification, but it’s clear the MTA is going to rely on Eastern Shore drivers to be the cash cow for years to come – although Baltimore-area commuters have a point in saying they’ll be unfairly targeted too.

On the other hand, the newest toll highway in the MTA portfolio will still be exempt from increases as the Intercounty Connector doesn’t see a hike. That highway is a little bit different in that there is no cash toll and drivers are charged on a sliding scale of anywhere between 15 cents and $3.94 per mile depending on time of day and number of axles. Yet they won’t have to bear any additional burden, at least for the time being.

So while we can thank the MTA for apparently listening to our concerns, it’s interesting to note that a comment in response to the story by David Hill in yesterday’s Washington Times on the toll hike concluded the increase to $6 was the plan all along and the $8 figure was just in place to make us feel like we won something at the end. And it is indeed tempting to think that the O’Malley administration would have been thrilled if no one showed up to complain about $8 at the Bay Bridge – remember, the Eastern Shore hearing wasn’t originally planned but added due to popular demand.

Yet they will still get additional millions out of the deal – maybe not the $77 million projected annually by the original proposal, but perhaps a number in the range of $50-60 million on top of what they already make. They won’t be hurting for money, but Eastern Shore drivers might be.