Facts Cut Against Gov. Corzine's Massive Toll Hike Plan

Imagine that. New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine (D) has been claiming that the toll hikes wouldn't affect state residents nearly as much as it would those who simply drive through the state. Toll records indicate something quite different.

The New Jersey Turnpike Authority last night released E-ZPass data that seems to confirm the fears of critics who've spoken out against Gov. Jon Corzine's plan to use steeply higher tolls on the Turnpike and the Parkway to help fix the state's financial problems.

The data show that it is people who live in ZIP codes near the Turnpike and Parkway who paid the most in tolls between June 2006 and May 2007.

Far from spreading the tax burden, Corzine's plans would make an already crushing tax burden even worse - at least among the sample of EZ-Pass users (the Turnpike Authority doesn't have a breakdown of origin of those who pay by cash, nor does it differentiate between commercial users and passenger cars).

Corzine's proposal is to use the toll hikes to reduce the state's debt load, which is among the worst in the country. It's a laudable goal, but he's playing with only one side of the equation - taxing. Spending is never addressed in Corzine's proposals, which means that the structural deficits will continue unless and until spending is brought under control. That means cutting state workforce in areas that are not vital to state operations and focusing on cutting the fat from education spending - a major reason for the crushing tax load in the state. It's one thing to ensure a stable funding source for transportation infrastructure, but Corzine has previously sought to raise hundreds of millions for stem cell research centers through debt financing (the state voters killed that referendum thankfully).

Let's put some numbers to Corzine's toll hike plan:

The governor proposed during his State of the State speech on Tuesday raising money to pay down the state's debt and pay for a few expensive highway, bridge and rail projects by creating a public benefits corporation to run the Turnpike, Parkway and Atlantic City Expressway.

The company would have the authority to adopt toll hikes of up to 50 percent four times between 2010 and 2022.

An average passenger car trip on the Turnpike would go from $1.20 today to $9.85 in 2022 under Corzine's plan, assuming annual inflation of 3 percent. An average truck trip would go from $5.05 to $41.10. An average trip on the Parkway would jump from $.35 to $2.70.

Corzine said Thursday he would consider some type of discount for regular users of the toll road.

Those affected most would be commuters who rely on the Turnpike or GSP to get to their jobs on a daily basis. I have no doubt that salaries will not increase as much as the toll hikes. Corzine claims that there will be some kind of discount for regular users, but provides absolutely no details as to what that means.

UPDATE:
Public opinion cuts against the toll hikes, and even suggests that the state taxpayers are fed up with the size of the state budget and are willing to look at cutting the state workforce and spending before considering toll hikes:

The poll also found that New Jerseyans would rather see cuts in state programs and layoffs before toll increases by the overwhelming margin of 78 percent to 14 percent.

The Governor's office flacks would love to spin the part about how some 40% of state voters appear to approve the toll hikes. I'm guessing that they're among the few people in the state that do not rely directly on the Turnpike or GSP, but would still be affected because the cost of doing business would rise exponentially.

The costs of transportation and tolls in the state will be passed on to the consumers - they're certainly not going to be absorbed by the truckers and long-haulers. That means that the cost of goods and services in the state will rise, an indirect hit to the state economy.

The toll hikes will also mean that drivers will look for alternative roads to avoid paying tolls, increasing traffic on local roads that are ill equipped to handle more traffic.