Free ride on the Turnpike
Every city with an extensive subway system, like New York or London, deals with turnstile jumpers. These are the folks who, out of malicious intent or just because they didn’t bring enough quarters with them, decide to catch the train by getting around or just leaping over the turnstiles. Inevitably, these free-riders drain revenue from these systems, and the passengers who do follow the rules and fork up end up paying the price. It turns out the Pennsylvania Turnpike has its own turnstile jumpers.
As fares go up, up, and away, some drivers on the Pennsylvania Turnpike who don’t have E-Z Pass are reportedly opting to breeze through the E-Z Pass lanes anyway if there are no gates or toll collectors present. KDKA-TV in Pittsburgh reported last week there are 1.5 million violations every year, and their unpaid fares are part of $33 million worth of tolls the Turnpike has not been able to collect.
Sean Logan, the chairman of Pennsylvania Turnpike Commission, said 70 percent of the violators are eventually nabbed and their tolls collected. But that means, of course, that 30 percent of the scofflaws get off scot-free. In the last fiscal year, $3.7 million in tolls were written off.
The Turnpike needs to find a way to effectively enforce toll collection as more and more drivers opt for the convenience of E-Z Pass. Considering that the Pennsylvania Turnpike is mired in debt and more rate increases seem likely, writing off millions of dollars is something the commonwealth simply can’t afford.