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March 10, 2016 Issue #121
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Come visit ALC at MATS! Stop by Booth #18193
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Carman O'Leary, Editor
Allen Lund Company
Marcom - Los Angeles Office
(800) 475-LUND (5863)
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Download the New ALC Mobile App! ALC Mobile is free and is available on IOS and Android.
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The Toll on Truckers
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Road tolls are becoming more and more of a reality. It seems that along with a great air-ride seat, a reliable turbo, and a comfortable sleeper, an EZ-Pass or FasTrack is starting to become mandatory equipment on any heavy truck. With the rise of more efficient truck engines, motor carriers are buying less fuel today than they were 10-15 years ago. From engines getting 5 or 6 mpg, we now see numbers up to and over 7 mpg. While most owner-operators and fleet managers welcome the improved efficiency, local and state governments are wringing their hands over the lost revenue. With less fuel being bought, per-gallon tax revenues are falling. Some states are starting to look at tolls to build up their piggy banks. With companies like Daimler trying to build a 12 mpg SuperTruck, the tolling problem only seems to worsen.
Take for example the state of Rhode Island. The RhodeWorks plan, recently signed into law, singles out the trucking industry alone to be subject to paying tolls. It seems to me that this legislation blames the big-bad-truckers rolling through the state as the monster destroying the roadways. What the backers of this legislation fail to remember is that every item for sale, in every store in Rhode Island, at one point or another spent time on a heavy truck. When the cost to transport goods goes up, the cost to the consumer usually follow suit. By tolling the roadways, the state is only increasing the per-item cost of every bottle of water, fresh apple, and box of cereal that every resident will pay for. Thankfully, the ATA and OOIDA, along with many other associations and trucking companies, have vowed to fight this legislation through the courts.
While this particular law is very concerning, the bigger fear is the domino effect this will likely cause. Already, both Connecticut and Indiana are pointing towards RhodeWorks, using that legislation as a directive that they should explore following. It doesn't take too big of a leap to see truck-only tolling becoming a reality on many portions of our nation's main highways or connectors.
Hopefully, with hard work and lots of education the trucking industry can stand up to aggressive states that are looking to toll one of the most important aspects of their economies.
Steve Hull
Manager, Portland Office
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 Steve Hull is manager of the Portland office and has been with the Allen Lund Company for 19 years. Hull is a graduate of the University of Southern California completing a dual major in political science and U.S. History.
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