The Maryland Transportation Authority is expected Thursday to approve new fees for E-ZPass customers despite calls from some lawmakers to extend the public comment period.
The votes comes 25 days after the agency first proposed the $60 million revenue plan that also includes increases to truck tolls and an end to some commuter discounts. If approved, E-ZPass users will see a new $1.50 monthly fee and pay $21 for electronic transponders, which are now free.
“I understand the transportation authority is having some real constraints in its funding, but this does seem like it’s on the fast track,” said Del. Sue Aumann, a Baltimore County Republican. “I think, to be sensitive to the taxpayer, there has to be a compromise, and extending the vetting time might be one of those.”
Transportation Secretary John Porcari said the plan is necessary to make up for a decrease in collections at Maryland’s seven toll facilities. The authority’s revenue is down 6 percent from July to November, even after a deferral of $200 million in capital collections.
Porcari said, even with the proposed changes, Maryland’s truck toll rates are generally lower than those in the region.
The state’s E-ZPass fees, too, are comparable to others in the region, said James Crawford, executive director of the E-ZPass Interagency Group, which oversees a system with 16 million customers from Maine to Illinois.
Most other states charge either a monthly service fee, transponder fee or both, said Crawford, who dismissed speculation that some customers might close their accounts in Maryland and open them in states without additional fees.
“People who have their accounts in Maryland because it’s one of the last places to adopt this, they may,” Crawford said. “But I don’t think it will be very many.”
The plan has met heavy resistance from AAA, the Maryland Motor Truck Association and private citizens. More than 2,000 submitted comments through Tuesday, according to the MdTA.
Former E-ZPass customer Dawn Colt, a Howard County resident, said she will no longer have the option to purchase toll book tickets that save her several dollars each trip into Baltimore County.
“It’s going to cost me $4 to see my granddaughter,” Colt said. “I am not pleased in any way, shape or form.”
If approved, changes to the E-ZPass system would take effect July 1. Truck toll increases and fines for toll violations would increase starting April 15.
