The Maryland Transportation Authority board preliminarily approved raising tolls at every major bridge and tunnel in the state and would charge Intercounty Connector users 25 percent more if they don't use E-ZPasses.
Under the plan, cash tolls on the Chesapeake Bay Bridge would rise to $5 on Oct. 1 and $6 on the John F. Kennedy Memorial Highway turnpike on Interstate 95 near Delaware.
Tolls would rise again in July 2013 -- cash tolls at Baltimore's Fort McHenry and Harbor tunnels and the Key Bridge all would cost $4, up from $3 the year before, while tolls at all the state's other facilities, including the Bay Bridge, would rise to $8.
The plan even includes raising commuter tolls, the first time officials have proposed altering the steep 70 percent discount to frequent toll travelers in 26 years. Commuter tolls on the Bay Bridge would rise from $1 to $2.80.
Tolls on the Intercounty Connector would remain unchanged. But tolls for ICC commuters who don't use an E-ZPass would rise 25 percent, replacing the $3 flat fee billed to drivers without the transponder.
Higher tolls. Higher fees. Higher fines. Higher taxes. More surcharges. Higher prices for gasoline. Higher prices for food. Higher prices for electricity. Now, as the tourist season begins, the citizens will run the gauntlet of the latest police "campaign" designed to take even MORE money from the people (in the name of "safety", of course). How much more can the regular, middle class people take? I'd ask the governor, but he's busy planning his trip to Asia. Must be nice.... The breaking point is approaching quickly....
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