Years later thousands have awakened to ODOT's intention: charging tolls on existing highways, and placing the money in a slush fund for whatever the department wishes. The tolls would increase during heavy traffic times, forcing weary drivers onto local roads.
Despite New York's effort to get motorists into new license plates -- there are still quite a few rolling around the state. That's prompted some to wonder "Does that have an impact on the Thruway's toll readers?"
Rhode Island's toll scheme directed at certain types of tractor-trailers was ruled unconstitutional by a federal court on Wednesday in a sound defeat for the state's attempt to make the trucking industry pay for the repair of its roads and bridges.
That technology also powers a surveillance system, alternately called an enforcement list, black list or Law Enforcement Notification System. Police agencies can request the addition of specific plate numbers or transponder signatures to a list, which sends real-time notifications when those vehicles are detected passing through.
Instead, Gov. Kathy Hochul & Co. see this as an untapped cash cow at best, a conveyor of evil cars at worst. It is this perspective of the Brooklyn Bridge and other crossings that link the outer boroughs to the central business district that now manifests in congestion pricing, the most punishing tax on workaday New Yorkers in generations.