Boycott NTTA

[mmcaleer]

Is anyone else upset at the increase in NTTA tolls from September 1st? The toll at the North Dallas Tollway and Eldorado went from $1.30 to $2.15, so did the toll at Park. The Main st toll went from $.60 to $1.05. They all went up by 60% up in Frisco.

If I took the tollway from Frisco to Plano (from Eldorado to Coit using the DNT and George Bush) it would cost nearly $7 each way for an 18 mile drive. That is $70 per week or nearly $300 a month!

I am no longer using the NTTA if I can help it. Most days the tollway backs up from 121 all the way down past Plano. I have found that my drive is shorter (mileage and time) and I have less traffic on average if I just take Preston road into Plano.

NTTA has lost my business.

[crazeazn]

NTTA has always been cheaper than HCTRA so I honestly can't complain... same goes for MOPAC

[ka5txl]

It doesn't bother me at all as I don't use them except on a rare occasion. These pointless hov lanes cause me more grief.

[Coelus]

HCTRA is a rip-off and proof how power is abused. It's a shame things can't be un-voted on.

[mmcaleer]

Originally Posted by crazeazn

NTTA has always been cheaper than HCTRA so I honestly can't complain... same goes for MOPAC

Are you kidding me? It costs you more that $14 a day to get to work???? Hell, the tolls in Washington DC and New Jersey are cheaper.

[Imagebuffet]

Yeah, it's a scam, and Governor Tolltag is trying to make it worse. It's part of that odd philosophy that thinks that business is inherently good. Part of the plan is to make these alternatives to the toll roads unviable. Expect them to reset the traffic lights, eventually, so that it will take you much longer to take an alternate route. The contract that Gov. Perry had Texas sign with that Spanish company guarantees that no alternate route will compete with toll road business, and the State will take steps to discourage use off the tollroads. You are going to be fleeced, because fleecing is good!

My solution is to live as close to my destinations as I can. I now live less than 2 miles from my office, 2.5 miles from my junior college campus, and about 7 miles from UTD.

You folks in Frisco are doomed!

[kenw]

Originally Posted by crazeazn

NTTA has always been cheaper than HCTRA ....

??? HCTRA as in Harris County?

I drive HCTR (West Sam) daily, Cypress to Sugar Land. It costs $1.30 at the 290 plaza, $1.30 at the IH10 plaza.

That's only $2.60/trip for almost 30 miles; $5.20/day (60 miles round trip), $26/week.

a bargain considering I can make the trip in under 45 minutes most days.

[Imagebuffet]

Originally Posted by mmcaleer

Are you kidding me? It costs you more that $14 a day to get to work???? Hell, the tolls in Washington DC and New Jersey are cheaper.

I vaguely recall that Texas has some of the highest toll rates in the nation.

[photonewb]

I loved the shutting down of I10 for so long...only to turn the new lanes into toll lanes....and can't say I've ever actually seen anyone using them

[crazeazn]

Originally Posted by kenw

??? HCTRA as in Harris County?

I drive HCTR (West Sam) daily, Cypress to Sugar Land. It costs $1.30 at the 290 plaza, $1.30 at the IH10 plaza.

That's only $2.60/trip for almost 30 miles; $5.20/day (60 miles round trip), $26/week.

a bargain considering I can make the trip in under 45 minutes most days.

our through the toll rates are considerably higher than dallas'; as for total trip charges thats another story. when i lived in dallas for school 01'-05' it was like 75 cents or so to cut through the toll, when i came back to houston it was 1.25

[S-Man]

The HCTRA is a ripoff. When BW8 was built, and when Huey Luis and The News skydived onto it for the grand opening concert, the original plan was to have it be a tollroad until it was paid for.
They just went up on the prices again for like the 5th time just a couple of months ago. I think it's like $1.75 or something now. Used to be $.50. I have EZTag, it's the only way to go unless you want to be stuck in traffic (only to PAY to be stuck in said traffic). Fortunately I only use it occasionally.
It's a total injustice.

[kenw]

Originally Posted by S-Man

....the original plan was to have it be a tollroad until it was paid for.

no it wasn't, it never was; that's just an urban legend.

The ONLY tollroad ever built (in Texas) with that possibility was the old DFW tollroad, now parts of IH30. At present construction costs and maintenance rates, these newer toll roads are never going to be paid for by tolls alone.

kenw added 3 Minutes and 55 Seconds later...Double Post Merged Below

Originally Posted by crazeazn

our through the toll rates are considerably higher than dallas'; as for total trip charges thats another story. when i lived in dallas for school 01'-05' it was like 75 cents or so to cut through the toll, when i came back to houston it was 1.25

I'm not following your logic here. EZ tag is now 1.30 at the major plazas, cash is .25 more. The individual entrances/exits are proportionally lower, some are still free.

[Imagebuffet]

Originally Posted by kenw

no it wasn't, it never was; that's just an urban legend.

The ONLY tollroad ever built (in Texas) with that possibility was the old DFW tollroad, now parts of IH30. At present construction costs and maintenance rates, these newer toll roads are never going to be paid for by tolls alone.

Then, how do you imagine that the private companies that hold the lease to the tollroads are going to realize a profit? And, projections do show these guys will profit from collecting the tolls.

[S-Man]

I seem to remember the news coverage of the "New Tollroad" that was to be tolled until it was paid for. They even had a projected date of toll removal. I remember Dave Ward of 13 Eyewitness News delivering the story.
Nevertheless, it's still a ripoff. Especially when you consider that it still gets jammed during rush hour if you're paying cash. (Even the EZTag gets backed up sometimes due to idiots changing lanes)
Here's a story by Wayne Dolcefino that explains some of the waste that the tollroads are. LINK

[MicWayWal]

Thank goodness for the NTTA. They opened Hwy 121 years before TXDOT said they would. We live in Plano and my wife, on a good day, had a 55 minute commute to her work and most of it was highway and toll roads. Now her commute is all toll road and is only 18 minutes, plus the toll is .20 cheaper. Less stress for her and more time with me. I guess it all depends on where you are going and if you have a toll tag.