Chick-Fil-A and the NY Thruway

[vdeane]

I'll go ahead and say it.  Between the concession "rebuilds and changes" and the EZPass situation that begins in 8 days, it's very clear that the Thruway Authority doesn't care about travelers...only their toll dollars.

Welcome to the world of business.
What's the deal with ezpass though?

The Thruway is eliminating the out of state E-ZPass rate when the toll increase goes into effect.  Starting 1/1/24, those without a NY E-ZPass will be stuck paying the bill by mail rate, same as if they didn't have an E-ZPass at all.

[LilianaUwU]

If it were just me, Chick-fil-A would go bankrupt.

[kalvado]

I'll go ahead and say it.  Between the concession "rebuilds and changes" and the EZPass situation that begins in 8 days, it's very clear that the Thruway Authority doesn't care about travelers...only their toll dollars.

Welcome to the world of business.
What's the deal with ezpass though?

The Thruway is eliminating the out of state E-ZPass rate when the toll increase goes into effect.  Starting 1/1/24, those without a NY E-ZPass will be stuck paying the bill by mail rate, same as if they didn't have an E-ZPass at all.

They don't vote here anyway

[Rothman]

Given the Thruway's general mismanagement, opting to hit the out-of-staters would seem to be the easy way of filling the budget holes.  Sort of allows them to carry on bungling.

[kalvado]

Given the Thruway's general mismanagement, opting to hit the out-of-staters would seem to be the easy way of filling the budget holes.  Sort of allows them to carry on bungling.

I am not sure how 5hat looks from your perspective, probably you see many things I don't.... But by looking at their balance sheet, debt they had to get into for the new bridge is the handicap they cannot deal with. Otherwise they are pretty close to break even.
Given 15 or so years of frozen rates and historical handicaps like I-84 and canal, that's not bad from my perspective.

[Scott5114]

If it were just me, Chick-fil-A would go bankrupt.

I do my part by taking all of the ketchup and mayonnaise packets whenever I see them.

[signalman]

I'll go ahead and say it.  Between the concession "rebuilds and changes" and the EZPass situation that begins in 8 days, it's very clear that the Thruway Authority doesn't care about travelers...only their toll dollars.

Welcome to the world of business.
What's the deal with ezpass though?

The Thruway is eliminating the out of state E-ZPass rate when the toll increase goes into effect.  Starting 1/1/24, those without a NY E-ZPass will be stuck paying the bill by mail rate, same as if they didn't have an E-ZPass at all.

They don't vote here anyway

One does not need to reside or vote in NY to obtain a NY EZ Pass.

[edwaleni]

There was a CFA in the Charlotte-Douglas Airport that is a franchisee run by the contracted airport food service vendor. (ie Aramark, Compass, etc.)

The only difference between them and a standard CFA is the fact that they do not collect purchase points, nor can you use the reward points and you can't use the ePay option from CFA.

When I last spoke to the manager he said CFA Corporate is going to stop allowing food service companies to "sublet" the brand anymore.

There was a recent squabble at DIA (Denver International) about the CFA approval that was up for a vote. Several board members were upset that they were "giving up" a day of revenue by allowing a CFA to use the space 6 days a week. The "revenue" they were referring to was the 3% concession tax each transaction requires.  After public outcry, it passed

I'll go ahead and say it.  Between the concession "rebuilds and changes" and the EZPass situation that begins in 8 days, it's very clear that the Thruway Authority doesn't care about travelers...only their toll dollars.

Welcome to the world of business.
What's the deal with ezpass though?

The Thruway is eliminating the out of state E-ZPass rate when the toll increase goes into effect.  Starting 1/1/24, those without a NY E-ZPass will be stuck paying the bill by mail rate, same as if they didn't have an E-ZPass at all.

They don't vote here anyway

One does not need to reside or vote in NY to obtain a NY EZ Pass.

d.

[Ted$8roadFan]

This story has gone national:

https://www.smerconish.com/daily-poll/?utm_source=aweber&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=voteherebuttonfullsize

[Rothman]

This story has gone national:

https://www.smerconish.com/daily-poll/?utm_source=aweber&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=voteherebuttonfullsize

Hardly.

[MASTERNC]

I'll go ahead and say it.  Between the concession "rebuilds and changes" and the EZPass situation that begins in 8 days, it's very clear that the Thruway Authority doesn't care about travelers...only their toll dollars.

Welcome to the world of business.
What's the deal with ezpass though?

The Thruway is eliminating the out of state E-ZPass rate when the toll increase goes into effect.  Starting 1/1/24, those without a NY E-ZPass will be stuck paying the bill by mail rate, same as if they didn't have an E-ZPass at all.

They don't vote here anyway

One does not need to reside or vote in NY to obtain a NY EZ Pass.

But you need to buy yours in person if you don't because then you are assigned the one agency that charges a monthly fee. Also, there is no cost justification for charging the same as Toll by Plate, because the money is already there.

[kalvado]

I'll go ahead and say it.  Between the concession "rebuilds and changes" and the EZPass situation that begins in 8 days, it's very clear that the Thruway Authority doesn't care about travelers...only their toll dollars.

Welcome to the world of business.
What's the deal with ezpass though?

The Thruway is eliminating the out of state E-ZPass rate when the toll increase goes into effect.  Starting 1/1/24, those without a NY E-ZPass will be stuck paying the bill by mail rate, same as if they didn't have an E-ZPass at all.

They don't vote here anyway

One does not need to reside or vote in NY to obtain a NY EZ Pass.

But you need to buy yours in person if you don't because then you are assigned the one agency that charges a monthly fee. Also, there is no cost justification for charging the same as Toll by Plate, because the money is already there.

There is little need to justify anything. Everyone is free to shunpike.
It's a bridge - which is if great importance, but got federal money only as a loan - that messes up all the arithmetic. So, get money whenever possible without upstate yelling We aRe sUbSiDizInG tHe CiTy. Pure politics.

[Jim]

As a NYSTA E-ZPass tagholder, part of me likes to see them doing to others what others been doing to me in so many places when traveling.  But really, the whole E-ZPass consortium (if that is the right term) needs to get together and agree that there can be a small extra charge for a non-local tag to cover whatever interoperability and fund transfer costs there are, and agree that the cash/toll-by-plate rates should be just for those payment methods that are likely to incur more real additional costs and/or are that more likely to be unrecoverable for out-of-state plates.  You'd think they'd all want to maximize the incentive for all of their travelers, even those with infrequent travels on these roads, to get a tag from somewhere.

[kalvado]

As a NYSTA E-ZPass tagholder, part of me likes to see them doing to others what others been doing to me in so many places when traveling.  But really, the whole E-ZPass consortium (if that is the right term) needs to get together and agree that there can be a small extra charge for a non-local tag to cover whatever interoperability and fund transfer costs there are, and agree that the cash/toll-by-plate rates should be just for those payment methods that are likely to incur more real additional costs and/or are that more likely to be unrecoverable for out-of-state plates.  You'd think they'd all want to maximize the incentive for all of their travelers, even those with infrequent travels on these roads, to get a tag from somewhere.

While I am with you... Consortium is far away and governor is right around the corner....

[vdeane]

I'll go ahead and say it.  Between the concession "rebuilds and changes" and the EZPass situation that begins in 8 days, it's very clear that the Thruway Authority doesn't care about travelers...only their toll dollars.

Welcome to the world of business.
What's the deal with ezpass though?

The Thruway is eliminating the out of state E-ZPass rate when the toll increase goes into effect.  Starting 1/1/24, those without a NY E-ZPass will be stuck paying the bill by mail rate, same as if they didn't have an E-ZPass at all.

They don't vote here anyway

One does not need to reside or vote in NY to obtain a NY EZ Pass.

One shouldn't have to get multiple E-ZPass transponders (I actually know someone who has several) to avoid getting ripped off.  Actually, you can't avoid getting ripped off, because you also have to deal with the charges for getting the additional transponders (to be fair, not a Thruway problem as the Thruway is the only agency I know whose tag is 100% free, but everyone else either has a non-refundable tag deposit and/or a monthly or annual fee).  I have a NY tag myself, so this doesn't personally directly affect me, but I would rather move to less transponder discrimination and not more, and the last thing we need is the Pennsylvania Turnpike getting any ideas (seeing as they are both one of the few states left in the IAG to not discriminate, and the most expensive long-distance toll road in the country).

The one thing I miss about cash tolls is how the toll was the toll was the toll.  Didn't matter where you were from or anything else; with the exception of commuter plans that only work if you take a certain number of trips per month, everyone paid the same thing for the same vehicle class.

[Rothman]

Having multiple transponders seems to be penny wise and pound foolish to me.

[froggie]

I'll go ahead and say it.  Between the concession "rebuilds and changes" and the EZPass situation that begins in 8 days, it's very clear that the Thruway Authority doesn't care about travelers...only their toll dollars.

Welcome to the world of business.
What's the deal with ezpass though?

The Thruway is eliminating the out of state E-ZPass rate when the toll increase goes into effect.  Starting 1/1/24, those without a NY E-ZPass will be stuck paying the bill by mail rate, same as if they didn't have an E-ZPass at all.

They don't vote here anyway

One does not need to reside or vote in NY to obtain a NY EZ Pass.

Strictly speaking, no.  But I know from personal experience that if you use a non-NY address to get a NY EZPass, they automatically give you a PANYNJ tag.  Which, of course, subejcts one to the monthly service fee for PANYNJ tags.

[kalvado]

Having multiple transponders seems to be penny wise and pound foolish to me.

Depends on how much you travel, I assume. If tolls are a rounding error in you budget, then yes. I can think of situations then its worth the effort though.

[J N Winkler]

I'm not sure this particular provision survived the addition of interoperability with Florida, but the governing agreement for the Kansas/Oklahoma/Texas zone explicitly forbade transponder discrimination.  Any additional costs associated with travel billed through the interoperability hub (which NTTA runs--another reason the acronym allegedly stands for "North Texas' Toughest Anglos") were to be folded into the tolls themselves.

I've long argued we need a Tollpayer's Bill of Rights to prohibit transponder discrimination and to require that access to commuter discount plans (such as the infamous one for the Grand Island bridges) be offered on the same terms regardless of transponder holder's residence.

[jeffandnicole]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If they get rid of transponder discrimination, they're only going to raise the discounted toll rates to the highest rates, not reduce the highest rates to the lower rates.  If you're currently benefiting from a toll discount option, removing the discrimination will cost you in the end.

[jgb191]

This is why I disagree with Airports letting Chick-Fil-A set up locations.  Sundays are usually very busy days at airports, especially as the last day of major travel periods like Thanksgiving, Spring Break, and Easter.  Chick-Fil-A is taking away already limited options in the Sterile Area and on Sundays there are other businesses that could use that space.

I love their food, and while I can't tell an owner how to run his/her business, I cannot agree with them leaving usable space useless every week.

[vdeane]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If they get rid of transponder discrimination, they're only going to raise the discounted toll rates to the highest rates, not reduce the highest rates to the lower rates.  If you're currently benefiting from a toll discount option, removing the discrimination will cost you in the end.

Isn't the reason for the discount supposed to be that it costs less to collect tolls from transponder users?

[Alps]

I'll go ahead and say it.  Between the concession "rebuilds and changes" and the EZPass situation that begins in 8 days, it's very clear that the Thruway Authority doesn't care about travelers...only their toll dollars.

Welcome to the world of business.
What's the deal with ezpass though?

The Thruway is eliminating the out of state E-ZPass rate when the toll increase goes into effect.  Starting 1/1/24, those without a NY E-ZPass will be stuck paying the bill by mail rate, same as if they didn't have an E-ZPass at all.

They don't vote here anyway

One does not need to reside or vote in NY to obtain a NY EZ Pass.

Strictly speaking, no.  But I know from personal experience that if you use a non-NY address to get a NY EZPass, they automatically give you a PANYNJ tag.  Which, of course, subejcts one to the monthly service fee for PANYNJ tags.

No, you just pick one up in person and then you get the one of your choice.

[jeffandnicole]

I've said it before, and I'll say it again: If they get rid of transponder discrimination, they're only going to raise the discounted toll rates to the highest rates, not reduce the highest rates to the lower rates.  If you're currently benefiting from a toll discount option, removing the discrimination will cost you in the end.

Isn't the reason for the discount supposed to be that it costs less to collect tolls from transponder users?

Originally, yes. But when they switched to collecting different amounts from other agency's transponders, they chose to collect the more expensive rate.  While there may be a slight fee to collect from other agencies, it's still cheaper than using toll collectors.  If they have to switch again, they'll probably opt for the revenue to be brought in since it's unlikely motorists will give up their tags, not the savings to be passed along where there's relatively few holdouts who haven't obtained a tag yet. 

[Ted$8roadFan]

https://www.foxbusiness.com/politics/graham-threatens-war-new-yorks-new-bill-that-would-require-chick-fil-a-open-sundays