All Posts Tagged With: "toll"

The DC Council is putting together a commission do a feasibility study on charging a toll to enter the city. A lot of DC residents are for it saying that Maryland and Virginia residents get services (i.e. police, roads, etc.) from the DC government for free. They also claim that commuters ruin the roads and should pay for them. DC can’t charge a commuter tax on out-of-state workers, so they keep trying to come up with ways to get money from the commuters. Many say that they are currently doing this with speeding cameras, parking tickets, and the like.

I think a lot of people here are missing the concept of what a toll is. Toll booths would charge drivers entering the city. I doubt there would be any discrimination as to whether it was a MD or VA plate versus a DC plate. All drivers, including DC drivers, entering the city would be charged. To put this into perspective, how many DC residents drive to Tysons, Pentagon City or Bowie Town Center to shop? How many people go out to Target on Route 1 or the new Walmart that’s inside the beltway? What about restaurants in Maryland or Virginia? (Unfortunately DC is not self-contained meaning DC residents depend on MD and VA more than they are willing to admit.) On the way back from these trips, DC drivers would have to pay the toll as well. It would probably end up costing DC residents more in the long run.

Another thing, the tolls to enter “New York” as Marion Barry mentioned are to enter Manhattan not New York City as a whole. So whether you are driving in from New Jersey or from one of the other NYC boroughs you have to pay the toll. In addition, there is no toll exemption if you live in Manhattan. Furthermore, to liken this idea to that of Manhattan is ridiculous as Manhattan has an excellent public transportation system (in terms of getting to different parts of town and that fact that it’s 24 hours). We don’t have that here in DC.

New York also charges a “commuter tax.” I paid it for 2006 for working in NYC for only 8 weeks while being a VA resident. The reason DC can’t charge a tax on MD and VA residents is that they have a reciprocity agreement. If they really want revenue from commuters they should look into changing that. Changing that, though, would probably cause DC residents who work in MD or VA to have to pay commuter taxes there as well.

I would also like to add that I would largely not be affected by this in terms of commuting as I catch the Metro. Where I would be affected would be when I come into the city for entertainment and when I come in to volunteer. I’m not saying that I would cease these activities because of a toll but I’m sure a lot of people would.