Big Turnpike

Some people rail against Big Tobacco. Some people hate Big Pharma, or even Big Soda. I have a cousin whose enemy is Big Umbrella. So, I say this with a slight amount of humor (as with most of my writing) but in this case an extra amount of seriousness...

My enemy is Big Turnpike. The Pennsylvania Turnpike, specifically -- in conjunction with EZ Pass -- is a racket set up to get their hands on your bank account and essentially put a monitoring device in your car. This all might sound a bit alarmist, but I don't care. This isn't necessarily the hill I want to die on, but I plan to fight as long as I can. 

What's my problem? Basically, Big Turnpike -- at least in PA -- is using financially coercive and unfair tactics to force people to use EZ Pass. 

The facts:

• COVID caused Pennsylvania to eliminate all in-person toll collectors 18 months before they were going to do it anyway; all toll collection is now done by EZ Pass or "toll-by-plate" in which they send you a bill in the mail
• The PA Turnpike increased fares -- yet again -- in 2020; common fares increased from $1.30 to $1.40 for EZ Pass customers, and from $2.30 to $2.50 for cash or toll-by-plate customers
• It costs 30% less to use the PA Turnpike when you have EZ Pass versus when you pay via mail; in my case $56 vs. $39 if I had EZ Pass
• In 2021 that price difference will be 40%
• In 2021 it will cost nearly $100 to drive the PA Turnpike -- Ohio to New Jersey -- without EZ Pass
• EZ Pass automatically charges your checking account $35 a month -- every month -- and then if you use more or less tolls than that, they charge you more or put the money back in your account

In my opinion, this constitutes a clear abuse of power. There is no clear alternative to the PA Turnpike, other than a patchwork of two-lane, state highways. The turnpike therefore has a monopoly on fast, efficient East-West highway travel in the lower part of Pennsylvania, and they are using it as a cash cow to cover revenue shortfalls, unfairly putting pressure on truckers and people who have to use the turnpike every day. They are also, in conjunction with EZ Pass, essentially using financial blackmail to get people to put EZ Pass transponders in their vehicles and allow EZ Pass to access their bank accounts. 

What are my major problems with this? 

• It's basically a tax on being poor: Believe it or not, not everyone in this world has a checking account, a check book, or can afford to have $35 a month sucked out of their account automatically. Not only would these people be unable to use EZ Pass, but they have no other way to pay the toll than by check. There is no cash option. Thus, the system is set up to charge the impoverished 40% more those who can actually afford it. 
• It's a way to sneak EZ Pass into your car: The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is responsible for providing a safe, efficient way for people to travel through the state to do whatever they have to do and keep commerce going. Period. They're not supposed to be working with private companies to help them put monitoring devices inside your vehicle. Does anyone actually know what EZ Pass does with all the information they collect about your driving habits? More importantly, do you? No. It's just another way to collect information about you. 
• It's yet another organization with its hands on your bank account: Can you count the number of subscription services and auto-pay accounts you have set up on your checking account? You probably can, and the number is probably at least six, probably more. Now, just because Pennsylvania doesn't want to pay toll collectors or pay people to process "toll-by-plate" payments -- which, mind you, would create more jobs -- you have to give yet another organization access to your bank account or credit card number. At some point, is your money even yours anymore? 

I completely understand the state needs revenue and that turnpikes cost money to fix. I have no problem paying a toll to use the turnpike. I don't even mind that they increase it every year (it has gone from $1.85 to $2.50 since I moved back to PA in 2016). What I mind is when the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania starts gouging me in order to force me into carrying a transponder in my car, and also puts a 40% tax on people who are unfortunate enough not to have a credit card or even possibly a check book, the people who this really hurts the most.