EFF YOU TEXAS DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

Ron Burgundy · #1 05-04-2007, 12:32 PM

There's a bunch of tollbooths being built in the Austin area right now. This is [censored] pissing me off.

I got a bill for $1.90 in the mail the other day. Apparently I drove through one of them. In the letter it says you can buy some stupid thingy that you load with money and the toll gets deducted every time you drive through a tollbooth. It says if you want the thingy you need to load a minimum of $20 on it. EFF YOU TEXAS, I don't want to pay tolls. And obviuosly, they're making up these rules about loading $20 minimum in the hopes that I'll lose the thing, or move out of the state, or otherwise not use all of it, so they can STEAL MY MONIES. What a [censored] racket. I'm never driving on one of these tollways again, I don't care how much longer it takes to get where I'm going. It's about the principle damnit, not the money.

What brilliant assclown decided that the most efficient way to pay for roads is to make everyone stop every 10 miles to fumble around with change or get some stupid doohicky that you have to keep in your car?

But most importantly, how much of the toll fees go towards paying for the tolls themselves? What does it cost to build each tollbooth? It's got to be at least in the high 5-figures. Plus you have maybe 5-6 employees making something like $30K a year each? Oh but I guess that "creates jobs" so that's wonderfull for society right? Well guess what, I never asked to hire some fat old ladies to stand around in the middle of a higway all day taking change from people. What a [censored] job that must be, I'd kill myself if I had to do that for a living.

So EFF U TEXAS and your model of inefficiency and government waste.

bwana devil · #2 05-04-2007, 12:50 PM

worse yet is phase 2 of the all of this is the toll booths will be on already existing roads. roads that have existed for decades and have been free to travel down now will cost money. cant wait for this.

JasonK · #3 05-04-2007, 12:53 PM

Tolls in SoCal can cost you up to $10 a pop depending on time and day. And sometimes that aren't that much faster than the freeway.

riverdance · #4 05-04-2007, 12:53 PM

ron,

would you rather have a state income tax?

we'll do an experiment, you pay my state income taxes and toll charges (none) for a year. i'll pay your toll charges and state income taxes (none) and we'll see who comes out ahead.

tdarko · #5 05-04-2007, 01:01 PM

Lol, Austin is finally catching up w/ the other cities in Texas. Dude, toll roads are SOOOOOOO much faster than congested freeways. Get a tolltag and you save a lifetime of debris falling off trailers, 18-wheelers moving into your lane nearly smashing into you and parking lot traffic in the middle of the day.

Thank the good Lord for tollways.

bwana devil · #6 05-04-2007, 01:08 PM

[ QUOTE ]
ron,

would you rather have a state income tax?

we'll do an experiment, you pay my state income taxes and toll charges (none) for a year. i'll pay your toll charges and state income taxes (none) and we'll see who comes out ahead.

[/ QUOTE ]

six of one, half dozen of the other. we pay a pretty nice sales tax compared to other areas, higher motor vehicle registration than many other states, higher property tax rate and get fee-ed out of our arses for plenty of other things through the year. we're not exactly living the high life and living off the land in texas.

Quanah Parker · #7 05-04-2007, 01:08 PM

The real catch is longterm.

The way toll roads get built quickly is that State has to sign non-competition clauses, meaning the State can't upgrdae, widen or improve it's OWN roads that might compete with the toll roads.

Short term, we're screwed.
Long term, we're really screwed.

RunDownHouse · #8 05-04-2007, 01:14 PM

Seriously, TN doesn't have a state income tax but the sales tax is ridiculous, over 9% and I think it may be over 10% on booze.

jaydub · #9 05-04-2007, 01:39 PM

[ QUOTE ]
Seriously, TN doesn't have a state income tax but the sales tax is ridiculous, over 9% and I think it may be over 10% on booze.

[/ QUOTE ]
DC FTW

J

RunDownHouse · #10 05-04-2007, 01:52 PM

Don't get me wrong, overall its dirt cheap to live in even the biggest TN cities. It just sucks to buy a big ticket item and realize that had you bought it just about anywhere else you'd save loads of dough. Seeing the little tax line on receipts always depresses me. Anyways, sorry to hijack your TX DOT thread.