WWW.RIDESIDE.NET

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-27 12:19:19 +0000

people messing with the mass turnpike make me smile. _______________________________

Posted by G lib on 2005-09-27 13:47:45 +0000

Effing awesome! ______________ What's cooler than cool? Ice cold! --Andree 3K

Posted by Miriam on 2005-09-27 16:48:20 +0000

tee-hee You should check out his soap eating bit.

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-09-27 17:09:40 +0000

Fucking bullshit. It's assholes like this guy that make the turnpike close the exact change boths, and hence make the manned lanes lines longer. Want a free ride, AssMaster? Well ride on this, Theif...

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-27 19:39:06 +0000

fucking Bullshit? asshole? thief? Ever consider that phrase yr so fond of using? "Strong Government?" He paid those pencil pushers WITH INTEREST. Unnecessary regulation is a kind of theft IMHO. the Pike has been siphoning $$$$ to the not-so-leak proof Big Dig for years... The Pike is so poorly managed around Sturbridge / Rt 84 exit that they wave all the cars through on the weekend because they cant keep the traffic flow moving. This is a rare instance where a tax would be a good thing: a gas tax in lieu of tolls to keep things moving (I can hear all the toll takers screaming, but Im sorry, thats how I feel) Lighten up DB and get in thefast lane (I was going to post a link to mass.gov's transponder page, but appropriately enough, the state's website appears to be out of order right now...) _______________________________

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-09-27 19:41:44 +0000

Fuck fast Lane. I'm not into having my travel monitored. Did you read 1984?

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-27 19:44:50 +0000

These guys cant even keep their website up. What makes you think they can or would monitor yr "other than driving on the pike" activities? Big Orwell fan. _______________________________

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-27 19:46:43 +0000

20 minutes later... _______________________________

Posted by tgl on 2005-09-27 19:48:05 +0000

That's what happens when you put a Republican in charge of a government agency. When will we learn?

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-09-27 21:45:38 +0000

Rladew, please you, of all people, should be vehemently against the fast lane. Right?

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-27 22:31:43 +0000

if you can somehow prove to me that the Mass. cronies are good enough to plant radio frequencies in my dental work, care about my every move, and are good enough to use any of the Pike data they collect on me in some sinister fashion, be my guest... Until there is a gas tax in lieu of tolls I need to get from point a to point b quickly and without clueless motorists stopping attendents for directions, digging for change and /or remembering before each and every commute I have have to have exact change ready... _______________________________

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-09-27 23:20:30 +0000

Lost me. I thought we were talking about making government smaller...

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-27 23:25:59 +0000

do you use the Mass Pike every day, Dawn? I just counted out my average use @ 12-14 times a week. 14 seperate instances of pre-meditated exact change counting / couch digging, fully extending my 6 foot 2 body frame in a small beat to shit Japanese car so I can get into my jeans pockets, waiting in those oh-so enticing lines while some Q-tip in front of me counts out the pennies... as Dennis Hopper so wisely said in Blue Velvet: "FUCK THAT SHIT"! _______________________________

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-09-28 02:10:05 +0000

Give me convienence or give me death! I suppose if I used the Pike more than once a month I'd be right there with yah. Tendiamonds is a big Fastlane fan, especially when we lived in Brighton... I don't even have a car now. Not much for me to stand on here...

Posted by frame609 on 2005-09-28 04:11:40 +0000

I don't know....I take busses and trains an average of 16 times a week, and I always get the fares ready BEFORE the bus/train comes. Call me crazy.

Posted by Travis on 2005-09-28 08:26:56 +0000

your crazy...

Posted by frame609 on 2005-09-28 08:42:10 +0000

Walked right into that one, didn't I?

Posted by Travis on 2005-09-28 10:57:42 +0000

Yes, you did.

Posted by pchippy on 2005-09-28 13:52:57 +0000

Dawn is in the right on this one. You can't use the inefficiency of government oversight of the turnpike to rationalize the theft of services. On the other hand, I'm more with you than with him on the whole "soul" thing (see other thread). It's always bothered me when people (of any color) use "soul" as a synonym for certain stereotyped qualities of blackness. As far as I can tell, Jimmy Carter not only has as much soul as Bill Clinton (i.e., ONE), he has a soul that I respect more.

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-09-28 14:07:59 +0000

What about his crazy?

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-09-28 14:22:11 +0000

I was going to stay out of this. Tolls are the least effective way to collect money from the people. Some 40% of the tolls collected goes to collecting tolls. Tolls are extremely unfair. In MA, for example, the people who live North and South of Boston commute for free, the people in the West pay. Also, paying a toll per-axle? Thats ridiculous. It motivates trucks to use less axles, and thus do more damage to the road. More examples abound. Rladew is dead on: gas tax is the way to pay for roads. (also punishes overconsumers and rewards electric car users) However, in the presence of tolls, I'm not waiting in line when I can use a transponder. I'm not concerned about being monitored. I do wish the transponders were operated by credit card companies as opposed to by the state... then they could be incorporated with other transponder purchase programs like SpeedPass, etc. They monitor my spending as it is. Back when tgl and I used to cruise the New York Thruway extensively we speculated about organizing ticket trades at rest areas with people going the other way, so you pay 15 cents for travelling 20 miles in 14 hours... or was that with someone else? I can't find a better link, sorry.

Posted by tgl on 2005-09-28 14:30:05 +0000

Yore! Crazy!

Posted by tendiamonds on 2005-09-28 14:36:38 +0000

Cra-a-az-o!

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-28 14:55:32 +0000

I had to excuse myself from my cube after reading that transcript. good god. snl should be required viewing. chortle inducing to the tenth power. _______________________________

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-28 16:19:38 +0000

From an e-mail my Dad sent me (I guess you can see where I get my cantankerousness from): "I hate tolls - roads should be paid for with gas taxes - period. Imagine - the government builds highways to provide safe, fast transportation for us automobile and truck types. Then they put a barrier across the road to "collect" a toll. Gone is fast, and concentrating the traffic into a smaller space at the booth to collect the $$ - gone is safe. EZ pass just creates a more unsafe situation - one lane is stopped waiting to pay $$, the EZ pass lane is whizing by - a speed differential, lane to lane, that is illegal on the highway it self! These people are nuts!" _______________________________

Posted by G lib on 2005-09-28 17:06:53 +0000

Wait, Ladwew, I thought you thought MA was taxachusetts! You're advocating an additional tax? ________________________ In my bleeding-heart liberal never-owned-a-car opinion: *No tolls-- check. *Road repair paid for entirely by gas tax-- check. *Snow removal paid for entirely by gas tax-- check. *Public transportation projects paid for in part by gas tax-- check. *Bicycle and walking paths and creation and maintenance paid for in part by gas tax-- check. *Tax break for those who install alternative energy devices for their homes (i.e. solar, wind, etc.)-- check. (and no, this wouldn't affect us, as ours were already installed...) *Federal funding for alternative energy projects/cleaner more efficient use of energy projects-- check. * $2000 tax break for those people who buy hybrids and give them access to HOV lanes?-- This is not an effective use of our tax dollars. As far as I'm aware, every place there is an HOV lane in MA, there is also some kind of public transportation that goes there. This just means that when they come out with a hybrid Cadillac Escalade that gets 20 mpg versus 5, they can get a tax break and use of the HOV lane. Stupid. ______________ What's cooler than cool? Ice cold! --Andree 3K

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-28 17:15:17 +0000

does this mean that you think the toll system is working? I thought you said this guy's toll experiment was effing awesome? _______________________________

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-28 17:40:00 +0000

why limit collections to 90? Lets get some action from I - 93 too! In the words of Onyx: But but but but wait it gets worse!! (I'm not watered down so I'm dyin of thirst) _______________________________

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-28 17:48:42 +0000

Wow.. If you keep some good records, you can take some of that money back... interesting. _______________________________

Posted by dawnbixtler on 2005-09-28 17:53:53 +0000

OK, I'm a huge Carter fan too, however Clinton was easily the president most loved by blacks in our country, surpassing JFK and even Carter. I wasn't the one who came up with "the first Black President," and I'm not even sure Clinton's soul or blackness had/has positive influence. If we don't like "soul" here, I am willing to look for another term.

Posted by G lib on 2005-09-28 18:07:18 +0000

I thought you said this guy's toll experiment was effing awesome? --Awesome as in funny, awesome, performance art/experiment. Not as a good idea for everyone to do on a regular basis. I don't think the toll system is working, and I think that a gas tax is a fantastic idea. However, Ladew, I'm advocating that this idea is taken 10 steps forward to its natural end-- the gas tax should PAY FOR all state and municipal road-based projects. Even if that raises gas prices to $10.00 a gallon (which I'm guessing it would)! I'm TIRED of my tax dollars enabling the US's dependence on fossil fuels. ______________ What's cooler than cool? Ice cold! --Andree 3K

Posted by tgl on 2005-09-28 19:17:21 +0000

I'm generally of the opinion that all revenue generated from tolls, gas taxes, etc. is less than the total public expenditure on highways and roads. I would love some numbers to back that up. Whatever can be done to make the scale balance out (more efficient toll collection, higher gas taxes instead of tolls) would be welcome. If I may put words in rladew's mouth: I don't see a conflict between a desire for lower taxes in general and a specific case of increased taxes in order to improve efficiency and better target users. What happens if we all get electric cars? Do we still want to rely on a gas tax? Let's take the transponder thing to it's ultimate end: complete tracking of your vehicle, every time it's on the road, you get charged. We could do away with: * parking meters * tolls * gas tax

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-28 19:33:04 +0000

I saw a news report last year on one of those local 11PM EST network broadcast type shows talking about potentially having a device on one's car monitoring the mileage they drive... that sounds pretty creepy to me. _______________________________

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-28 19:51:43 +0000

Finally found the GT-9T form on mass.gov after scouring the mass turnpikes' website for over 20 minutes. I usually pay my gas on my DCU (tm) card, and my friends over at the Fastlane group are kind enough to mail me a statement of all my tolls monthly (dont get me started on how difficult it was to get that arrangement set up) I am actually curious to see if I can get some $$$ back from the state. even if its a waste of time Im a little on the curious side still... _______________________________

Posted by Travis on 2005-09-29 09:31:39 +0000

I created a monster.... was talking to an oil analyst yesterday (having lunch with her today in fact) - the smart money in "the city" is that gas prices would have to at least double at the pumps to reduce american use of gasoline by 5% the fact is you have some of the cheapest petrol prices in the world, taxing that up to a "world" level would provide the incentive for people to purchase more fuel efficent cars and leave plenty of cash to repair roads... or invade sovereign nations or give rich people tax breaks

Posted by tgl on 2005-09-29 13:42:51 +0000

Europe is paying $6-$7 a gallon at the moment. Can you imagine the uproar if gas prices went that high in the US?

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-29 14:47:03 +0000

As far as Im concerned, $6 or $7would be fine if it meant NO TOLLS. We're at .21 a gallon for a gas tax. Even if it was .50 or .75, the more efficient roads would be great. Less gimme cushy stae jobs given out as political tools / favors. I have already begun to solicit car pooling with a couple of colleagues that live in Worcester. The installation of tolls on I 93 is crazy talk. (But then again we are in Kennedy / Kerry Land...) _______________________________

Posted by tgl on 2005-09-29 15:05:16 +0000

I guess I get exasperated whenever public sector jobs are described as a cushy political perk. Would Steve Forbes be the CEO of Forbes, Inc if his father wasn't Malcolm Forbes? Cronyism and favrotism exists in every human organization, it's not limited to the public sector. ----- I might need to back away from the stance that only direct users should pay for things like roads (and more importantly, schools). We all benefit from safe and efficient roadways, so, some of the burden should fall on me, even if I don't use the Pike or I-93.

Posted by rladew on 2005-09-29 15:14:04 +0000

(kidding)would you be willing to shoulder some of the blame for Katrina/Rita as well? (/kidding) _______________________________

Posted by tgl on 2005-09-29 16:15:46 +0000

Don't blame me, I voted for Kerry.

Posted by Miriam on 2005-09-29 17:14:50 +0000

I found it easier and more cost effective to pay with change to get on the bus than buy a monthly pass.

Posted by Honar the librarian on 2005-09-29 18:01:10 +0000

I find the ease of the bus pass is worth paying for, rather than scrambling for change/dollar bills, even if I don't break even on my bus pass purchase. I do also get a discount through work, however--if I were paying the full price I might feel differently.

Posted by frame609 on 2005-09-29 19:37:38 +0000

I think it's like seven dollars more expensive to get a combo pass than it is for me to pay $4.50 a day 4x a week- I should really just suck it up and get one every month.

Posted by Miriam on 2005-09-29 20:05:39 +0000

Yeah, once Harvard stopped making public transport more affordable for me, I made a lot of change from my Tzedekah box...always leaving more than I took out.