Fee eyed for those who drive into Hub

[midnight armadillo]

Fee eyed for those who drive into Hub

By Andrea Estes, Globe Staff | March 30, 2005

A city councilor is looking to turn Boston into a commuter toll zone so that people who drive into the city would have to pay to enter.
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Saying the half-million commuters who drive into Boston each day are major contributors to traffic and parking congestion, Councilor Paul J. Scapicchio wants the city to look into requiring passes costing $1 to $5 daily and catching scofflaws by installing cameras to record license plates of cars crossing over from the suburbs without the passes. Today, he will ask for a council hearing to explore the idea.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/03/30/fee_eyed_for_those_who_drive_into_hub/

How about they just put toll booths on 93? I think it's high time those slackers started paying their way after all those years of us east-west commuters footing the bill for the Big Dig.

These days I commute N-S a few exits on 95, so this doesn't effect me anymore ;-)

EDIT: Link added.

[meegbear]

1. I pay $2.50 a day on the Tobin, then off to Cambridge

No biggie for me. But they're still douchebags for bringing up the idea.

[Nothing Without Hope]

2. Got a link? Yeah, this city councillor is going to get some deserved flak

Because this proposal is going to bring an outcry. What an idiot! It isn't just the people who work in Boston and live outside it that will be outraged, it is also all the merchants that rely on their customers coming into the city. The whole idea is stupid. One to 5 dollars EACH DAY just to drive into the city?

[YankeyMCC]

3. It'll depend on the details

It can't introduce to much of a burden and the money needs to go into improving alternatives to driving so that commuters are not just punished but given better options. Better for them, better for environmental quality.

[merbex]

4. $5 dollars a day? Plus parking? Plus the price of gas?

Hello public transportation